Vanishing New York Backup

I've been puzzling as to why yunnies hate mom-and-pops so very, very much. I was reading this post by EV Grieve in which he quotes an online review of an Irish pub that came down to make way for a new luxury tower. The reviewer writes: " I hope places like this close down soon: We are all working on building a better downtown . I bought a 1.5 million dollar condo around the block from this place. I stopped in one weekday during lunch (i was off.) The place had 3 patrons at the bar, all of which looked worse then the other. The decor is lacking, the floors dirty, and the food was just ok. This place may be decent for someone who does not like finer things ..." And I wondered, as I have many times when reading similar commentary, what is this about? Why do yunnies feel such intense hatred of harmless, dumpy old places? The hatred seems deeply personal and expresses itself in a wish to destroy. It's one thing to say, "I don't like this place so I won't go ...

Is the new Stuy-Town Heaven or Hell? [ NYO ] Mmm...the Belmore Cafeteria . [ Urbanite ] False crap alarm at Ruby's, it was just dirt. [ Curbed ] Michael Perlman , savior of diners, has a new cause in Queens: the 91-year-old Ridgewood Theater. Looking to invest? Click here . Cheyenne Diner is about to make its move to Red Hook. [ Urbanite ] I spoke too soon when I said the entire block of 6th Ave between 17th and 18th except for a holdout frame shop was closing down--that holdout frame shop? It ain't holding out anymore. Their move means every single business on the block has been pushed out: The city has been giving millions of dollars in tax breaks to chain stores and bupkis to mom-and-pops. [ Times ] Oh boy, an SATC "schadenfreudian delight," my favorite! [ EVG ] NYC not gritty enough for the movies--requires artful grittifying for that authentic NYC look. [ Gothamist ] Saw this parked outside BBQ in the EV. For a minute I thought I was in ...

Here are some pics of that SATC mob scene . I keep imagining a modern version of the Maenads , with their "violence, bloodletting, sexual activity, self-intoxication, and mutilation." [ Racked ] Speaking of bacchanalias, I do so love hearing about the A Building's crazy pool parties. Especially when they involve hedge fund guys taking drunken craps on the floor. [ Curbed ] And speaking of crap on the floor, Bloomberg's really upset that his part in the SATC movie ended up on the cutting room floor. [ City Room ] 16th Street gets more condoschmerz as old #335 is bookended by the opened Modern and the soon-to-open Condominiums @ 333 , which comes complete with an odd-looking round escape hatch in the roof--maybe they'll put in a fireman's pole. Now that's an amenity. But don't worry about the old tenants of #335--they won't feel squeezed because they're leaving. SVA signed a lease for the whole building, which is owned by Tyco. Remember them? ...

I went to Montero's this Fleet Week in the hopes of finding a bar full of sailors, like they had last year . I passed a trio of swabbies walking down Atlantic Avenue--laughing with their white bell bottoms flapping in the wind, bringing to mind Sinatra, Kelly, and Munshin in On The Town--but none were drinking at Montero's bar. flickr photos I did, however, meet a merchant marine who told me about his life dredging sand from under the waters of the harbor's Narrows, that stretch that flows under the Verrazano and out to the Lower Bay and to sea. It seems the ocean is constantly pushing sand towards New York City and this sand must constantly be removed. It goes into concrete, mostly, but approximately 90,000 tons of it went under the parking lot of Red Hook's new Ikea . They needed that much to fill the historic Graving Dock . The guy I met at Montero's was the guy who dredged that particular sand. He told me about how, for the permission to destroy a piece of New Y...

Despite dire predictions this winter, the Russo Realty visual smorgasbord is still standing strong . ForgottenNY's coverage is definitely worth checking out, by the way. Remember when I said pink + cupcake + SATC = the destruction of Bleecker ? Here's more proof. You have to see it to believe it . [ Racked ] At last night's SATC premiere an "angry crowd surged against police barricades, cursing and stomping their Manolo Blahniks ." Is it real? Is it a nightmare? Will somebody please turn this into a zombie movie? [ NYDN ] In the film A Hole in a Fence , visit Red Hook's industrial decay, graffiti artists, and more as they prepare to vanish in the shadow of gentrification and the coming Ikea. [ Gothamist ] While we're in Red Hook, check out this great sign on Van Brunt. Little dogs are not exempt from capital punishment! Especially those carried around in designer handbags: The Tower of Toys was like many urban creations that "served as demarcation...

Recently, Curbed reported that the R&S Strauss auto parts shop on 14th and Ave C has gone on the market for $13 million, thus further pushing the eastern end of 14th towards possible luxurification. I figured I better get in there and check it out. Browsing around car accessory stores is fun. Even when you don't own a car. There are many creative air fresheners, decals both sexy and scary, and novelty seat covers to discover. At this location, you will also find plenty of bling to trick out and generally "pimp" your ride. I asked the salesgirl if they were closing and she said, "No way! If we are, nobody's telling us!" Strauss is an old company. According to their history , the R&S in the name refers to the store's founders, Harry Roth and Herman Schlenger, who opened their first shop in 1919. The Strauss part belongs to a guy named Izzy they merged with in 1983. It is now a global chain. Chain or not, its loss from the eastern ass-end...

Another Sex and the City star bemoans the death of NYC , as Chris Noth says: "New York is pretty much commercialized to the point of no return." He misses the "diverse eccentrics" and "different neighborhoods" that have "all been washed out; it’s very suburban... It’s all about sort of a corporate sensibility, and it’s squeezed out room for any other kind of sensibility.” Of course, he's right, but what sensibility did the squeezing? Maybe the one packaged, branded, and thrust upon NYC by SATC ? [ EOnline ] Andy Warhol lives--apparently, in the body of Marc Jacobs according to the current Interview magazine. This is the story of the new New York: We don't get CBGB, we get John Varvatos. We don't get Andy Warhol, we get Marc Jacobs. Nothing but high-priced simulations. Maybe Andy would dig it. [ WWD ] The Chelsea Hotel tailors, Mr. and Mrs. Balabanis, are closing after 31 years in the neighborhood. Unable to bear another rent hike, they...

Back in December I reported that the 41-year-old store Yes! This Is Charlie's would be forced to close due to rising rents on the eastern end of 14th Street. More recently, The Villager reported on the March 31 closure, quoting manager Danny Rodriguez: “Mostly outsiders are moving in, and they couldn’t care less about us. All the new shops don’t cater to the people here. You feel like an outsider in your own neighborhood. To be honest, I don’t think they even want us here. They would love it if little by little we would just get out so they can move into our apartments." Curbed picked up that story and their commenters confirmed Danny's suspicions, saying "Cry me a river," and "There's still too many poor people in Manhattan mucking up the City," and "Let them live in the outer boroughs where they belong," etc. Curbed speculates that the eastern end of 14th is doomed, thanks to the "A Building, with its rooftop pool and glassed-i...

Bob Arihood gets into the 6B Garden to show what has been saved from Eddie Boros' Tower of Toys--a collection of hobby horses and other toys that a garden insider told me will likely be auctioned off to raise money for the garden . I'll keep you posted on that possibility: photo: Bob Arihood Speaking of lost toys, a member of the VNY Flickr Group just posted a bunch of great pics of defunct toy shop Second Childhood. They closed in February and I'm still mad about it. [ jackszwergold ] VNY reader BaHa blogs about Kalustyan's, a great old place I've been meaning to get up to and haven't, so read all about it here and smell the spices. [ Serious Eats ] Park Slope mommies kill one of their own --as their favorite hangout shutters thanks to the gentrification they helped bring: "like Saturn devouring his young, that insatiable gentrifying beast has come to home to feed." Nice, but Medea might have been a better metaphor here. [ Bk Paper ] via [ Gotham...

This week, horseshoe crabs mated on Brooklyn's shores. I went to see them awhile ago and wrote about it. When the Sun and the full Moon aligned with our planet on Sunday night, their combined gravities swelled the ocean’s tides and pulled from the Atlantic depths the lumbering denizens of an ancient world. Every year, in a mating ritual that dates back 300 million years, horseshoe crabs make the journey from their winter residences on the continental shelf to a narrow stretch of Gerritsen Beach near Brooklyn’s salty Marine Park, lazily pushing their way past the shoreline’s litter of beer bottles , plastic shopping bags, and floating chunks of Styrofoam, to dig their nests and lay thousands of pearly, green eggs. This week, the Urban Park Rangers hosted a crowd of nature-seekers that included local residents as well as hipster kids lured by the promise of something wonderful and strange. “The horseshoe has, like, a million eyes,” one young ranger-in-training explained. The crowd gr...

Recently, I wrote about the Georgica condo getting concretized . This week, at their 86th St sales office, Yorkville's landed gentry were feted with a welcome-to-Georgica cocktail party . And no such bash would be complete without violinists, a lot of white people in khaki, and a person-of-color in maid's uniform holding a mop in the background. This looks like a scene from some pre-Civil Rights Hollywood movie. photo sent in by reed korach As Bloomberg gets closer and closer to the end of his reign, he has become "short-tempered, scolding, even petulant," and invokes the royal We as he screams, "We need the power!" Holy cow. [ Times ] Hands off the Wonder Wheel Bloomie! [ Gothamist ] Tonight: Don't miss Luc Sante chatting with filmmaker James Nares at Anthology Film Archives . Today Grieve checks in on the forlorn pile of wood that was once the Toy Tower . These pics are not for the faint of heart! [ EVG ] And what will replace the EV's old ecc...

Back in November I made the rather predictable prediction that the low-rise buildings on the southeast corner of 14th and 3rd would soon fall. Curbed confirmed it in December, revealing the big, glass-box monstrosity to come. And this week, the corner has fallen into rubble. before: after: more pics of 14th and 3rd I don't think it's a coincidence that this corner has come down so soon after the rise of the gargantuan 110 Third . It seems that wherever luxury condos sprout, their low-rise neighbors come down within months.

Good news! St. Brigid's Church on Ave B has been saved by an anonymous donor. Maybe there is hope in Mudville after all. Rob Hollander, of Save the LES , sent the news and he is lining up interviews and TV cameras will be there today in front of the church. City Room has more info on the deal. I wonder, could the donor be Matt Dillon? That would be kinda hot. Especially if he shouted, "Do it for Johnny!" before writing the check. Photo by William Alatriste I've long loved the church because it is the butter-yellow beauty that inspired Frank O'Hara's Hymns of St. Bridget , as in: "How funny you are today New York like Ginger Rogers in Swingtime and St. Bridget's steeple leaning a little to the left..." --from Steps (It had steeples until the 1960s.) photo by Bob Arihood: see his great pics here And here is another from Frank: Hymn to St. Bridget’s Steeple It is to you, bending limp and ridiculous, on Ninth Street, that I turn. colder than usu...

There are some places in the city I simply cannot penetrate. One of these places is the back room of the Orchard Corset Center. Featured in yesterday's Times , complete with an audio slideshow and the good news that the shop is thriving and under no threat of vanishing anytime soon in the shark-infested waters of the endangered Lower East Side, Orchard Corset has hidden depths that I will never see. For that reason, when I visited the place earlier this year, I brought a somewhat reluctant female partner in crime. I made her try on brassieres while I waited in the plastic "man chair" by the door. Since she boldly went where no man (except proprietor Ralph Bergstein) has gone before, I will let her tell the rest of the story: The shop was stacked floor to ceiling with faded, battered boxes of brands you never heard of before. The proprietor was a yarmulked man with hair that stood out perpendicular to his head, like a curly shelf, on one side. There were several buxom bl...

Hey Chris Stein , those Blade Runner days you were hoping for? They're coming to LA and no doubt heading east quick as condos turn into giant TV commercials. [ Curbed ] Scary term of the day: "Eviction Mill." Read about the diabolical plan to take your home away from you. [ Voice ] Bid au revoir to Florent in a big retrospective by Frank Bruni. [ Times ] via [ Eater ] Remember when tents in Tompkins Square Park meant Hooverville? Not anymore. Not at $25o a head. [ NMNL ] Every time I see this ad around town, I think it says: " Gentrification so instant, it already happened." Which is kind of exactly how it is: The Lower East Side is declared endangered by the National Trust who says the Vongerichtification of the place "threatens to erode the fabric of the community and wipe away the collective memory of generations of immigrant families ." [ Gothamist ] and more at [ City Room ] Bleecker continues to die as Nusraty Afghan Imports , one of the la...

This morning I found some time to go over to the 6B Garden and watch the Tower of Toys be taken apart. It was an oddly hypnotic, elegant sight to see. Eddie Boros' sculpture, I am happy to say, did not go gentle into that good night. It resisted. Plank by plank, rusty nail by rusty nail, it fought back against the chainsaw and the cherry picker. A tangle of wood, wires, ropes, toys, and other junk, the tower, in its undoing, was perhaps just as regal as it was in its making. The man with the chainsaw pulled on a hobby horse and the animal refused to budge. He tugged a board and was confounded. He placed a few strategic cuts, sending down a shower of golden sawdust. He tugged again. The sculpture resisted. He cut again. Withholding, restrained, the tower surrendered a few bits and pieces, which the man sent plummeting with a crash to the garden below. Man and sculpture became--and it may be too sentimental to say so--like a pair of dancers, or boxers, moving from strike, to clutch,...

The bashing of Park Slope has reached critical mass. God, I miss Dyke Slope. [ Gawker ] This article by Lynn Harris is a must-read: "our feelings about Park Slope are linked to our feelings about our entire city: our overpriced, chain-store city run by bankers, socialites and, it seems, mommies. The artists are fleeing and your friends, it seems, have become Park Slope pod people. (And they’re coming for you, too.) It’s starting to feel as if there’s nowhere left to hide." [ Times ] More background: [ OTBKB ] A fascinating timeline of the de-evolution of the Meatpacking District . The tipping point seems to be 1999 , a year prior to Carrie's eating of the fateful cupcake and coinciding with the opening of McNally's Pastis. [ Shecky's ] By now, everyone knows Florent is dead in the water . But here's the joint's official "au revoir" signage, spelling out a clever FOR RENT (let Ralph Lauren pay the $70,000 a month): photo: micawave “Flipping bur...

My tipster tells me the Parks Department is in the 6B Garden right now and is dismantling Eddie Boros' Tower of Toys today until 2:00. They will continue tomorrow morning at 8:00 until it's finished. The big orange cherry picker is picking away, dumping a piece of East Village history into the toy-gathering Dumpster of Death. Sob. Just in: Curbed has lots of gruesome pics and reports the workers are letting tower-lovers walk away with souvenirs. Get 'em while they last! As an aside, last week NY Mag offered an IM of mixed emotions about the tower . And may I say to Cristal that "it made me think of RENT" is not a good reason to love the Toy Tower. "Eek! Shit-covered toys hanging from the sky," however, is a pretty good reason. Tower Farewell Toy Tower Update Tower of Toys

11th and 2nd: I went to this oft-frequented bodega this weekend to find it suddenly eaten by its neighbor, Carerra wine bar. Another casualty in the war on East Village bodegas. I guess they're keeping the awning for irony--and to confuse people like myself who go looking for a Coke to sneak into a movie at Village East: Just as Woody returns to film in the East Village, could the 2nd Ave Deli also be coming back ? [ Eater ] A couple with a high-gloss crash/party pad, a glass box containing glass boxes decorated with 11 televisions and 0 books , say: "We don’t need to have books out. We know that we know how to read." I guess they don't know that they know how to watch TV? [ NYMag ] This weekend, the annual Ukrainian festival carried on like a trooper in the dark shadow of a giant, scary crane and Cooper Union's ever-rising beast, to which they supposedly surrendered amicably : Chinatown and the Lower East Side are under siege and the residents are scr...

Made giddy by the recent deluge of SATC-spanking media coverage (see end of story for links), let's trace it back--not as far back this time as Bushnell and Star's fateful meeting at Bowery Bar, we've already covered that . No, let's go back to a seemingly more harmless moment in the year 2000 , to a few seconds frosted in pin The Villager points the way, reflecting, "After Sarah Jessica Parker ate a creamy retro cupcake on Sex and the City at a beloved local landmark, The Magnolia Bakery, the tour buses began circling. The lines outside the tiny bakery swelled into queues stretching around the corner. Soon, upscale clothing retailer Marc Jacobs, salivating over the youthful crowds, rented a shop right across the street." don't do it! stop! And here's our smoking gun: “Our goal was to take advantage of the huge concentration of young people who flooded into the area, especially with the ‘Sex and the City’ show,” said Debbie Lee, a Marc Jacobs...

Last night at the Minetta Tavern was the last night of the Minetta Tavern. When the owner thought they would close on May Day , April 30 was their official farewell celebration. I missed that and then the bar's closing kept getting put off. But last night was it. McNally's going to close it until October for renovations and change the longtime Italian menu to French bistro. I'm sure Matthew Broderick will miss the food. He said in the Post , "There's something really cool about eating in a place like this in the city that has [such an] unusual past. I also love the great Italian food. My favorite dish is the linguini with clams." my last meal: Tortellaci Minetta For my last night at Minetta's, I had hoped to find some old regulars, storytellers, characters. But there was no such crowd. No fanfare and no sense of finality, other than the playlist on the sound system, which included a perhaps intentional array of farewell and doomsday songs: Seems Like Old ...

That building that houses those threatened mom-and-pops on 9th Ave ? Call me paranoid, but it is so being gutted and refurbished, apartment by apartment. Can anyone say evictions? This has been the scene outside its back alley, where some lucky new tenants are getting fresh-spanking dishwashers, ranges, and toilets: Yves is giving its last remaining units the hard sell with this big billboard: "extraordinary finishes!" "forward thinking architecture!" "valcucine kitchens!" Valcucine? Sounds like a herpes medication: Speaking of herpes, Cooper Square Hotel gets a new nickname: The Dildo of Darkness. [ EVG ] Last night's CB4 meeting heard Barroco Cafe's request for a liquor license--did anyone go? How's my Emerman prediction holding up? Either way, the place is coming along fast and fancy. Real World to ruin Brooklyn. [ Gothamist ] Bob catches an old EV tradition --plugging your trash TV into the lamppost and stealing a little entertainment...