More Curbed Stuff

The latest stuff from my Curbed stint:

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8th St. Hyper-gentrified

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For some time, 8th Street has been a ghost town . The once-plentiful shoe stores and other small businesses that lined it have dropped like flies in recent years. Trendy restaurants have tried to get a foothold and failed. It's ripe for "revival" and now the big guns are being rolled in to force the street into hyper-gentrification mode . The Daily News files a startling report on 8th Street's upcoming upgrade--it's going from "under-retailed" to an "artisanal center." Marlton House, Jeff Bachner, Daily News Stumptown Coffee is coming first--they're a foodie favorite in the uber-hipster Ace Hotel (formerly the Breslin, a tragic story there). After that, BD Hotels , of the Bowery and Jane Street Hotels (more controversy there), will open a new boutique hotel in the former SRO Marlton House. The neighborhood flippers have arrived. Says BD Hotels' Richard Born, "We’ve had the experience of changing neighborhoods like wit...
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Christopher off 7th

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Seems like something's happening on Christopher Street, just west of 7th Avenue South. 1. Karavas Pizza & Pita is gone. Back in 2011 , the building owner said, “John Karavas and his parents have been tenants there for more than 50 years. The easiest way for us to make money would be to rent it out to some chain restaurant, and we don’t want to do that.” Maybe there's a new owner? 2. The little spot next to Karavas is gone, too. I think it was one of those little souvenir stands, selling t-shirts and bongs. 3. Next to that, the long-time location of Boots & Saddle emptied out a couple years ago when "the new landlord" hiked the rent by a ton. Boots moved on, this spot has since been painted brown, and a sign on the door says Hakata Tonton Japanese restaurant is moving in. What's happening here? Is it all one landlord giving the boot? And what about Village Cigars in their little triangular spot?
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Bike Repair 1989

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Before Zum Schneider resided on the corner of 7th and C, there was this guy. Youtube user "bobertbach" posted this 1989 film of the man online and wrote: " This man ran a bike repair shop in the abandon NW corner of C & 7th in the late 80's. When he needed to straighten out a bike frame he would wait for a bus to stop across the street & stick it under its' tire. I can remember him arguing with a bus driver. He was eventually evicted by developers. It is currently Zum Schneider ." There's also a dog in the film, sleeping soundly on the hood of a car. Bobertbach writes, "The dog, 'Hank' was owned by actor Mark Boone Jr. who was a bartender at Vazaks in the mid to late 80's. It was stranger than paradise."
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