Vanishing New York Backup

Earlier in August I reported that the defunct Gordon Novelty Shop had been unsheathed. For a brief, shining moment, we were able to enjoy that gorgeous facade once more . A commenter then tipped us to the fact that Gordon's demolition has begun--and a trip to the site confirmed that the death shroud has indeed been lowered. This area just north of Union Square was once filled with novelty shops. If you scroll through microfilm images of those streets at the Municipal Archives, in the grainy shots you will see the word NOVELTY everywhere, along with: Balloons, Bingo Games, Favors, Party Hats, Bridge Prizes, and Souvenirs. I imagine that walking through those streets, at mid-century, must have been like walking into the world behind the mesmerizing novelty ads in old comic books. Just looking at those pages could fire the imagination for untold hours. Like "Appetizing," which I wrote about here , the word "Novelty" (and its plural "Novelties") is a rare...

350 West Broadway has a lot to say. Words upon words wrap around its glass street-level exterior, the stuff of luxury condos. All that condo-porn verbiage. There's more on the website , where the pages tell little stories starring a very superior couple having very superior conversations. There's even one where they poke fun at the inflated nature of other luxury condos' ad copy... "The language was farcical. 'Here’s a good one!' she said excitedly, moving herself into an upright position in order to make the best delivery possible. 'Enwrap yourself in ultimate luxury.' She collapsed in a paroxysm of laughter. 'Enwrap! Who talks like that?'" “I love the names. Luxitana, Titanium House, Elysium. Wake up in Heaven.” “Here’s a new one. Zolofts. Leave Your Worries at the Door.” “You know, they should ban the word exclusive from their ads. I mean, how exclusive can it be if there’s 75 units?” “It’s like living on the QE2.” “I’m glad we chose thi...

Fedora 's new owner: "I'm already bracing myself for the criticism that I'm going to get. People are going to say, 'It's not like Fedora, Fedora looked nothing like this.' ... I'm choosing to keep the name because it's a great name. I'm keeping the bar because it's brilliant, the original bar from 1917. Aside from that, it's now our restaurant." [ Esquire ] The saga of Shepard Fairey's mural comes to a close. [ EVG ] Evidence that sometimes people still use payphones --for what they were made for. [ EVC ] Remembering Johnny Thunders . [ COS ] A parting shot of the gorgeous Gordon Novelty . [ GVDP ] If you haven't watched them yet, these mini-docs of city people are great. [ 13 ] Williamsburg hipsters, MTV wants you : "Do you own skinny jeans, old school chucks, cabbie hat, the 70's vest, an ironic t shirt or hat, a fitted sweater, flannel shirt, or chunky lens-less glasses? Do you drink PBR, have an ironic mustach...

Following up the posts " Before the Vill 7 " and " Lost Renwick Found ," reader Mark Kane sent in this 1992 shot of the ruined and revealed Union Square Theater. He writes, "When they were demolishing a row of dry goods stores on Union Square between Fourth & Broadway, I noticed that one of the buildings had a huge, ancient ventilation system on its roof and a odd fire-escape out back. Sure enough, when the building was peeled away, the last remnants of the Union Square Theatre were revealed, its finishes all brown with smoke, but still intact. There was a lovely painting in the round center medallion but scavengers beat me to it. This was in December of 1992. The hideous building that once held Virgin Records replaced this." The folks at Cinema Treasures tell us this structure was "built in 1870 as a variety theater called the Union Square Theater. In 1893 Keith and Albee purchased the theater for use as a vaudeville theate...

In the next installment of the Potemkin Village saga, the Chelsea Hotel erects fake stores in their empty storefronts. [ LWL ] Allen Ginsberg's apartment has been gut renovated and is now on the market. [ EVG ] Wrangler follows in Diesel's footsteps , tells people to "Stop Thinking." [ Racked ] Celebrate 50 years of Maple Lanes with some bowling. [ Grub ] Greenpoint's 3 Decker reopens tomorrow. [ NYS ] Queens picnickers acting piggy. [ QC ]

With the movement of Habib's Place from Avenue A and 6th, the removal of his sign revealed an under-sign: France's Beauty Salon. I can't really tell you anything about France's Beauty Salon, only that I took a photo of it sometime around 1995 --I did have one more shot in my East Village 90s collection . Here's what it looked like. I love this serious, Slavic-looking woman standing there among the fabulous 80s-style beauties with their Aqua-Netted manes. Is she the eponymous France(s)? If I recall correctly, France's was one of those places where older ladies would go to get their hair set. Maybe some mustache bleaching. Maybe a blue rinse. Makes me wonder: Where in the East Village can you get a good blue rinse these days?

The travesty continues while City Hall watches. After 30 years at Coney Island, souvenir shop owner gets 7-day notice from Thor to get out. [ ATZ ] New York subway photos from the 70s and 80s. [ EVG ] Has Williamsburg become "New York's answer to San Diego"? [ Restless ] Shadow puppets on the Houston Wall . [ BB ] City gets ready to remove the Ghost Bikes . [ LM ]

iPad e-book lover says, " People approach me and ask to see it, to touch it , how much I like it... That rarely happens with dead-tree books." And all that pad prodding is desirable? [ NYT ] Can you help identify a window into Coney's past? [ ATZ ] Check out photos from Andy Levin's Coney Island . [ NYT ] Why do people wait in long lines for Clinton St. Baking ? [ Eater ] St. Mark's/Crusty style goes supermodel. [ EVG ] Cigar aficionados come for Guss' former pickle shop. [ BB ] Grand Street's Italian food store signs. [ ENY ]

Digging back into my small archive of print photos from the early/middle 1990s, we did Times Square , and now here's the East Village collection scanned. It's only 7 photos, but it shows some of what was here 15 years ago. All but one of the places in these images has vanished . Kurowycky Meats: A Halloween ghost hangs with the meat in the window, back before meat was outlawed and Kurowycky had to hang plastic sausages in its place--back before Kurowycky closed and became Kim's . They used to trim the fat off my chicken. Stingy Lulu's: Where drag queens served you breakfast and cocktails , before it became one thing, then another thing, and now Hop Devil Grill. Wolinnin Funeral Home: Before it became a pottery studio and now the Butter Lane cupcake shop. Leshko's Coffee Shop: Of the buzzing flies and cakes under foggy plastic covers, of the late-night breakfasts, and the junkies slipping into the bathroom to shoot up. Before it became the hideous noise-fest it ...

"The habits of urban scavengers in rescuing other persons’ discarded sofas and chairs has to stop. Too many people remain unaware how many bedbugs can hide out in an ordinary picture frame ." [ NYvBBs ] A summer day in Washington Square Park-- the road to Hell looks like the lost New York--adult bookstores! X-rated videos! ( Click here to see close-ups.) "This morning at 5:30 am, Thor Equities work crew continued demo and asbestos abatement work on the doomed Henderson Building across from Nathan’s in good old Coney Island." [ ATZ ] Marco's LES gateway mural is gone. [ BB ] On Ave B, Billy Hurricane's looking to hire Hooter's and Coyote Ugly types --but less sketchy. [ EVG ] Watching the changes on Great Jones . [ TGL ] Remembering the 1990s in New York. [ COS ] A gorey indie bookstore battle rages on Long Island. [ NYT ] What's squawking above the Spingler Staples? [ FP ]

As a follow-up to my interview with urban miniaturist Alan Wolfson , I found this Travis Bickle action figure. Big Red Moon You could get one like it via ebay for as little as $400 if you're a lucky bidder. It was made in very limited numbers by a Japanese company called CRM Toys. ebay Just think of all the fun you could have with this guy in Wolfson's miniature city. You know, if you wanted to stay home and never go out there, pull down the shades, order lots of pizza. That sort of thing. Alan Wolfson, St. George Hotel, 1994

Hallowed Ground: A few photos of stuff the same distance from the World Trade Center as the "Ground Zero Mosque." [ DL ] "Between the pedestrian malls and fancy sandwich shops, the signs are unmistakable. New York City is going Euro ." [ NYO ] Fat Beats record stores to close. [ Stupefaction ] "Back Rent Kills East Village Mom-and-Pop Shop Village Fabrics" and " the whole neighborhood is going to crap." [ RS ] via EVG Spike Lee: "the Brooklyn I grew up in is not the Brooklyn today... I just think that when you move into a neighborhood, you can’t necessarily come in and just change all the culture at the same time. That’s my only problem with gentrification." [ TONY ] Indie Press Night at Word. [ Word ] Bed bugs helping to chase out rent-regulated tenants --and raise the rents. [ BU ] via Curbed

" Windsor Terrace parents are throwing a tantrum at the Oak & the Iris Café, claiming that they have no right to cancel their weekly sing-a-longs just because their precious kids were breaking property." [ Gothamist ] Homeless shelter becomes "gay hotel," complete with undulating hallways. [ Curbed ] Elle magazine offices besieged by bed bugs . [ RS ] Fans of Max's Kansas City get a book and an exhibit. [ Stupefaction ] An ode to the " truck bomb ." [ EVG ] Greenpoint's Manhattan 3-Decker lives. [ NYS ]

Yesterday, Grieve reminded us of the anniversary of the death of Merlin , the homeless man who made his spot for 8 years outside the Con Ed substation on Avenue A and 6th St., and who died there August 16, 1996. I thought I'd post these two color photos I took of Merlin's memorial in the summer of '96, which I've recently scanned from prints. A few years ago this week, Bob Arihood posted photos of Merlin on his blog, Neither More Nor Less. Bob recalls: " A wake and vigil of considerable moment, lasting for the better part of 2 weeks, was held in the neighborhood at Merlin's corner. Some nights the sidewalk and street around the memorial were so densely packed with people that it seemed that everyone in the neighborhood and the surrounding communities was attending, crowded together, all kinds of folks, from all professions and callings, from high and low paying their respects to Merlin." Merlin's birth name was Paul Hogan. I remember him as a friendl...

Any advice for new New Yorkers ? [ CR ] Scary news for Coney's Henderson Building as Thor's hammer falls. [ ATZ ] Ghost Stroller freaking out Park Slope parents. [ NYT ] In the Hamptons, an "entitled diner" goes bananas with "restaurant rage." [ Grub ] A proposal to turn empty luxury condos into middle-income housing. [ NYO ] EV liquor license news. [ EVG ]

In Three Lives bookshop recently, I came across The Lonely Phone Booth . Technically, it's for children, but anyone nostalgic for the city, and especially its lost phone booths, will enjoy it. Publishers Weekly called it "Cultural history of the best sort." The book was inspired by the venerable phone booth of West End Avenue and 100th Street. It is one of four remaining outdoor phone booths in the city, but it's the only one that's been called " an objet d'art...almost a religious edifice ." That booth is beloved by many and has long been protected by a man named Alan Flacks , who told the Times , "people prefer actual booths where they can close the door, put their papers down on the shelf and enjoy the amenities , such as shelter, privacy, light, and even security.'' Author Peter Ackerman agrees. I asked Mr. Ackerman some questions about his book. He answered. Q: What inspired you to write the tale of one of New York's last rema...

Finally! The drinking game to get you through those CB/SLA meetings: Chug if "The applicant promises to keep the spirit of the previous owner's establishment alive by having the now-deceased previous owner stuffed and mounted over the bar." [ EVG ] "I have a feeling that if Andy Warhol were alive he would be spending the summer writing a novel that takes place in real time on Facebook." [ NYT ] The for rent sign goes up on old Carmine's of South Street Seaport: This Starbucks story would've been better if the lady was thrown out for refusing to say the idiotic "Venti." [ Eater ] Enjoying Chinatown roof writing. [ Restless ] 42nd Street bedbugs bring scariness back to the Deuce. [ Gothamist ] Visiting the new P&G --though the neon sign has yet to make it, the old bar and booths remain. [ 365 ]

Following up on my post about the closure of one of the last Andrews Coffee Shops in Manhattan , I set out to find the local chain's remainders. As we learned last week, Andrew Zamel's coffee shops, opened in 1963, once numbered 15. It took 30 years to halve that number to 8 in 1993. Today, there are 2 that I managed to find. There's one at 35th Street and 7th Avenue and another nearby on 38th, between 7th and 8th. The rest, still listed online, were confirmed closed or didn't answer their phones. The 35th Street Andrews occupies a large corner spot and was busy with lunchtime customers, most of whom looked like tourists or shoppers spilling over from Macy's. It was too crowded for me, and too renovated, so I headed over to 38th where I found a smaller, quieter, shabbier Andrews tucked in between zipper shops and sewing machine supply stores on a block bustling with garment business. This was more my speed. It was blissfully desolate. My BLT and fries came quickly ...

One of the last Andrews Coffee Shops in the city has closed. A tipster writes in with photos: " Andrew's Coffee Shop on Pearl and John in the Financial District closed after 31 years ... I think they have other locations in NYC... but it was really homey and very 1979 -- don't know if they changed the decor since they opened. But that and the Pearl Diner are/were havens in the soulless corridor there.... A shame." Are there any Andrews left--or was this the last? And if you're wondering "Who's Andrew?" as I did, the Times answered in 1993: "Q. Who is Andrew and why does he have so many coffee shops? A. The coffee shops are named after Andrew Zamel, a Palestinian immigrant who came to New York in 1960 and began opening the shops in 1963. At one point there were 15 such coffee shops in Manhattan; now there are eight." That number is much smaller now. Andrews Coffee Shops have been shuttering one by one for the past few years. Their locatio...

Meet Larry Hagberg , New York City blacksmith . [ 13 ] A Jesuit school for poor boys leaves the LES where there aren't enough poor: "It used to be you could see drug deals in the park and hookers with johns...Now it’s high-rises, hotels and more construction cranes." [ NYT ] Clinton and E. Broadway bodega forced out --coffee fetishist shop to come? [ TLD ] Looking at the making of Ragtime on E. 11th . Thanks to high-rise development, says one interviewee, it could not be done today. [ Vimeo ] Isn't it time for lunch at Eisenberg's ? photo: Verplank, VNY flickr pool In the East Village, don't cut your lips on a beer-can popsicle . [ EVG ] The Windsor Terrace and Kensington areas of Brooklyn still have some great old signage. [ FNY ] "Fresh Meat" in the Meatpacking District. [ GVDP ]

Richard Price walks the Lower East Side with TravelGoat . Darwin comes to E. 4th Street as New Bowery vs. New, New Bowery. Will Bowery Bar, where much of it all began , be fit enough to survive? [ EVG ] More evictions served to Old Bowery. [ BB ] Old Fulton Stree t buildings at risk. [ BSr ] Check out Anthology's screenings of William Lustig's "dynamite but largely forgotten crime flicks, gangster films, and vigilante tales ." Rocking at C-Squat . [ SG ] Thor sends opera clowns to Coney . [ KC ]