Vanishing New York Backup

Since 1912, Dykes Lumber has been on West 44th Street, occupying a pair of brick buildings painted forest green. They won't be there much longer. Alex Albanese Reader Alex Albanese let us know the business is moving. Signs on the exterior say they're relocating to East 124th Street. The barber on the block believes they sold the building and "a new hotel is coming." Alex Albanese

On Saturday in Little Italy, #SaveNYC held a rally against the eviction of Adele Sarno and Il Palazzo restaurant. photo: Sandi Bachom. Adele Sarno and #SaveNYC. The Italian-American Museum is trying to evict Sarno , an 85-year-old Italian-American woman who has lived in the building for over 50 years. She's trying to stay. Il Palazzo Ristorante has already been forced to close. As the restaurant told WPIX 11 News , "My heart is ripped out, I have aches in my stomach." And "How will I pay $30,000 a month selling $5 dollar pasta?" photo by Albins Peke Von Mayate. Rallying cry. New Yorkers have rallied to the cause. Lately, the sidewalk outside the museum has been the scene of a number of protests , including one organized by Two Bridges Neighborhood Council. More protests are coming. photo: Ann McDermott. Annabella Sciorra joins the fight. At the #SaveNYC event, about two dozen supporters carried signs and met with Ms. Sarno. Italian-American...

In January I announced that adult erotic emporium the Blue Store would be moving into the former Rawhide space on 8th Avenue in Chelsea. It seemed, at first, like good news, a bit of old 8th Avenue smut and queerness expanding. Then it wasn't. DNAInfo followed up on my story and was told, “It’s going to be like a high-end store with high-end lingerie . We’re trying to bring to the block a new concept.” Here it is: photo: Richie Cohen It looks like every other Marc Jacobs Ralph Lauren Brooks Brothers, etc., etc., shop on Bleecker St., which it will probably become soon enough. Reader Richie Cohen tells us, "I've walked by multiple times at different times of day. Never ever a single customer." The Rawhide occupied this space for 35 years. It survived the neighbors throwing bricks and eggs . It survived AIDS. But, like too many of our city's storied small businesses, it could not survive hyper-gentrification . The landlord reportedly hiked the rent from...

You could explore Grand Central Terminal for years and not discover all of its many exit/entrances and passageways, the odd places to which they lead you. Recently, I exited from the train via a nondescript set of turnstiles that led me into a shopping arcade I can't remember ever encountering before. Located under the Chanin Building, it's one of those little corridors lined with useful, independent businesses, the sort you used to see in the city all the time. One utterly entranced me. The cobbler's shop's exterior is perfectly preserved, covered in advertising from more than half a century ago. SHOE SERVICE, it reads, and HATS CLEANED. O'Sullivan's is not the name of the shop, but a brand of rubber heel . As is Neolite. In one window, a pair of colorful neon cowboy boots (with spurs) advertise REPAIR and SHINE. An odd choice for a city shop, and therefore a rare sight. Inside, heavy antique machines do the work. They do shines while you...

VANISHED Last month I broke the upsetting news that Caffe Dante would be closing after a century in business . Management vehemently denied the information , saying, "Whoever started this rumor is a lunatic." But this morning I received a confirmation from my original tipster: "Caffe dante closed. It has new owners. Australians... I guess that's that." photo via Gothamist Gothamist got down there and came back with photographic evidence of the closure. Reader Daniel Bellino Zwicke writes with emotion about the final hours on his blog, Greenwich Village Italian : "It’s 11:55 PM Sunday March 22, 2015 … I just left Caffe Dante for the last time under the ownership of Mr. Mario Flotta .. I had to hold back a few tears saying goodbye to Mario and his two sons." He adds: " Mario sold the place to Victoria Coffee of Australia . He told me, it’s still going to be a caffe, and it’s still going to be called Caffe Dante." *UPDATE: Acc...

Yesterday was Ess-A-Bagel's last day of business in their space on First Avenue. They've been there since 1976. Their landlord is putting a Bank of America in the space. The walls were covered with goodbye wishes. A member of the #SaveNYC group was there after the doors closed and shot this footage of long-time customer Jack (also since 1976) enjoying the last bagel, a mini everything with egg salad: See more videos at savenyc.nyc Customers hope that Ess-A-Bagel will successfully relocate somewhere in the neighborhood, but nothing has yet been set. my last bagel, not the last bagel

Veterans Chair Caning opened for business in New York City in 1899. Since the High Line opened and the Hudson Yards monstrosity began to rise across the street, I've worried about the modest little shop, located on the first floor of a tenement building on 10th Avenue and West 35th. When I saw their building had sold and would soon be sandwiched between two glassy hotel towers, thanks to the Hudson Yards Effect , I figured it was time to check in. Veterans is hidden behind construction scaffolding. They look closed, but they're open--and very busy. I talked to Sean Bausert, the shop's fourth-generation owner/manager. When I told him I write a blog called Vanishing New York, he said, "That was almost us. We just came this close to vanishing." He explained how the new owners wanted to knock down the building, along with its twin next door, but the tenements are full of rent-regulated tenants--and they're not budging. "They're fighters,"...

Craig Newman, the third-generation owner of Penn Books inside Penn Station, wrote in to the #SaveNYC Facebook group yesterday with a plea. "I am trying to survive," he wrote, "but it gets harder every day. My rent is now a staggering $45,000 a month, not including property taxes, and another $20,000 a year in commercial rent tax . If anybody can do anything or cares about saving my bookstore, please HELP." He added, "I thought Mayor de Blasio was supposed to help small business." Business is going well for Penn Books. They are not being pushed out . But, like too many small businesses in the city, they are struggling under an enormous rent strain. photo via Capital New York Craig's grandfather, Arthur Newman, started the bookshop in the original Penn Station in 1962 . Remarkably, the shop survived the wrecking ball and reopened in the new Penn Station. Craig started working there in 1978, taking the A-train to work through the gritty city a...

VANISHING Verve has been on Bleecker for about 20 years, long before the street's luxury chain explosion. They are closing in April. They closed their main shop on the street in 2010, and kept this shoe store going. As the line of luxury has marched ever eastward , businesses on Verve's block have shuttered, including the beloved diner Manatus . Now Verve's last shop is on its way out. In just a few years' time, 45 mom-and-pop businesses were wiped out on Bleecker between 10th Street and the western end. ( Here's the timeline .) The wave of lost businesses keeps moving east along the street, as landlords kick out responsible, thriving businesses, and quadruple the rent, all to bring in the next Marc Jacobs, Calvin Klein, or another luxury shopping mall chain. There's more to lose. It's not going to stop until we stop it. #SaveNYC .

Both CNBC and WPIX 11 covered #SaveNYC today. Nationally, Kate Rogers did the story at CNBC's Squawk Box , interviewing the folks at Avignone Pharmacy and Jim's Shoe Repair. And Dan Mannarino's got it at the WPIX 11 Morning News . He visited Bleecker Street and talked with Avignone pharmacy: Support small businesses in New York by going to #SaveNYC and adding a video or photo. Tweet, Instagram, spread the word.

Director and producer Lisa Hurwitz is making a documentary about the Horn & Hardart Automat, those beloved lunch spots that once bejeweled the urban landscape in the early, more innocent days of chains, when there were far fewer of them and they didn't overwhelm the city. She's got a Kickstarter going to fund the project--but time is running out. Watch the trailer and visit the site --make a donation if you'd like to see the film finished and on the big screen. Prizes are to be had, including David Freeland's terrific book Automats, Taxi Dances, and Vaudeville . You can also read more about the project at The Village Voice .

In 2013, Doro's Annex closed after 33 years of arranging flowers in Chelsea. Recently, the awning came down, revealing some antique signage. Reader Mike Glicksman sends in these gorgeous shots: "PAINTS, OILS, GLASS, VARNISH &c &c" reads the very old ghost sign. The style looks like cousin to the ghost sign of the Utah House , discovered beneath Kyung's market, dating back at least to the 1870s. Experts and historians, please weigh in.

VANISHING The Family Jewels , a vintage clothing store on 23rd by 7th Avenue, is closing at the end of April. Owner Lillyan Peditto has been in business for 34 years in Chelsea. The Family Jewels has moved around a bit, but dates back to 1980. Lillyan says the closing is due to "a $20,000 a month rent issue." She hopes to find a new location, possibly in the East Village. "People are so happy we exist," she told Manhattan Sideways in a short video , "because where do you find a little treasure trove like this?" Now the shop will probably become a T-Mobile. In the meantime, The Family Jewels is having a big sale and auction.You might even be able to get their leopard-print sofa. #SaveNYC

From my op-ed in today's Daily News : Small businesses in New York City have no rights. You’ve been here 50 years and provide an important service? Tough luck — your space now belongs to Dunkin’ Donuts. You own a beloved, fourth-generation, century-old business? Get out — your landlord’s putting in a combination Chuck E. Cheese and Juicy Couture. And despite de Blasio’s rhetorical fears about gentrification, his progressive pro-development push may well only hasten the trend. That’s why I started the #SaveNYC campaign. We’re collecting video testimonials from New Yorkers and out-of-towners, celebrities and small business owners, asking City Hall to preserve the cultural fabric of the greatest city on earth... Read the whole article here.

Last week, I put up a new website: #SaveNYC . It came out of the SaveNYC Facebook group , which came out of the fight to save Cafe Edison. It felt like we had some momentum there and I wanted to keep it going, to bring together many voices in support of legislation and zoning to protect the city's beleaguered small businesses and vanishing cultural fabric. Maybe, with enough voices shouting together, City Hall will listen. #SaveNYC has already gotten media attention--from DNAInfo and The Atlantic 's Citylab , with inquiries from major television news. But we need more of you on the site, telling City Hall what you want to see happen. There are two ways to get your voice heard on #SaveNYC: Make a video statement or write your statement .  A video statement will have more of an impact--and it's easy to do. It requires a simple camera--a point-and-shoot or the one in your smartphone will do the trick. Then upload it to Youtube and send in the link. No need for fanc...

It's been years since I've had a meal at Moran's on 10th Avenue in Chelsea . Every time I've gone by recently, I've thought, "I have to go back before it's gone." And then, "Oh, but Moran's will never go." I mean, it's been there since 1957. How can it just vanish? By now, you'd think I'd know better. ArtNews made this announcement on Monday: "Moran’s, a Chelsea restaurant on Tenth Avenue where auction house specialists, Upper East Side gallery directors, and Lower East Side art dealers have all joined together at some point to eat french fries at the bar and snort cocaine in the not-at-all-inconspicuous-enough bathroom, has closed. The restaurant confirmed this on the phone Monday afternoon, saying its building was sold. The restaurant shut down last Thursday. 'The soul of Chelsea has officially died,' as one art world patron put it to me in an e-mail, I think earnestly." But that's not the wh...

Last week, the Observer published an Op-Ed entitled "The Tyranny of Nostalgia." In the article, Anthony L. Fisher essentially named me as Nostalgia Tyrant #1. (If only!) There's so much to argue against in the piece, but I've said it all before, in depth, a million times . So I'm taking the Bartleby route on this one. That said, one line has stuck with me: "Not too many people eat hot dogs anymore." This is the real reason, says Fisher, that Gray's Papaya was booted from 8th Street and replaced with a Liquiteria . We've been hearing this argument lately. It goes: Tastes have changed, "people" aren't going to "those places" anymore, and that's why they vanish. But there is one reason why Gray's Papaya closed--the landlord nearly doubled the rent. Rent hike or denial of lease renewal is almost always the reason our favorite old places close . New Yorkers eat hot dogs. Unfortunately, low-priced everyday frank...