Vanishing New York Backup

In 2015, the Chelsea restaurant La Lunchonette was forced to close , thanks to the High Line Effect . It had been in business there, and beloved, for 26 years. The building was slated to be demolished, along with a former horse stable built in the 1880s, for a tax-supported, 10-story luxury condo made of wood, from SHoP, architects of the Barclays Center. Then the restaurant's former space showed up for rent . Earlier this year, the developer scrapped plans for the luxury tower , blaming a downturn in the luxury condo market. “The project just wasn’t feasible,” he told The Real Deal. And now? A deli called Chelsea Square Market has opened in La Lunchonette's former space. So the buildings get to live another day and the space isn't sitting empty, contributing to high-rent blight. It didn't turn into a chain store, either. But if I had to guess, I'd say the market's lease is likely short, that it's a temporary place-holder until the developers f...

Here's what the gorgeous old La Taza de Oro is becoming: La Taza de Oro closed in 2015 after 68 years on Chelsea's 8th Avenue. The reasons were complex , including money struggles, Con Ed, and Google. Now it's going to be an Ikinari Steak . It's a rapidly growing chain restaurant. There's another one on E. 10th Street. And another one opening on Bleecker. And another one...

Back in 2009, I had a nightmare that WalMart would be replacing the Korean deli on 14th Street and 8th Avenue. 2009 I don't know about WalMart, but it looks like the whole corner is coming down--the deli building and the building next to it. (Thanks to Shade for the tip.) Everything's closed and shuttered up, marked with big X's. Back when I worked nearby, I went to this deli all the time for lunch. Someone on Yelp recently wrote: "After 25 years in business this place closes the door today, 9/2/17. I'm feeling nostalgic because I've been going here off and on since I moved to the neighborhood in 1995." I always liked this corner. I liked seeing that it was still standing and in business. It was a holdout, low-rise and scruffy, the brown bricks flaked with old paint. It held a candy store/smoke shop and a liquor store. Basic stuff. The bright yellow DISCOUNT LIQUORS neon sign is something to behold. Enjoy it while it lasts. So ...

VANISHING Christian writes in to let us know about the end of Hong Kong Tailor Jack in Greenwich Village. photo via Hong Kong Tailor Jack's Facebook page He writes: "There's a note on the front door of Hong Kong Tailor Jack saying that they aren't going to renew their lease and will be closing next month. This place is kind of an institution in the West Village. Jack unexpectedly passed away from cancer last year. His niece and nephew were trying to keep it open in conjunction with the longtime staff. It looks like they've decided to move on." The note reads, "Our lease is expiring and we will close for good." photo by Christian Jack Ko was named Best Tailor in the city by New York magazine in 2007. He opened shop in the 1980s and was well-respected by his many fashionable customers, including Tommy Fazio, men’s fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman, who told New York , “Jack Ko is a master with a suit. He can make anything you want pe...

This summer we saw the tragic end of the Cup & Saucer , thanks to a non-negotiable rent hike. It didn't take long for the beautiful old signage to get stripped. And replaced by a bunch of shitty For Rent banners.

VANISHING On Bleecker Street since 1968, Native Leather is closing. photos courtesy of Carol Walsh Owner Carol Walsh writes in: "Native Leather, formerly Natural Leather, has been a constant on Bleecker Street for 49 years. I was heartbroken when the landlord told me that he would not be offering me a new lease. The last lease expired 2 years ago and since then he has been trying to find a tenant who will pay double what my rent was." The shop was originally started by sandal-maker Dick Whalen in a basement on MacDougal Street in 1962. (For more history on the shop, see Mitch Broder's account .) Since then, it's been a favorite of locals and tourists. Carol notes, " A day doesn’t go by that I don’t hear from someone 'I’m so glad you’re still here,' or 'I was so worried walking over here that you would be gone.' It wasn’t because they needed me to make them a belt or sandals, or they needed a new hat. It was the comfort of knowing tha...

VANISHED Reader Keith Taillon writes in about the recent loss of yet another affordable coffee shop: "A beloved neighborhood diner in Washington Heights abruptly closed recently, and I don't know why. I visited one week, and walking past a week later, found the space emptied with auction fliers taped to the windows. It remains empty." photos by Keith Taillon "The diner was called Reme, and it sat at the northwest corner of 169th and Broadway. It was a classic NYC diner, open for at least 40-50 years, attracting old timers, hospital workers, students, and newcomers (like myself) drawn to the area by low rents and a sense of 'home' you can't find elsewhere in the city anymore. Part of what made Washington Heights home for me was being able to go to Reme, where I knew all of the employees by face if not by name, and where I knew I could get a good hot meal for just a few bucks." Keith shares a few anecdotes: "- It was cash-only, and...

In their last issue, New York magazine published an eye-opening interview with Dan Doctoroff , former Mayor Bloomberg's deputy mayor of economic development and reconstruction. The occasion for the interview was Doctoroff's new book, Greater Than Ever: New York's Big Comeback , about his years working to rezone nearly half the city after 9/11, a Robert Moses-level act that made the city glitter as it helped to boost vast inequality and unprecedented levels of hyper-gentrification. Doctoroff at Hudson Yards. Photo: Kyle Dorosz In the interview, Doctoroff acknowledges this. A bit. "The city grew faster than we expected," he says. But he holds to the belief that " You have to treat citizens and businesses like customers . " It's a basic tenet of what urbanist Julian Brash has called The Bloomberg Way , "a notion of governance in which the city is run like a corporation. The mayor is the CEO, the businesses are clients, citizens are consumer...

VANISHING After 36 years on St. Mark's Place, the much beloved Cafe Orlin will be closing. I confirmed with the cafe that their last day in business will be October 15 , but didn't have the chance to find out the reason for the closure. UPDATE: Grub Street followed up and said, "An employee who confirmed the closing said, 'I don’t know. I think the owner is tired, after 36 years.' He did say that Orlin’s owner owns the building, and a new restaurant will open in its place." "Bohemian hangout," New York magazine, 1987 This is one of those favorite neighborhood spots you tuck into with a friend and say: Thank goodness this one's still here. (Seriously, I just said that a few weeks ago over the breakfast sandwich.) The closure is surprising if only because Orlin is always packed for weekend brunch, with lines of people waiting to get a table. Since 1981, it's been a go-to when you wanted a "nicer" bacon and eggs than ...

The Astor Place Cube has been christened. photo: Joe Preston After getting spruced up and sanitized almost a year ago by the Village Alliance BID for the new, more controlled, and semi-privatized Astor Place , The Alamo has finally attracted some good old-fashioned chaos. In yellow spray paint. With a Pac-Man and a heart. Unless, of course, that's some stealthy authentrification . Happy end of summer. And Grieve reports -- the private forces of the Village Alliance have already been on it: