Vanishing New York Backup

Cartoonist Joe Dator sends in this shot of a business card from the long-lost Kiev. Joe writes, "I was using it as a bookmark in something I probably purchased off a blanket on Second Ave." Take a look back at the old Kiev . We still miss it.

There's a window on 7th Avenue and 28th Street that has always attracted me, but only at night when it glows a yellow fluorescent glow behind a small gathering of dressmaker's dummies. The ceiling is pressed tin. A wall is hung with spindles of colored thread. Sometimes, you see the shape of a seamstress going by. It looks like a window into the past. I've always been so captivated by the window that I never looked at what lies beneath it. When I finally did, it was like a discovery. The Greek Corner Coffee Shop Diner , in business here since 1980, is another window into the past. (The building owner must be a decent human being to allow so much to remain.) It has a long counter and matching tables covered in aquamarine Formica, a color perhaps meant to conjure memories of the Aegean sea. A poster of the Acropolis hangs above. At the other end, by the front window where it can be seen and admired, a hunk of gyro meat sits on its spit. The Acropolis poster ...

One last thing about the Nighthawks diner search, especially now that the Mulry Square triangle is covered in plywood, readied for its transformation into a subway ventilation plant for the MTA. I followed up awhile back on a suggestion by author Jack Womack to take a look at the photo book New York Then & Now by Watson and Gillon. In it, they include the following photo looking south at Mulry Square, the triangle in question, in 1976 . The stone building in the left foreground is the old St. Vincent's Hospital. The blank wall is where the Barney's painted billboard was recently. A close-up shows the White Tower (not White Castle) burger stand on the left side of the triangle, and the old Esso has become an Exxon. It further cements the evidence that the remaining structure in the empty lot today is a remnant of the gas station's garage and not of a diner. The "mystery diner" is on the right with its extended, glassed-in dining room beneath an...

In 2010 we embarked on a search for Edward Hopper's Nighthawks diner and decided that it never existed--at least not in the form it takes in the painting. Remembering that one of Hopper's interviewers said it was "based partly on an all-night coffee stand ," and Hopper said he "made the restaurant bigger," we might look (if we were still looking) for something small, something possibly even a bit ramshackle--a coffee stand , not a diner. With the posts here and the Op-Ed in the Times , I've received many suggestions, questions, and memories from readers. (Almost three years later, I still get these emails.) Some crossed my own tracks, others blazed new trails, and others still took us way off, into other cities. Everyone wants the Hopper diner to be in their own town , close to home. It speaks to the power of the painter to create something intimate and desirable. Some suggested it's a pizza place in Hopper's hometown of Nyack. Reader...

Last week, on a tip from Thomas Rinaldi at New York Neon , I shared the rumor that the great Kentile Floors sign was coming down . The rumor stirred up panic and was soon, thankfully, debunked. Today the New York Times follows up with a full profile of the sign, its history, and possible future. Writes Joseph Berger,  " It is savored by connoisseurs of a forgotten New York and a generation of young Brooklynites with a consciously defiant preference for urban grit — water towers, latticework bridges, faded wall advertisements — over more manicured scenery. These aficionados were startled recently by an Internet rumor that the sign would be torn down." I spoke to the reporter about how the sign is an important artifact of Brooklyn's lost industrial heritage and I talked about the beauty of the sign, but the only quote from me that made it in was something about hipsters and their lack of authenticity. I said it but, out of context, it makes me sound sour about the s...

In 2008, we took a look at the mysterious Ratner's of Second Avenue . Few images can be found of this Ratner's--it turns up as a sidebar in photos of the Fillmore East or, in its first incarnation, side-glanced in street shots from ancient archives. We found a menu from 1970 and parts of the old Ratner's mosaic wall that still exist today at Met Foods. Still, the Second Ave. Ratner's remains something of a ghost. Now we have this gorgeous interior photo of a Ratner's from reader Rebecca Krupp (click to see larger detail): Rebecca writes: "My grandmother Ruby Krupp is seated in the center. The picture would have been taken sometime between 1931-1938. Maybe someone else could identify some of the other people in the picture." But is this the Second Avenue Ratner's or the more famous and photographed one that vanished more recently from Delancey? If it is Second Avenue, then it might be the original Second Avenue Ratner's, which sat on th...

If you have not yet been to Off Broadway Boutique , on the Upper West Side, you must go. It doesn't matter if you're not a woman of " advanced style ," just go. The shop has been run for over 40 years by the great and glamorous Lynn Dell ( watch her here !). Dell dresses "for the theater of my life" and she wants you to dress for the theater of your life. The store is not in danger of closing , but Ms. Dell is advancing in age and you never know. Walking in to the shop, you'll be greeted warmly by a saleswoman who will urge you to  " Never be a follower, there are too many followers already ," and "Be yourself. Wear whatever you want. If your neighbors and the people on the street don't like it, do it anyway." Try on the outrageous hats and the outsized jewelry. Bedeck yourself in leopard print. The shop smells like an Upper West Side grandmother, the kind who wore loads of perfume and had her hair "done" and...

Sal Dell'Orto, patriarch of the great, lost Manganaro's Grosseria of Hell's Kitchen , has passed away. He was 84. My warmest condolences go out to his family, especially to his daughters who made dining at Manganaro's such an unforgettable treat (no matter what some people have to say about that--and I don't want to hear it--I still miss the place terribly). From his obituary , it's clear that Mr. Dell'Orto and Manganaro's Grosseria will always have a place in local New York City history: "Sal was born in Manhattan and earned a scholarship to Fordham University. He graduated Cum Laude and went right to work at his family’s business; Manganaro Grosseria Italiana; purveyors of premium Italian specialty foods. His family started the famous eatery on New York’s Ninth Avenue in 1893 and Sal proudly carried the torch until 2010 . Manganaro’s was truly a New York City landmark during his tenure, and Sal was the charismatic owner that all of his cust...

At a non-descript diner on the Upper West Side, enjoying the quiet until a young couple walks in and sits in the booth behind me. They are loud-talkers. He: I like to come to a diner every once in awhile to have a Seinfeld experience. She: Do they have latkes? He: Sure, they have hashbrowns. She: I want latkes. I've had a very stressful day! He: Latkes, hashbrowns, what's the difference? She: Come on. I've had a very stressful day. He: Look, they have something called the Colossal Meatball. She: Colossal balls sound good to me! Ha ha! I've had such a stressful day. Seriously, don't they have any fruit on this menu? How about some organic greens? All they have here is crap. He: I need a drink. She orders a fruit, "no melon," and he gets a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. They continue to wish out loud that they were dining someplace else. I wish the same.

VANISHING? (No.) Over at New York Neon, Thomas Rinaldi got this alarming note about the Kentile sign from an anonymous commenter: "The sign is coming down during the week of February 18th 2013. Hurry and take your last pictures." Could this be true? The sign is a Brooklyn landmark--it's even " a place that matters ." It has its own Facebook page . It's on t-shirts. Can anyone confirm or denounce this rumor that Kentile is about to vanish? *Update: Thanks Andy Newman and Gothamist for tracking this one down and letting us know the Kentile sign is here to stay.

Target the Coney Island cat and his owner's arcade are forced out to Las Vegas. [ ATZ ] Emerald Inn likely to close after 70 years on the Upper West Side. [ WSR ] Go see Su Friedrich's "Gut Renovation," on the hyper-gentrification of Williamsburg , in March at Film Forum. [ FF ] Arthur Avenue gets a "glossy...chic" beer hall that "aims to change." What will this mean for the old neighborhood? [ NYT ] The Brooklynizing of Sweden. [ Grub ] Sign the petition to save NYC's public libraries from Bloomberg. [ OMFS ] Check out Karen Lillis ' new short story--"Set in Greenpoint and the East Village, and on the L train in between." [ TC ] Meet Mike Bakaty, East Village tattoo artist. [ EVG ] What is a New York Dive ? [ youtube ]

Recently, we've been hearing about a flood of losses on Ludlow. Places that came up in the 1990s--early gentrifiers certainly, but before the hyper-gentrification of the Bloomberg era--are dropping like flies. The Pink Pony closed , then we got the news about Motor City , the Living Room is leaving, and we know Max Fish is on borrowed time. Many people are asking, "What's left?" And answering, "The Hat." Now we hear from the grapevine that the Mexican restaurant is "on its last legs" after serving the Lower East Side since 1984 . 1988: Michael Horsley, flickr I reached out to Regina Bartkoff, an actor , artist, writer , and a waitress at The Hat since 1988. She gave me the scoop: "They are not closing yet! They are trying to stay open! The rent has been steadily going up and they have a lease for a few more years, but in 2012 we took a nose dive. We have been losing our regular customers steadily, due to them not being able to pay t...

Awhile ago, photographer and illustrator Mitch O'Connell posted to his blog a plethora of photos he took of 42nd Street in the 1980s. He writes, "Wish I had taken 1000 photos (and gone back at night), but at least I got a handful of snapshots of the long gone cool decaying seediness of that bustling stretch of real estate!" Mitch O'Connell Thanks to Jim Linderman at Vintage Sleaze and to Mick Dementiuk for sending in the links to this amazing work. You can see all of Mitch's 42nd Street photos by clicking: here and here and here and here and here and here . Mitch O'Connell Wait a minute, is that Jon-Erik Hexum in that fake ID photo? No, it's that other guy. What's his name? Mitch O'Connell

A few years ago, at the once-desolate edge of far-west Chelsea, we went inside the former gay leather bar Eagle's Nest when it was being used as a temporary art gallery. This past summer I went back to 21st and 11th see what, if anything, had moved in since the High Line opened here. Eagle, circa 1980s Shuttered since 2000, the Eagle had become 21st Twenty-First , the home of "limited edition furniture." Much of the facade's graffiti art was left in place, but the windows with their sleek wooden trim, and the door punched through a once-barred window told a different story. Inside, the ornate pressed-tin walls and ceiling were as they were--from the Eagle and the Eagle Open Kitchen before it, a longshoreman's bar from 1931 - 1970. White walls and platforms were added to showcase furniture that is more art than furniture. The chairs are the sort that no one sits on. The end tables are signed and numbered. According to the catalog, each piece of furnit...

VANISHED Romy Ashby posted the following photo to her Walkers in the City Facebook page this weekend, sharing the sad news that the Memory Keeper has closed. It may not seem like a major loss, a little photo lab on 14th Street between 6th and 7th, but I liked the place, and it had that old New York feeling.  In the front window, a man who might have been Russian repaired wristwatches. You could bring in your watch and he'd fix it in minutes, sitting at a desk cluttered with interesting little tools. I often got my battery changed by him and he always gave my watch a quick tune-up. He was meticulous about it and utterly silent, never chatty. I got passport photos taken there, too. Memory Keeper was one of those places I'd been waiting for to close. You knew it was coming. First of all, there was the name: "Memory Keeper." The city doesn't care much about that business. And then its two functions: developing film and fixing wristwatches, a couple of dis...

There's a 99-cent pizza place on 9th Avenue behind the Port Authority bus terminal. It's next to Stiles Farmers Market, next to the now-shuttered Big Apple Meat Market . Actually, it's less of a pizza "place" and more of a pizza stand. I wonder what will happen to it once Big Apple's building is demolished and the block goes luxury. It's an orderly but somewhat makeshift little pizza stand, covered with red-lettered signs that seem to shout. It scored an A from the Health Department. And it always draws customers. It opened during the 99-cent recession pizza boom a few years back, and its manager claims to be first on the scene. I especially like it at night, when it takes on a foggy, dirty-fishtank glow. It feels like something from the older New York. In 2010, the Times described its scene: "13 men and women stood on the sidewalk outside 99¢ Fresh, impatiently ordering and impatiently eating slices amid the ambiance of ungentrified He...

VANISHING DNA reports: "The Old Chelsea Station at 217 W. 18th St., which was built in 1937 and landed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, is on the chopping block, the USPS announced in a letter posted in the station." The building is for sale and will pass out of federal ownership--meaning it's going from public to private. Meaning, let's face it, luxury condos and upscale retail. I remember, as a kid living way out in the sticks, mailing some of my depressing little poems to a poetry journal with a P.O. box at Old Chelsea Station. I didn't realize that name was a post office, and I thought that "Old Chelsea Station" was a train station, like Grand Central Station, and I imagined that the poetry editor somehow lived in this train station in the middle of New York City, which seemed very weird and wonderful. Later, when I encountered the post office for the first time, I realized that this is where all those poems of mine had end...

This report from a reader: I tried a fancy "artisanal" cup of coffee the other day from one of those places with the lines going out the door. It's in the East Village, but I don't want to say where, because the guys who run it seem like cool people. The coffee was terrible. Bitter and muddy. No amount of milk and sugar could make it drinkable. I said to my wife, "How can people drink this? They line up for this? Do they really like it or do they just think they like it because it's popular?" We passed an old homeless man begging for change so he could get a cup of coffee. We offered him the fancy coffee and warned him, "It's fancy but not very good." He took it, tasted it, and spat it out on the sidewalk. "Awful!" he says. Then he says, "People drink this kind of coffee because someone tells them to drink it. No one could like this shit. And Starbucks? Awful. I never drink Starbucks coffee. I like the Mud Truck at ...

You have until April to go see " Beat Memories: The Photographs of Allen Ginsberg " at NYU's Grey Art Gallery. A vast array of Ginsberg's black-and-white, hand-inscribed photographs, many were taken in the East Village where the poet lived first on 7th Street and later on 12th. (In the above photo, he's on the 7th Street rooftop, the steeples of St. Brigid's in the background.) On one wall, a quartet of views from his 12th Street apartment show a ragged backside in winter, spring, and summer, scenes of ailanthus trees and chimney pots. Allen died there in 1997. Now someone new occupies that renovated kitchen, looks out that window , and does what with it? Among the many photos, there are also artifacts in vitrines--letters, books, and other ephemera. In one hand-written letter to Carl Solomon, Ginsberg tells of visiting Ezra Pound, to whom he gave a Beatles record as an 82nd birthday gift. I keep trying to imagine crotchety old Ezra Pound listen...

Ed Koch , who got the ball rolling on NYC's hyper-gentrification, has passed away. [ NYT ] "People have bought homes" on Bedford Street and they don't want Chumley's ruining it for them. [ DNA ] Gentrification as an end-game and the rise of "sub-urbanity." [ NG ] Check out this film about Marsha P. Johnson --"Stonewall instigator, Andy Warhol model, drag queen, sex worker, starving actress, Saint." [ youtube ] Tomorrow, take the No 7-11 Bodega Tour of the East Village. [ DNA ] The Pearl Diner may be making a comeback. [ EVG ] Grand Central grandeur in the Village. [ GVSHP ] "This small shop on a treeless, cheerless stretch of Fifth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, not far from the Greenwood Cemetery, is more than a pizzeria : it is a social parlor where co-owner Giovanni Lanzo holds court." [ PC ] Library closings in Brooklyn. [ OMFS ] Burlesque birthday for good old Ray. [ NEV ] What have we come to? Cupca...