Vanishing New York Backup

Earlier this month I shared the news that the famed White Horse Tavern would be changing hands , to be run by upscale restaurateur Eytan Sugarman, its building sold to notorious landlord Steve Croman. Last week, Sugarman went before the Community Board 2 State Liquor Authority Committee and promised not to change the spirit of the historic bar . “I have every intention of keeping this amazing institution the way it is,” he said. “I have no intention of making any dramatic changes.” But he also said he would raise prices and make " a little bit of a better burger ." Locals are worried this means a very different White Horse that might look the same and have the same name, but won't be welcoming or accessible to the current clientele. Now the Stop Croman Coalition is hosting a rally for the bar, this Thursday, March 21, at 3:00. After the rally, author Malachy McCourt will hold a traditional Irish wake for the White Horse. Is this the death of the White Horse a...

For its opening weekend, Hudson Yards, aka Dubai on the Hudson, is crammed with people. They walk the glistening floors of the luxury shopping mall and climb The Vessel, aka The Giant Shawarma (h/t Eater ). They stand in line for free ice cream and ransack a refrigerator full of foul-tasting beverages that may or may not be free. They pose for Instagrammable photos with the mega-development's corporate logo and pay $28 to visit Snark Park, an "art theme park" where the creators have seized an opportunity to " literally control and curate everything ," which pretty much sums up everything about Hudson Yards. In my 2017 book Vanishing New York: How a Great City Lost Its Soul , I predicted that Hudson Yards would be: "A dreamworld of exclusion...one of those places Mike Davis describes in Evil Paradises : 'where the rich can walk like gods in the nightmare gardens of their deepest and most secret desires.' It will be what Norwegian urbanist Jonny A...

VANISHED This one hurts. In December I reported that Moishe's Bake Shop in the East Village was possibly closing. I went in and asked. The response: "Where'd you hear that?" asked the cashier. On the Internet. More laughter. "People put all kinds of stuff on the Internet," said the cashier. So everything's fine? "Yeah, yeah." As I noted then, "But you know how these things happen. If I were you, I'd go enjoy the great Moishe's while you can." I went in and got a last bag of hamentaschen. Today, E.V. Grieve reports that the bakery has closed without any further warning. He writes: "Storefront photographers James and Karla Murray first posted the news last night on Instagram : 'Sadly, we just heard from the owner, Moishe Perl, that today was its last day as the entire building has been sold.'" Perl, they say, decided to retire. And there's one less reason to live in the East Village.

The White Horse Tavern is one of the oldest, most storied and beloved drinking spots left in New York City. It opened in 1880, hosted the likes of Jack Kerouac, Jane Jacobs, Bob Dylan, and of course Dylan Thomas, who drank his last whiskey there before collapsing and dying at St. Vincent's Hospital. Literary pilgrims still visit the place, which retains much of its 150-year history. The White Horse seems permanent, impossible to erase, like so many New York institutions of this magnitude, but it is not bulletproof. The building is landmarked, but the bar is not. And now we hear things are about to change. A dependable tipster writes in to say that he spoke to upstairs tenants and White Horse workers who informed him that the building has been sold for an estimated $14 million -- to the notorious landlord Steve Croman , who recently spent time in Rikers and has frequently been accused of harassing rent-regulated tenants. Also, on March 14, Community Board 2 will be heari...