Vanishing New York Backup

Some sad, but unsurprising, breaking news this weekend. After a recent meeting with concerned neighbors, from which they emerged optimistic, the owner of 35 Cooper Square has communicated via his lawyer to council member Rosie Mendez about his final decision on the fate of the beloved building: The key sentence in this excerpt is: "Unfortunately, it was concluded that it would not be feasible to develop the site with the building or any significant portion of it remaining." 35 Cooper Square is coming down. As Grieve noted yesterday, more scaffolding has arrived at the building. The owner will be making a financial contribution to the Landmarks Conservancy to help document the histories of Federal buildings such as #35, for which "creation of an historic record is all that can be done." Previously: The History of 35 Cooper Square 35 in Scaffolding 35's Personal Jane Jacobs

The former and still vacant Artepasta space on Greenwich Avenue has become the de facto action center for demanding a new hospital in the Village since St. Vincent's shuttered and was earmarked for condos. Every window is filled from the inside with flyers and posters announcing the Rally tomorrow at 2:00 and asking, " Are you ready to trade your life for a condo? " I don't know who is behind the ever-growing installation of flyers, but Artepasta was one of the 20 businesses that closed here since St. Vincent's shut down . Reported Crain's , "Many of the survivors are struggling, reporting revenue plunges of 30%, 40% and more." What will this part of town look like when its businesses are spawned and supported by luxe condos instead of a neighborhood hospital? We're going to see more major changes to the culture here. Come to the rally tomorrow at 2pm.

In the Strand's window, excellent advice from John Waters : Check out John Waters' curated collection at The Strand , a bunch of books that he says "will help you become a well-rounded, happy neurotic who can finally reject your own guilt and shame and embrace the outer limits of human behavior." Pop-up bookshop sells one book: “This makes books feel like an art installation,” said the author. “We should care about them.” [ CR ] Saying goodbye to Beat-era poet and filmmaker Ira Cohen , who just passed away. [ WIC ] The horrifying future of Coney Island. [ Curbed ] The swizzle stick madness continues. Chum's Mum adds a pic to the VNY flickr pool and Marty After Dark hunts one down at the Brandy Library. Is your home included in the East Village preservation map ? [ EVG ] Take a Forgotten NY Tour this season. [ FNY ] Obama in NYC: as he looked around the room, " crowded with sequined women in Christian Louboutin designer shoes ," Obama said, " E

Serendipitously, after posting We Love Your Dog! over at The Grumbler, I came upon Michael Sean Edwards' "No Dogs Allowed" flickr set-- photos of dogs left outside a cafe on Tompkins Square Park. As it should be. And a great series. photo: Michael Sean Edwards Watching the East Village turn into Midtown . [ EVG ] Today is the last day of business for Moe's in Clinton Hill , reports a reader who says the 10-year-old bar is not " Mars Bar , Sophie's, or anything of the like. But it is a special place to me, warm, welcoming, far and away the most racially mixed dive bar crowd I've ever seen. And a great establishment." Go today to say goodbye. Remembering the Wigwam Bar and the Mohawk Indian community of Brooklyn. [ CGP ] See the great downtown poets of the 1970s at Anthology tomorrow and Friday night, including Ted Berrigan, Tim Dlugos, Eileen Myles, Alice Notley, Peter Orlovsky, Ron Padgett, and lots more. [ AFA ] This looks good: A book about why

On the First Avenue L platform, Brooklyn-bound, a man is seated alone on the bench. He is as round as a little Buddha, with a cherubic face, white beard, and a Santa hat, even though it's nowhere near Christmas. He is singing a cappella , apparently making up the lyrics as he goes along. " Spread your thighs, welcome to the Lower East Side , spread your thighs, drink healthy and delicious Brothel Soup. Every woman makes Brothel Soup between her thighs. Every woman on the grill, on the grill to give men a thrill." Illustration by Victor Kerlow His sweet, innocent-sounding voice contrasts with his spectacularly vulgar and shocking imagery. The song goes on and on. People on the platform look nervous. Then the Santa pauses for a word from his sponsor, "Brought to you by delicious, vegan Brothel Soup." The people on the platform begin to smile. Another man sits down at the other end of the bench, a fellow with several missing teeth, dressed in a Chicago Bulls jack

From this week's New Yorker magazine-- bringing up artisanal babies , not so far-fetched: Easter Sunday, art, and cake at Mars Bar . [ NSC ] & [ MAD ] Has Gossip Girl just launched the ruination of Veselka ? [ EVG ] Painting of roll-down gates (weren't they banned by Bloomberg ?) begins Festival of Ideas on the Bowery. [ BB ] Newish Brooklyn Bridge Park condo gets its first retail-- a high-end doggy spa and a wine store . What else? [ NYO ] Behind the city's (and country's) blandification : "far too many of our most talented young people, seeing the astronomical rewards, have gone into finance rather than into fields that would lead to a more productive and healthy economy." [ VF ]

How a shot of the Highline Revs/Cost mural ended up on the wall of the McDonald's in the Louvre Museum of Paris. [ Streetsy ] photo: Jake Dobkin Easter Parade pics --starring jellybean top hats and the Queen of Queens. [ Gothamist ] The International Bar has a blog --who knew they went on fishing trips? [ IB ] How to poison the view of the ugly condo that just blocked your view--with creepy baby heads, middle-finger candles, and your naked, "bulging oiled belly." [ Restless ] New York City vocabulary lesson. [ BB ] "We get it, Post -- cyclists are ruining this city ." [ RS ] A big sign on the LES: Underage drinking will not be tolerated . The fratties quake in their Dockers. [ EVG ] You can never revisit the color photos of Saul Leiter too often. [ ENY ] A rock n' roll map of Manhattan. [ FP ] Today's cupcake : "doesn't fit into a person's mouth because it is eating-disorder food. It is food for people whose ideas of pleasure and vice

In recent years, a handful of under-appreciated Brooklyn writers have been rediscovered and republished. Jonathan Franzen championed Paula Fox's Desperate Characters , Jonathan Lethem revived L.J. Davis' A Meaningful Life , and now--on the hyperlocal scale--Peter Miller, owner of Freebird Books , has brought Red Hook writer Jim Mason's Positively No Dancing back to print. All photos by Peter Miller Jim had originally self-published his story collection and sold copies at the store on consignment. The copies went fast. When the supply ran out, Freebird took on the task of reprinting it. Says Peter, "Jim was too tied to the history of the store and the neighborhood to let it get away. He's the best representative of homegrown writing we have in the neighborhood--sorry, carpetbaggers like Martin Amis don't count ." Since writing the stories in Positively No Dancing , Jim has been priced out of Red Hook--pushed all the way to Ohio, where he's inadvertent

Amy Poehler will not take down those sexy red curtains on Ave. A--and promises "24/7 stripping." Woo! [ Gothamist ] The Mars Bar-to-condo conversion is complete. Sort of. [ EVG ] Insane, picky Midtowner posts a sign complaining about street cart bagels and iced coffee --looks like a good one for White Whine . [ OMFS ] ...and City Room follows up. In Little Italy : Check out Jerry Rio's "Celebrity Watch" of 1991 --and dig the derelict Upper West Side. [ COS ] 102-year-old lady returns to Lower East Side faux speakeasy to revisit actual speakeasy where she celebrated in 1933. [ NYP ] "International amusement giant Zamperla may be turning Coney Island into a generic shopping plaza you could find anywhere in Anytown, USA, but that's just fine by our old rich white male officials, who will no doubt feel more comfortable posing for photo ops at a shiny new sports bar..." [ Gothamist ] But the city needs to fact-check their rollercoaster info. [ ATZ ]

This week, Grieve wrote about the changing face of 7th St. , how it's gone, and keeps going, from a quiet block to the Food Capital of NYC. He worries that "this precious stretch of the neighborhood will simply become one big line of people waiting to eat ." I recalled one of my favorite bookshops, Tompkins Square Books and Records , which used to be at 111 E. 7th and closed sometime around the turn of the millennium. It was run by a man named Gani Remorca, who could find you any book you asked for within a week or two of asking. You could sit in a tattered easy chair and read, listening to the opera music that Gani played from an old turntable, while an orange cat rubbed your pant legs. Is there another Heaven? Visit 90s Woman blog for a video of See, Hear While Googling for the shop, I came upon the New York Times ' 1995 guide to shopping in the East Village , an interesting time capsule. The writer of the article is thrilled by the sudden appearances of a bunch o

We visited the final home of poet Frank O'Hara back in 2009, just before it was completely demolished. It was a building once full of artists, where the ground-floor business sold orthopedic devices for amputees. Before After It is now debuting for "first move-ins" and computer-printed signs on the ground-floor windows ask you to please check out their website . Rents for apartments in the new building start at $3,750. A two-bedroom has gone for $5,000 . (O'Hara paid $150 for a floor-through loft.) Its developer's blog hypes the "modern kitchens with Carrera marble countertops and state-of-the-art appliances, Italian porcelain bathrooms, floor to ceiling windows and hardwood floors" and suggests the ground-floor space be used "for a boutique or coffee shop." In case possible ground-floor renters get confused, here's a visual from the window: A skinny lady drinks a latte. A couple of go-getters in tight sweaters show their teeth while c

After putting in a bank , undulating super-condo One Jackson Square now brings a Starbucks to 14th and 8th--that's keeping the Village spirit alive, as they once claimed : The public park High Line is getting privater and pricier: "developers love the High Line." [ WSP ] Marty goes off in search of swizzle sticks . Where will they be found? [ MAD ] Jessica Hagedorn's new novel , Toxicology , opens with a scene near the Hell's Angels club in the EV. It's a story about real artists--looks good. [ JH ] More fun with breastmilk cheese . [ Gothamist ]

In December 2009, we first heard the terrible news about the closure of Skyline Books on 18th Street. It was a hard one to take. The space has been empty since it shuttered in January 2010, but it recently reopened with a new tenant. UniKwax, a body waxing chain from Florida , is now bringing hairlessness where once were books of art and poetry. Books--out! Celebrity eyebrows--in! Yes, UniKwax can give you the brows of celebs like "Eva Longoria Parker, Vanessa Williams, Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, Tyra Banks and Christie Turlington." Meanwhile, 10 blocks north, Skyline's new incarnation ekes out an existence in the front of a flower merchant's workshop. But for how long? How much longer will any of what matters still be permitted to endure in this town without pity ? Skyline, 2008

A Brooklyn politician wants to put through a bill to " punish real estate brokers who promoted property with an unofficial, made-up name." No more SoBro, SoHa, etc.! [ CR ] April 25 at Film Forum: See the Vanishing City & Twilight Becomes Night --two for the price of one! [ GVSHP ] Dirty Laundry Readings --hear stories read in a laundromat on Avenue B. [ NYDN ] NYPD cracking down on nightlife on the LES --at last. [ Eater ] The roof at 35 Cooper Square looks like shit. [ EVG ] Coney Island murals try covering up devastation with whimsy. [ ATZ ] Visiting the Village Papaya Dog . [ MAD ] Carroll Gardens : "A Mafia foundation with a Yuppie overlay." [ LC ]

A commenter here mentioned swizzle sticks, saying, "remember when bars put PLASTIC stirrers in drinks, not those tiny straws? They were very different, various colors, many had name of the bar. They're like jewels. Wish you'd write about them sometime." This isn't a whole post about swizzle sticks, but I did come upon one--at Sardi's "Little Bar" in Times Square. It's not the most exciting swizzle stick in the world. It's black, with a ball on top, and doesn't bear the name of the bar on its shaft. But it's a nice touch in a great place. Sitting in the Little Bar on an afternoon, before the theater crowd rushes in, actual theater people come to drink. (The "theater crowd" comes to see a show, while "theater people" create the shows.) Four other drinkers share the bar with me on this day: a gray-haired producer, a gray-haired actor, a gray-haired writer of musicals, and a singer who looks old enough to dye

Gatsby house demolished. [ Curbed ] Is this Mars Bar's death rattle before demolition ? [ EVG ] Meet the real Winnie the Pooh at the NYPL. [ SNY ] In Williamsburg: " Bars beget more bars . When an area becomes a scene, the laws of supply and demand that would seemingly regulate the number of suppliers goes out the window. Diversification of neighborhood retail becomes threatened because successful bars can afford higher rents." [ CNY ] A lovely shot of the Queen of Queens . [ NYS ] What's left of old Sans Souci ? [ GLF ] Not-evil pink stuff. [ TGL ] Meet Manhattan , an interview with the cocktail. [ GAF ]

Something called IOBY wants to turn the 13th St. Mystery Lot into "your favorite park." Digging into DeFonte's Sandwich Shop. [ Eater ] The Village Voice building is burning--back in 1905. [ RS ] If the Electric Circus opened today--would you complain? [ EVG ] A stack of colorful pics of the city circa 1962. [ FP ] Beatnik riot commemoration canceled in Washington Sq. Park. [ WSP ] Last chance to see the Emperor of Rome and Jesus Christ in "an X-rated wrestling match for the hearts and hard-ons of ancient Rome." [ PP ]

In the vein of "everything East Village gritty gets recycled by the luxury industrial complex and slapped with a swollen price tag," I've been thinking for weeks now about the new "It" shoe, the Prada creeper. Prada Creeper It sells for $795 and there's a waiting list to get it . The Post calls it clownish and ugly , and says that a lot of "fashion-forward" New Yorkers are clamoring for it. If it looks familiar, it's because this type of shoe was all over the East Village throughout the 1990s, before the neighborhood became Prada-fabulous. For years, it seemed like every little cobbler shop's window was packed with such Frankenshoes, every sole slapped with platform upon platform, some reaching insane, ankle-breaking heights of towering improbability. Now, many of those cobbler shops have been forced out of business and replaced with things like vegan ice-cream shops and boutiques. But if you still have a hankering for jumbo plat

Check out Caligula Maximus, where "The debaucherous Emperor of Rome takes on a beautific Jesus Christ in an X-rated wrestling match for the hearts and hard-ons of ancient Rome." [ PP ] Filmmaker Bette Gordon on Times Square: "it is neon, but it’s this commercialized Toys R Us neon, which I think is sad. I miss the grit. I miss the reality. I miss the back alley feel of the old Times Square. It’s always been touristy during the day, but at night it had this secret glow, this secret glimmer, and you could feel like you were participating in a more secret world." [ LM ] See the films of Bette Gordon at Anthology . April 26: Buy Two Boots pizza and help save East Village poetry institution A Gathering of the Tribes from landlord greed . All pizza proceeds to Tribes. Then party with open mic at 6pm. [ FB ] A sort of ironic nostalgia ? More gloss for the Bowery gold rush. [ EVG ] See "On the Bowery" tonight. [ BB ] A new blog captures Staten Island in ph

After being closed for the past several years, the former home of Premier Veal, also known as the Gansevoort Pumping Station, is being demolished to make room for the new Whitney Museum in the Meatpacking District. What's been lost is not just another meat warehouse. my flickr: November 2010 my flickr: today The building was originally intended to be a market house built circa 1906-1908. It was soon converted into a high-pressure fire service pumping station by the city. This Gansevoort station was used to fight the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory . from Industrial Progress, 1909 interior, The Edison Monthly, 1913 According to the 1914 World Almanac and Book of Facts , the pumping station was outfitted with "six electrically driven centrifugal pumps that are connected to the Croton Supply" and could "deliver 3,000 gallons a minute against a head of 300 pounds at the station." At the time, firefighters believed that these high-pressure stations would &qu

Nick DeWolf worked in semiconductors, doing things I will never comprehend. He also designed fountains. But I found him through his 1975 photographs of New York City , lovingly and painstakingly collected on Flickr by his archivist Steve Lundeen. Thanks to Steve and Nick's wife Maggie for granting me permission to reprint a few of the photos here. I was most taken by the shots in Times Square. Here's one of an "On Stage Live Continuous" Magic Theatre : photo: Nick DeWolf, 1975, flickr There are several photos of a depressive bunch of anti-pornography demonstrators and their colorful signs: photo: Nick DeWolf, 1975, flickr And more of a free-wheeling film crew that seems to be floating in the air of 1970s Times Square: photo: Nick DeWolf, 1975, flickr There are many, many photos here to look through. Most are not of New York City, but plenty are. Take some time to browse and, when you do, be sure not to miss: the shots inside the subway , the lights of Times Square a

There are buildings and apartments that I fantasize about whenever I walk past. One of them is the Triangle Building , that hulking wedge of brick between Hudson and 9th Avenue in the Meatpacking District. I've often wondered who lives there and how. So when I wandered in off the street one day and was welcomed by long-time resident Ivy Brown, it was something of a dream come true. Ivy Brown in her gallery, with work by Tim Groen Ivy runs the Ivy Brown Gallery , located at the entrance to her long, triangular apartment where she has lived since 1985. She moved into the neighborhood when it was still dark and the air reeked of animal blood. Today, hers is one of only a dozen residential spaces remaining in what is now a transient commercial district. "I saw an ad in the Village Voice ," she told me. "It said 'triangular loft, 1800 square feet, 18 windows, with a wood-burning fireplace.'" The apartment sounded amazing, but she hesitated to move in.