Vanishing New York Backup

After weeks of speculation, it's official: Florent will close on June 29 . Confirmed by The New York Post , the closure comes on Gay Pride Day, though Florent's lease ends on March 31, at which time rent on the spot will jump from $6,000 to $50,000 per month. all pics: my flickr Many credit, or blame, Florent Morellet for launching the current super-luxurification of the Meatpacking District. It's a distinction he gives to himself, saying in The Times that his diner brought "the first bit of gentrification to the area.'' And Gawker, in their satirical history of Meatpacking , calls it "the root of the poisonous tree from whence springs all evil." But it wasn't until Keith McNally's faux-Parisian Pastis moved in, almost 15 years after Florent, that the current slaughter of Meatpacking ensued. During those 15 years, blood and other bodily fluids continued to flow freely on the cobblestoned streets. Meatpacking in the 1990s still had J...

I was walking down Christopher Street recently when a for rent sign on the Badlands Adult Video emporium stopped me. When I asked the guy inside when they were closing, he only said, "When someone takes it, we will close." Any takers? At $40,000 a month , it's been up for grabs for a while now. Last summer, Eater talked with the broker , who urged prospects to " Do your part in the continuing gentrification of the West-Side Hwy and open a damn restaurant/ nightclub here already.” Before someone grants his wish, take a walk to the very end of Christopher. It still feels like New York City out there. You'll pass Meier & Oelhaf Marine Repair , with its windows made from ship's portals (also for rent), and The Dugout , where you can enjoy beer in plastic cups and the company of friendly bears. Badlands is in the Weehawken Street Historic District (click that link for lots of details). The building was built in 1937 and housed Harry's Men's Sho...

Extell giddily gears up for World War III as they market brand-new, 21st-century "prewar" condos. [ Times ] Defunct Chelsea cabaret Helen's, nee Judy's , loses its cool purple entranceway to become a bar/restaurant called Ate Ave. Now hiring: A burlesque roller-rink in the old Childs at Coney Island? It really is a dream come true! (It's also just a temporary stop on the way to something no doubt nightmarish.) [ Curbed ] The rezoning of Harlem has pro-gentrifiers celebrating and defensive. [ Curbed ] But one brave man calls Amanda Burden (Bloomberg's city planner) "a rich, rich, rich horrible person." [ Gothamist ] More Manhattan Apocalypse excitement --Columbia's aggressive redevelopment will end up underwater someday. Something to look forward to. [ Gotham Gazette ] The East Village/LES is one of the loudest , most obnoxious neighborhoods in the city, and we lament the peace and quiet of pre-gentrification drug deals. [ Gothamist ] "[...

VANISHED: 2004 A recent viewing, thanks to a tipster, of Guns N Roses' video for "The Garden, " complete with footage aplenty of Times Square before Giuliani, brought to mind the old Show World, the adult emporium that once occupied the site of the current Laugh Factory next to the Duane Reade on 42nd and 8th. In a 1995 article for the Times , Dan Barry wrote, "For two decades, Show World has been the brightest of the gaudy lights in the pornographic firmament of Times Square, so much so that one city official calls it the 'flagship of the sex industry in New York.' But Show World is in trouble. Its light now flickers and may be extinguished....the City Council passed a zoning ordinance designed to smash the clusters of peep shows and pornographic theaters that have cropped up throughout the five boroughs." It was the beginning of the end for adulthood in Times Square. By 2001, the last of 42nd Street's peeps, Peep-O-Rama, would succumb to developmen...

"The Museum of the City of New York will be mounting what is basically an infomercial for a private condo building ." This kind of thing I'd expect from the New Museum on Bowery. Come on, MCNY! [ Curbed ] Barnes & Noble revokes its liberal exchange policy . As of 3/3, you need a receipt and all returns must be made within 14 days. No exceptions. So much for one benefit of big chains. This is what you call a bait-and-switch folks! An Upper East Sider grieves the chipping away of her neighborhood. [ Times ] Creative people are being pushed further and further to the outer edges of Brooklyn--and many right off the NYC map. [ Observer ] East Village bodegas are dropping like flies. [ Racked ] God save the Minetta Tavern from whatever is stalking it! [ Eater ] Before you jump off the Brooklyn Bridge (and before they convert the bridge into luxury condos), there may be good news: " The great Manhattan bank branch boom is over . Financial players that paid top dolla...

Curbed reports today on The Sun 's story about the next giant glass box coming to Cooper Square. The Sun says the Ukrainian community "surrendered to it amicably." Surrender does not mean support and I can speculate as to why they surrendered, other than having no choice in the matter. Let's not forget that a few years ago, Cooper Union was making moves to erase Taras Shevchenko Place from the map. The Ukrainians went wild. [ NY Times ] [ Brama ] Then Cooper Union tried to reduce the transparency of their "communal hive," thereby blocking views of St. George's church. The Ukrainian community was not happy about this. [ Villager ] [ Brama ] There was even talk about demapping Astor Place. [ Villager ] This was around the time Cooper Union was leasing the Astor Place parking lot to the "green monster." [ Voice ] Then, "in a bizarre twist," Cooper backed off the demapping plan and, apparently, returned to their original design for tr...

Saw this coming when the Toll Brothers put their tower up on Third Avenue. After 77 years in the city, tiny neighbor Grace & Hope Mission is now defunct. They opened in New York City in 1930, first in Times Square, and then the building at 114-116 Third Avenue was built in 1964. under Toll scaffolding October 2007 According to their website , "If you were to walk into 114 Third Avenue any evening (except Monday) you would find the chapel nearly filled to capacity and the singing enthusiastic. Those in attendance are mostly homeless, some living in shelters or hotels in the immediate area. Many are drawn to GHM by the necessity of food, which is freely, and compassionately, served, from these premises." The women of the mission provided daily lunches and blankets. They visited the sick and dying. Now their building looks like the perfect spot for a Pinkberry. So much for grace and hope. today: scaffolding and mission gone