Vanishing New York Backup

Recently, I wrote about the gutting of the venerable Colony Music in Times Square, after their new landlord hiked the rent to astronomic proportions hoping to attract a big-box chain store to replace the 60-year-old independent business. Well, now they have a tenant. One of those ubiquitous, opportunistic Halloween shops has moved in, filling the place with Jason masks and slutty nurse costumes. It's an indignity that many of our vanished have been forced to suffer in the fall. Of course, it's just temporary. Undoubtedly, something far worse will come along. Thanks to Marion who sent in the photo. She writes, "The landlords will make a quick buck on the depressing 'Spirit' Halloween pop-up from now until October 31. Will the space finally be taken over by a TD Bank? A Rite-Aid (Duane Reade is on the same block up Broadway)? Fucking New York 2013."

After being on its last legs for awhile, El Sombrero, aka The Hat , is leaving Ludlow Street. [ BB ] Remembering the Ludlow Street Cafe . [ FP ] Take a look at Ludlow Street 10 years ago and today. [ J&KM ] The Back Fence shuttered before it's officially shuttered. [ DNA ] Some guy is selling Brooklyn rocks as artisanal souvenirs. [ DM ] On the vanishing of the Blarney Stone . [ GAF ] 10/10 at Bluestockings: Join Cathryn of the Washington Square Park blog for the official release of Tales of Washington Square Park and a discussion about the city's privatization of public spaces. [ BSB ] 23-year-old Stuyvesant Stationery Shop to close. [ EVG ] Don't miss the latest installation of " Dirty Old New York "--a painstaking compilation of 1970s NYC movie scenes. [ OOS ]

I received the following note from reader Jim Duffy, along with photos from his friend Amy L. Anderson: In Lower Manhattan, at the corner of Broad Street and South Street, is a wall about six feet high that faces out to New York Harbor. It's part of the office complex of 125 Broad Street. The wall is being repaired, and as the white facing material is being removed, we can now see a silvery, fiberglass-like building material that is covered with graffiti -- actually "scratchitti" -- from 1976. On July 4, 1976, bicentennial day, as thousands of people crowded to watch the tall ships in the harbor, some of them, most likely teenagers, were carving hearts, names, zodiac signs, phone numbers, and messages. "Grace + David," "Sophia 'N Harvey," "Happy Birthday America," "July 4, 1976," "I Love My Mother," "Diane '76," "Gerald Ford, Op Sail and Queen Liz Were Here." It had all be

Don't worry. It's not vanishing yet. The Mayfair Barber Shop sits around the corner at one of the city's best little overlooked corners--best because it's a slice of the old city, miraculously preserved. Walking up 8th Avenue, as you approach 39th Street, after you pass the Peep Show Video joint, you see the lovely LIQUOR STORE neon sign, and then a hand-painted sign for the Mayfair that says "around corner," with an arrow pointing the way. See all my Mayfair photos here You turn and pass a SHOE REPAIR shop--zippers replaced, orthopedic work, while-u-wait. Pushboys, too old to be called boys, heave past with racks loaded with bolts of fabric, the last remains of the once bustling Garment District. Here and there, you find the old, true city hidden in the weave of the new. When you step into the Mayfair, the air is cool and smells of Pinaud. Two barbers vie for your business, directing you to their chairs. You follow the one who reaches out, almo

Talking to male prostitutes and drug addicts in Union Square Park, 1982. On hustling tricks, getting bashed, kicking dope, and the risks and benefits of Methadone. Created by Robert Burden and Dictelio Cepeda, this video, according to Communications Update , "was made as a program segment for the Spring 1982 series of Communications Update, and subsequently shown at the Kitchen (February 1983), at the Jon Leon Gallery (June 1983), at Mr Dead and Mrs Free's Café (July 1983), and at The Museum of Modern Art (November 1983)."

In June of this year, the Department of City Planning, under Amanda Burden, released a quiet little report entitled " Study for the potential expansion of the Special West Chelsea District ." If you've never heard of the Special West Chelsea District, that's because it didn't exist until 2005, when Burden and Bloomberg created it , rezoning the neighborhood around the upper High Line with the purpose of encouraging real estate development and supporting the growth of the luxury park (which also encourages development). The city surely wanted to claim this chunk of Chelsea for the rich because it connects the fashionable Meatpacking District with the glittering neighborhood of the future--Hudson Yards. It was a vital piece of their ever-expanding map. Immediately after rezoning, this long untouched part of town was evicted, demolished, scraped, and slammed with massive new condo towers. Construction, manufacturing, and warehousing businesses have alm

The Village Voice has left the Village. [ GVSHP ] Volunteer for St. Mark's Books advisory committee --and help them fix their business so the East Village can have a bookstore for a long time. [ SMB ] Bloomberg "revitalizing" the Lower East Side --with a bunch of big, glass nightmares. [ NBC ] The hideous redesign of Astor Place has begun--the sterile corporate office park is on its way. [ Curbed ] RIP LES Jewels . [ EVG ] What's it like to be born in New York--and then priced out ? [ Salon ] Check out the Coignet Building documentary tonight at the Greenpoint film fest . [ GFF ] Watch this movie about seltzer man Walter Backerman. [ MS ] The Lyric Diner has returned to Gramercy: Photos: The daily life of the NYPD--in the 1970s . [ VE ] Welcome to Fear City --a survival guide to 1970s New York. [ Gothamist ] Willets Point on hunger strike against the city's eminent domain. [ youtube ] Bloomberg's Last Dump : The Great Upper Eas

Photographer Efrain Gonzalez shares with us some of his 1979 photos of The Duplex, back "when it was a tiny little bar on Grove Street." The original Duplex was at 55 Grove from about 1951 until 1989, when it moved to its current location on Christopher. Joan Rivers and Woody Allen got their starts there--and it was loaded with aspiring singers. (the limp wrist, another of the vanished) Gonzalez recalls how "each night it would fill with young kids who had dreams of singing on Broadway. So much young talent in a tiny, seedy bar. It was so beautiful to be there and enjoy all that talent for the price of a beer. And who could forget Ruby Rims?" (Ruby is still out there--watch this documentary on the local personality--and with a Facebook page , no less.) As for 55 Grove Street, after The Duplex left it became Rose's Turn, another beloved piano bar. Then, after 56 years of providing a space for singers and comedians to launch their careers, or to s

Tribeca does not often compel me to visit, but I went not long ago to see what's there. Standing on a once-familiar corner, I noticed something I hadn't noticed before. At 279 Church St., a lonely BURLESQUE sign is still bolted to the bricks. A remnant of another age, when this part of town hosted adult clubs and bars like the Baby Doll Lounge , the sign might have belonged to the Harmony Theatre, a place I remember as a cramped, womb-like room where men sat around in plush, red chairs while women writhed in their laps. Author and former stripper Lily Burana called it "rough trade central" when she recounted her experience at the Harmony in a 1995 article for New York magazine: " Martha Stewart would have a coronary if she ever saw this place . The walls are covered in chipped red paint and promo stills of porn stars circa 1985. Garbage and stray butts collect around the legs of the chairs... The Harmony is commonly regarded as the bottom of the barrel

Last summer I shared the news that Colony Music was forced out of business after 60 years in Times Square. The new owner of the Brill Building, Stonehenge Properties, had quintupled the rent --to $5 million , according to the Post . I went by Colony recently and found it papered in the landlord's advertising, "Retail space for lease," and "Prominent billboard signage opportunity." In their rendering , the landlord has the historic Brill Building choked by garish jumbo-trons. Colony's door was open, still with its treble clef doorknobs. I looked inside. Nothing but the guts . Click to enlarge Someday soon, this will be the home of an obnoxious shopping-mall flagship store, a poundingly loud Abercrombie & Hollister Eagle-Postale. Or a corporate theme "experience": Pop Tart World! Mountain Dew Planet! Red Bull Adventure! Or maybe it'll be a steroid-pumped suburban chain restaurant. Denny's has yet to penetrate Manhattan

Back in May, we heard the upsetting news that Pino's Prime Meats might be evicted from Sullivan Street after several decades in business. You rallied around, gave support, and signed the petition (over 1,600 signatures). And now there is good news. photo: Tim Schreier Pino's son Leo let me know that they have settled the case with the landlord. He said, " Pino's is here to stay. My father is so happy we can stay for the remainder of our five-year lease (hopefully longer) ." They are still working on extending their lease, which will end in 2017. Leo writes, "The store has really become a part of us and the neighborhood. Thank you for all your help! We appreciate the support of our community, friends, and neighbors. We are at a complete loss of words for how grateful we are to everyone who helped keep Pino's a part of the community." Sometimes, we really can help to keep the city from vanishing. 

If you get to Arturo's early enough, before the evening rush, you get to sit at the bar with a group of old Italian men from the neighborhood. I heard this from one of those guys during the last heat wave: "It's too hot to eat. You know what I had yesterday? A couple pieces of Iceberg lettuce, one thick slice of cheese, and four or five crackers. That's it! All day! Jesus, it's too hot to eat." Also see: Overheard at Arturo's #1

If you're a developer waiting to erect a luxury condo tower along the High Line, what do you do in the meantime with the unsightly gas station you plan to demolish? First, you plant some hedges around it . But that just isn't good enough. What's better is a rolling, green, suburban-style lawn with a white fence around it. B.H. Grossman sent in these shots of the Lukoil station on 10th Avenue and High Line, slated to become " an art-themed, mixed-use condo and retail development " by Michael Shvo. The texting preppie on the Citibike just brings it all together, like some fever dream of a futuristic Mayberry, U.S.A. Update: Our friend Tricia writes, she was walking by and: " A retired cop dressed like a museum guard explained it was going to have sculptures of sheep on the 17th, for a month." Sheep!

You might remember the work of miniaturist Randy Hage from my original interview with him, followed by my posts on his versions of Ideal Hosiery , Mars Bar , and a bodega . Now, Randy has done it again--with three new pieces in which he shrinks New York City to 1/12th of its actual size. One sculpture features the still extant Yonah Shimmel Knish Bakery (yes, the real sign is spelled without the "C"). Click here to see the real thing next to the model. The second piece is of Zig Zag Records , vanished from Avenue U in Brooklyn. The third new piece is of Ray's Grocery on Flatbush in Brooklyn, shown in the flyer below. See close-ups and more of Randy's amazing work on his Flickr page . Randy has a new solo show of his artwork going up this fall in Los Angeles . A charity event, 100% of the sales will be donated to the Rachel Ann Hage Neuro-Oncology Research Fund, benefiting Children's Hospital Los Angeles, in honor of Randy's daughter who passed a

Reader Sam writes to us from Williamsburg, where the T Quick auto body shop has closed at Union Avenue and North 10th (leaving behind a nice telephone exchange sign, I might add: EVergreen-7). Moving into the little brick building, according to Sam's source, will be a new venture from the trendy restaurant Five Leaves. Five Leaves was originally planned by Heath Ledger, and was funded by his estate after the actor's death. Hugely popular, they then opened a bar called Nights & Weekends, what the owners call "the Times Square of Williamsburg," and are expanding into the new Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. The restaurant also became the center of what Eater called the " Brunch Wars ," fined--and later exonerated--for putting tables out on Sundays before noon and having their mobs of hipsters interfere with local churchgoers. Sam heard the new project going into the former auto body shop will be "another restaurant, Five Leaves style, but with a bigg

The High Line now has a capsule collection by J. Crew. All proceeds from sales go to the High Line. Think they'll do a Flushing Meadow collection next? Doubtful, though that park actually needs the money . From City & State : "The organization that built and runs the park, Friends of the High Line, is dominated by a wealthy and politically connected coterie of real estate developers and property owners, which has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars, directly and as intermediaries, into Christine Quinn’s mayoral election campaign. Friends of the High Line, formed in 1999 as a tiny nonprofit by two civic-minded fans of urban decrepitude, has quickly become the richest park conservancy in the city, after the Central Park Conservancy. Friends of the High Line raises double the revenue of the Prospect Park Alliance, for instance, and takes in more than 20 times as much as the Friends of Hudson River Park. ...The City Council, first under Gifford Miller and

VANISHED The dark one, not the light one. The old one, not the "new" one. Gone. Gone the blood-red shag ceiling. Gone the big booth with its view of the avenue's drama. Gone the bullfight "art." Gone the Disco Fries. Gone my last supper. Odessa has been here since 1965 . I've been eating there for the past 20 years. There used to be lines to get in the door, if you can imagine that. And now it's gone, soon to be an " American brasserie ." Because what the East Village needs is more "America."

A reader sent in these lovely shots of "the Vanished Bronx in 1967-68." She writes, "The photographer's name is Steve Rowles. He was just a student, walking around with his camera." Today Mr. Rowles is a violin and guitar maker, who makes beautiful one-of-a-kind instruments. The photographer describes this first shot: "You've just gotten off the train at the Burnside Avenue stop on the Lex Jerome #4 IRT, and you're looking right, to the east, before going down the steps from the El to the street." "This grocery was on Fordham Road, University Heights. 'SE' stood for Sedgwick."