Vanishing New York Backup

Already depressed? Then don't watch this gorgeous, heartbreaking short film obituary to vanishing Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. You will weep. [ YouTube ] Who will pay $550 a month to shit where they eat--and sleep ? [ NYO ] Thankfully, somebody is writing about the insanity of air-conditioned stores leaving their doors wide open. What does Bloomberg do when there's a heat wave? He saves energy by making city buildings turn up thermostats and shut down elevators. And he does nothing to change the wasteful behavior of the city's stores. [ Times ] & [ Gothamist ] That building that houses the threatened mom-and-pops of 9th Ave ? You know, the one where rent-regulated tenants are being harassed ? They're having an open house today. Step in and see the gleaming new luxury... The powerfully cheekboned dog lover on the steps of the Christodora last Friday night was identified as supermodel Noot Seear , according to a commenter here. I don't know from Noot, but apparen...

*6/19 Update on the passing of Taxi Ray Kottner : I heard from his niece Maria via email, who informs us that Ray "went into cardiac arrest while sitting in his cab late Saturday night" and passed the following morning. His ashes will be interred at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale , sharing a mausoleum with the remains of luminaries like Judy Garland and Joan Crawford. Writes his niece, "So maybe it's fitting that he is ending up in the same final resting place as all of these other icons of his era." Indeed. But why is VNY thus far the only one to cover the passing of this New York icon?* Original Post: We received sad news from a commenter, who writes: " Taxi Ray passed away this past Saturday, June 14, 2008 --right near his beloved cab. He will be greatly missed by those who knew that beneath the gruff exterior, a wonderful, funny person existed." I've not been able to confirm this--I found no obituary, a sad fact in itself--but if it's true...

DON'T FORGET: Tonight at 6:30 go to the CB3 meeting and let them know how you feel about another high-end restaurant getting a full liquor license in the EV on 1st Ave between 7th and 8th. See: Waxman Cometh. All the turmoil in Africa is so trendy --and it has nothing to do with "sparkly things" like diamonds . Anyone who went to see Leo in Blood Diamond would know better. Or not. [ EVG ] If you thought the EV/LES was just invented yesterday, Captured is the film to see. [ BkRail ] Bowery Wine lovers say: Let them eat cake. Sort of. [ Eater ] From wine wars to water wars, when it comes to sucking from a bottle, emotions run high. [ Times ] June 21: Harlem march and rally "Against Displacement & Gentrification," begins 10:00 a.m. at Marcus Garvey Park, 124th & 5th. LES "Bad Pussies" mural passes off a subtle message of yuppicide : The newest Noho monster announces itself on plywood walls. [ CR ] Those new condos in Brooklyn ain't sell...

You might say that Friday night's protest of super-gentrification in the East Village was also a celebration of Die Yuppie Scum's 20th birthday . In trying to trace the roots of this rallying cry of rage, I found its earliest recorded use goes back to the 1988 riots in Tompkins Square Park , when it was hurled at the new residents of the Christodora House (along with bricks), painted on the walls of their controversial building, and propelled into the mainstream lexicon. By 1989, the phrase had made it onto T-shirts and was being spray-painted everywhere. It is currently enjoying a resurgence . How appropriate then, that this weekend's angry group of East Villagers, chanting "Die Yuppie Scum" as they marched through the neighborhood's streets, should end up on the doorstep of Christodora, face to face with the enemy, where they found their fiercest opposition of the long march. But first let me rewind, back to the beginning of the night. It started...

Don't forget! Tonight at 8:00: "March Against Real Estate Developers, Landlords, Yuppie Wine Bars and Republicans" at Bowery Wine Co. There's gotta be something for everyone to hate in that title. [ Urbanite ] ...And a bored Mars Bar bartender invites you all to come have fun before and after the march--business has been "deathly slow" at the old dive since CBGB closed. That's bad, so go buy a lot of beer. [ NMNL ] The "rogue anagrammers" of the Flatbush Pavilion are back in action with a new series of marquee titles. A comment on American Apparel's takeover? Paul Berger has the original story and jackszwergold sent in this photo: Nusraty's son sets the record straight in a comment here : His father's store on Bleecker is not being replaced, by Marc Jacobs or anyone else! So go say "hi" to Abdul, he'd love to see you and you never know when he will be moving. As his son tells us in a follow-up comment here , ...

I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating: Go to St. Mark's Church tonight to discuss how the EV's mom and pops might be saved and to see the tearjerker doc Twilight Becomes Night . [ RD ] Gallagher's has closed on 12th St . The sign is missing and their message says, "We are no longer a walk-in store." Online only. This is a great loss--no more will anyone be able to walk through that underground warren of magazines. Must-click: Did NYU help? Vanity Fair asks, "Is This the End of Greenwich Village?" And Christopher Hitchens says it all when he says, "on the day when everywhere looks like everywhere else we shall all be very much impoverished , and not only that but—more impoverishingly still—we will be unable to express or even understand or depict what we have lost." [ VF ] [via EVG ] Time to feel warm and fuzzy for the super-wealthy who have begun to feel guilty about being major consumers. [ NYMag ] Too close for comfort...

Last night I went to the Neighborhood Forum on Preserving Local Businesses on the Upper West Side, hosted by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. This was my second encounter with Mr. Stringer, the first at the rally to save the small businesses of 9th Ave in Chelsea. I am fast becoming a fan and have been entertaining fantasies of seeing him as mayor. The forum was held in the ballroom of a synagogue on 76th, and the 150 or so seats were filled with Upper West Siders passionate about their neighborhood and still high from a day spent noshing at Barney Greengrass . Stringer spoke first, talking about his taskforce to save the mom-and-pops of New York City and asking the audience to give advice and suggestions. "It's time," he said, "for a good old-fashioned West Side town hall meeting... The loss of a small business is the loss of a friend or a relative." People applauded. Next up was State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who gave the financial "macro...