Vanishing New York Backup

Cemusa steps it up. A tipster sent in the following photo and writes: This " shiny new stand with five plasma TVs ...replaced a shiny new stand without the monitors that was put there a couple of months ago. Talk about out with the old , in with the new. As I was walking away, someone asked me 'So what do you think?' Turns out it was a rep from CEMUSA. He said they installed eight of these in the Times Square area in the past couple of days." So...what do you think? Do we need shiny boxes wrapped in multiple TVs? See the Yarn Car . [ BB ] Are Coney's vintage signs being saved by Sitt or just trashed? [ ATZ ] Bloomberg talks bedbugs on Letterman. [ NYT ] Sign up for Open House NY today.

Regularly, our friend Tricia Vita over at the Coney Island blog Amusing the Zillion will send me a link about something terrible that's happening out there. Either the Henderson Building is being prepped for demolition, or the Faber's Fascination sign is being destroyed, or the Surf Hotel is being ground into dust. And every time Tricia sends me these emails, I write back something like, "Oh, God, I can't look," or "It's unbearable," or "This is too much." All of which, I realize, is a form of denial. Professional caregivers often talk about "empathy burnout," or just plain burnout . When you are someone who cares and you burn out, basically, you reach a point of "emotional exhaustion and reduced sense of personal accomplishment." You feel like everything you do is futile in the face of an unalterable horror --like death or serious illness--so you stop feeling. Powerless to change anything, you disengage. This is ho

Peyote Man! This guy really wants you to enjoy Peyote . He has set up a living room (complete with sleepy sofa pal) on 14th St. and calls out "Peyote! Hey, Peyote!" while he hands out literature about the " Peyote Way Church ." Far out! "What sort of retail now occupies the former home of urban planning pioneer Jane Jacobs? So glad you asked! It's a Glassybaby, a store that sells nothing but $45 cups." [ UNY ] [ Racked ] The bike-lane debate continues to rage. [ EVG ] Tonight, see the East River String Band live. [ SG ] I just like this quote: "People gave Oprah a hard time for her sometimes schmaltzy and mostly commercial Book Club picks. But she sounds like a modern day Gertrude Stein in the context of Bookmarc ." [ GOG ] Enjoying pearls and turtles in a Garment District window. [ Restless ] An e-nnoyance rant from Bob Morris. [ NYO ] Candy at the Strand sells faster than register-side books. [ Racked ] Hope and dread for the future of

I have seen the future of the bookstore, and it has been designed by Marc Jacobs. photo from Racked Since I first broke the news last year of the takeover of the Biography Bookshop space by Jacobs, I have been waiting to see what would become of it. Recently, I ventured inside. The shell of Biography remains intact, familiar, but startlingly changed. Most of the old shelves have been left in place, but they now give room to both books and designer accessories--$88 leather bags, branded totes, keychains, and blank notebooks with covers that mock and riff on classic titles from literature. " Moby's Dick (LOL) " is one title. " As I Lay Tanning " is another. photo from Racked Most of the books are big, coffee-table extravaganzas of photography, art, and fashion. It's a carefully curated selection, with many collections dear to New York City--books of photos by Allen Ginsberg snuggle up next to Andy Warhol doorstops. There's a section on music

Not to be outdone by Sukkah City , a 16-year-old from Crown Heights has created the Pedi Sukkah --seen here in Chelsea: I wrote here about Coney's World in Wax awhile ago--now Tricia Vita shares a rare cinematic glimpse inside with an unfinished film by Charles Ludlam. [ ATZ ] The East Village is one of the country's most expensive neighborhoods. [ Curbed ] Meet a top New York NIMBY . [ Eater ] Chris Flash on limiting concerts in Tompkins Square Park : "we will not allow the use of our Park to be restricted by a self-appointed sound-nazi." [ EVG ] In praise of wheelie stoplights . [ FNY ] Vanishing City filmmakers in the news. [ NYDN ] Reviewing James Franco's Ginsberg in Howl . [ P&W ] Shooting fashion on Crusty Row . [ EVC ] The Second Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue , at 6th and 11th, always seems a bit lonely. But someone has left stones for the dead--letting them know they are not completely forgotten:

In the early 1990s, Andre "Angel" Melendez was a fixture at the Limelight nightclub. He was known for wearing his trademark white angel wings . In 1996, he was infamously murdered by club kid Michael Alig . Angel Melendez It was a particularly gruesome murder--he was hit in the head with a hammer, injected with Drano, and put on ice until his body began to decompose, then Alig chopped him to pieces and tossed him into the Hudson River. Today, the Limelight is now the Limelight Marketplace , a high-end shopping mall. Said Guest of a Guest at the grand opening this spring, " The ghost of Limelight past rolled in its grave ...as the 6th Avenue church-cum-debauched megaclub reopened as a mini-mall." Real New York Housewives, Limelight mall Angel Melendez might have been rolling, too, had he seen what was at the Limelight this weekend. The shopping mall has placed two greeters at the door--pretty people dressed in all-white with feathery angel wings . Was this a gri

Bedbugs strike Macy's and Bloomingdale's. [ Racked ] NYU's "LEV" gets slammed by angry commenters. [ Curbed ] Streetside graffitists speculate on the fate of Sammy. [ EVG ] As Coney's Henderson Building prepares for demo, a cat lurks nearby . Is this Hijinx , boss of the Coney cat gang? [ ATZ ] A few years in the life, and death, of a Coney Island sign . [ PS ] Touring Brownsville with David Freeland. [ GLF ] On Staten Island, "the city, in its infinite wisdom, is paving paradise . And putting up a latrine." [ NYP ]

VANISHED The Rum House in the Edison Hotel closed last night --not on September 30, as previously believed --after losing their lease earlier this summer . The place had been on 47th Street off Times Square for 37 years and the original owner's grandson was still working the bar. Recently named one of the Best Bars in America by Esquire , the most enticing description of it comes from New York magazine: " a veneer of sleaze sets it a world apart from your classic martini-doling hotel bar...it's one of the few remaining destinations near Times Square where a middle-aged lush from Dubuque can go to drown his sorrows in cheap liquor and plastic bowls of pretzels ." I'd never been to the Rum House before, so I hustled up there to see it before it vanished. Indeed, it did appear to be full of the sort of person you might call "a middle-aged lush from Dubuque." Quiet at first, the place soon filled with rowdy tourists who like to drink. Not fancy tourists, e

We got a note from the Anonymous who scribbled "No McNally" on the walls of Village Paper : "I'm just a local person who is sick to death of how this neighborhood has been f'd up. When I have a dog to walk, I also throw bags of poop into the doorways of Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren stores . Haven't had the opportunity lately." photo from Eater More good stuff for fans of Max's Kansas City . [ Stupefaction ] Is Pearl Paint about to vanish? [ CR ] Grieve's readers offer some creative names for the new, rebranded Aces & 8s . [ EVG ] Now you can buy an entire block of Canal Street , knock it down, and put up something glassy and depressing. [ BB ] Remember when everybody hated the Twin Towers ? [ FP ] Talking with a Moscot --Franco wears their glasses in Howl . [ TLD ]

For over 20 years, Muhamed Hussein's Great Sphinx halal food cart has been parked on 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets. It was there before the Chelsea Market opened across the street, before Starbucks came to the corner, before the Meatpacking District was "MePa." But now he's being told to get out . Mr. Hussein appeared on NY1 recently to tell his story. It was his second appearance on the news channel-- his first time was in 2008 when the Chelsea Improvement Company (CIC) told him to move so they could plant trees and bike racks on the sidewalk. He told me, " It's a group of millionaires against just me ," explaining how he is being pressured again to move by the CIC and the owner of the Taconic building in front of which his cart stands. "Another cart is on this same block," he said, pointing to the coffee and donut cart some yards away. "But they don't try to move him. Why me? I got in the Vendy awards, too. People like t

The dialogue on the Scribbler wall is what we had before we had online comment threads, just plain old ink. Now the wall is going "post-digital," with the addition of something called the Street Tweet: A conference was held this week to look at how “ the city is facing new threats to its longtime dominance in the creative fields " as artists are pushed out. What did they discover? [ CNY ] Take a field trip to "one of New York City’s best-kept secrets," Jerry Ohlinger’s Movie Materials Store . [ TC ] Television ads are being installed on subway cars. Another assault for the senses. [ RS ] "It's not every night you see Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker hanging out in the back room of a dimly lit bar on lower Avenue C." [ Grub ] Aces & 8s tries rebranding strategy to quell E. Villagers' ire. [ EVG ] The Bowery's Billy Leroy cleared of charges for selling subway signage. [ WSJ ] Fashionista shoppers. Waiting in line. In their

Unison Fetish has returned to Bleecker Street on weekends this month to perform their satirical cupcake song and dance routine. They march through the crowds of shoppers and tourists, a line of women--and one man--all attired in pink satin dresses and heels, holding cupcakes in their fists. Consumers stop and take photos. They smile. They seem oblivious to the fact that they are being mocked. True, the mockery is soft, subtle, and could be taken for genuine enthusiasm. The lyrics are sung to God Bless America: "God bless Magnolia Cupcakes we love Stand in line here For a time here Buy a treat Carrie Bradshaw would love. Bless Ralph Lauren And Marc Jacobs All the global luxury brands! God bless Magnolia Temptations so sweet... God bless Magnolia And the New Bleecker Street!" Subtlety is lost on New Bleecker's crowd , which may not always contain the most evolved thinkers. A little boy asks his mother, "Why is there a man in a dress?" The mother answers, "

Former owner of the Beatrice Inn wants you to know that his new venture is authentic punk and "definitely not letting a bunch of banker douchebags in the fucking door." During Fashion Week: "André Balazs and Selma Blair slow-danced by a wall of drawings and photographs of male genitalia." [ NYO ] Susan Seidelman speaks on the 25th anniversary of Desperately Seeking Susan , back when "Second Avenue was pretty funky" and still had Love Saves the Day . Screening tomorrow. [ NYT ] Adorable bedbug swag! [ NYT ] A moment of NYC bike zealot triumph . [ Restless ] After 22 years on 3rd Avenue in the East Village, Ben & Jerry's is closing , "Due to Economic Times." I have mild, mixed feelings. I am not 100% anti-chainstore, and this one was so depressing and weird, so vintage 1980s, it had a certain odd appeal. I guess we'll soon be welcoming yet another bubble-tea lounge to this strip. Now you can get your very own " I Survived the Gr

Messages from the Scribbler of East 10th Street were covered up when his wall of choice was whitewashed a few weeks ago. Undeterred, enjoying a fresh expanse of empty page, he struck again, printing out his political messages in old-school analog style. He tells us that "America is being run by dead white men," including Marx and Stalin, and some white men still alive but "maybe" dead, including Bloomberg and "Meathead"--is that a reference to Michael Stivic ? He attacks his usual targets: psychotherapy, the Jews, Communism, anti-smokers, politicians...then gets splashed by someone quoting George Orwell's Big Brother in red paint: WAR IS PEACE . The Scribbler is having none of that. " Orwell was a Red ," he responds. "And so is Bloomberg." He goes over the sections of his script that have been covered in red paint, darkening the letters in Magic Marker, crossing out responses from other scribblers, responding to their retorts. The

Obit: " Jill Johnston, a longtime cultural critic for The Village Voice whose daring, experimental prose style mirrored the avant-garde art she covered and whose book “Lesbian Nation: The Feminist Solution”spearheaded the lesbian separatist movement of the early 1970s." [ NYT ] You've got two chances to see The Vanishing City this week --at the Harlem Film Festival 9/23 and then at Willifest 9/25 . More info about the film here . Japan bans Paris Hilton . (Sort of.) What if New York banned Paris wannabes? [ yahoo ] Bedbugs make the cover of The New Yorker --in art by Barry Blitt: Filming now at Soy Cafe: a new "reality" TV show about dating from this lady . Overheard quote: "Okay, so I am going to do my very best to find you the perfect New York City romance , a guy who can sky-dive with you one day and make you breakfast in bed the next!" For the first time, " a corporation has received permission to link its brand" to the I Heart NY sym

The city changes, and has often changed in mainly stable ways. Sometimes, a single address tells the story. When we look at the northeast corner of 10th Street and Greenwich Avenue, we can see over a century of simple shifts, ending with an explosion, not just of fire. NYPL, 1933, the Cushman Bakery A Cushman Bakery stood here once. It was the original bakery in a local chain started in 1854 by Mr. Horatio Benzil Cushman. He died in 1918, but this shop stayed awhile longer. So was said, "there is not a customer who can move to any part of New York proper and not see a Cushman bakery wagon pass his door." About those wagons, a commenter at Serious Eats recalls "putting a card in the window on days when we could actually afford to buy dessert from Cushman's Bakery--which went door-to-door." NYPL, 1941, Antiques Shop By 1941, the bakery was gone and an antiques shop had taken its place. In the background, on 6th Avenue, we can see a brick wall had been painted wit

Historic, literary Algonquin Hotel to become a Marriott . And the suburbanization of NY continues. [ GOG ] Check out Grade A Fancy , a blogospheric digital magazine, and their graphic review of the last vestiges of the Theater District "before it went all corporate." [ GAF ] Read WestView online --and enjoy their regular feature " West Village Originals ." The Varvatos effect? Joey Ramone becomes a high-end cocktail at Peels. [ EVG ] City map shows where the white people are. [ Gothamist ] Welcome to Sukkah City --because everything has to be art and design. [ BB ] Seeing inaccessible New York by rowboat. [ NYT ] "Room service on demand from a celebrity chef. A maid to make the bed with fresh linens every day and leave a chocolate on your pillow at night. An 11,000-square-foot spa an elevator ride away. All yours with the purchase of a luxury condo ." [ NYT ] Shopping unsafe! The bedbugs have taken over Niketown--and Racked asks, " is there any are

A vanished piece of the old Deuce has come back to 42nd Street. In 2001, The New York Times wrote: "Perhaps Peep-O-Rama, at 121 West 42nd Street near Avenue of the Americas, never meant to make history." But it did, simply because it had become the last sex shop to survive on 42nd Street . Sadly, it only held that title for a year. After standing since 1950, it was closed July 31, 2002. Said the Times , "The formal closing yesterday of the last peep palace on 42nd Street, Peep-O-Rama, was a coda in the rebirth of Times Square as a kinder, gentler place. The sex shops and naughty tape stores have been wiped clean from the famed street ." In Peep-O-Rama's place now stands the Bank of America tower. from Heatherpixie's flickr In the 2001 Times article, the writer wondered, " could a case ever be made for preserving Peep-O-Rama or its facade for Times Square posterity ? Discussion is scarce. The Landmarks Preservation Commission and the New