Vanishing New York Backup

"A new Italian spot? You've been there before," writes the New York Times in their recent review of Carbone , the latest link in the Torrisi chain of restaurants, opening tomorrow in the space held by Rocco's from 1922 until 2011 when they were evicted by an impossible rent increase--from $8,000 to $18,000--and the popular Torrisi company quickly took over their lease . Rocco, 2011 Carbone, photo the Times The Times says Carbone "pays tribute" to the red-sauce joints of the 1950s "in a space that used to house Rocco, which specialized in that kind of fare for nearly a century. Just about every element — the menu, the music, the uniforms, the décor and even the servers’ banter with customers — will be engineered to conjure up the feeling of a lively night downtown, circa 1958 ." Of course, Rocco's had all of this--and it was actually authentic, because on the day it closed it was still basically the same as it was in 1958. And for y...

Took a walk through Gowanus this weekend and visited the once-lonely, lovely Coignet Stone Company Building, long on a vacant promontory of empty space, beautifully decaying. It's now hugged by the rising Whole Foods, girders pressing in on two sides, big-boxing it in. If you want to hear the whole story of the mysterious Coignet Building's past, present, and possible future, take a look at the new documentary by Max Kutner , At the Corner of 3rd and 3rd . "At The Corner Of 3rd and 3rd" Trailer from Max Kutner on Vimeo .

A perfect gem just came to my attention--a 15-minute film on the great New York poet Frank O'Hara, produced by Thirteen/WNET in 1966, the same year he died. In the film, Frank visits the studio of artist Alfred Leslie (who would later depict O'Hara's death by dune buggy), and then the two of them take a walk down Broadway. Starting at 23rd Street, they pass the glorious Gordon Novelty Shop , alive and well. A coffee shop on the corner of 21st called Barry's Deli-Makers. Signs for party favors, decorations, lanterns, balloons (this was once a district of novelty shops ). A little stand advertising meatballs, beef stew, and thick shakes, next to a wedding photographer's studio, next to a barber shop. Then Union Square Park, the stretch where the farmer's market is today a parking lot full of chrome. Union Square with its crowd. Barton's Bonbonniere ( wow--look! ), a jeweler's shop, a phonebooth. Men in hats. Cigarettes 37 cents. And then they...

VANISHING Opened in 1979, the Rawhide is one of the last of a handful of old-school, unpretentious gay bars left in New York City. It is a survivor. But it won't be for long. The building that houses it on 8th and 21st in Chelsea was sold a couple of years ago and, according to our tipster with inside connections, the new landlord has jacked up the rent, nearly doubling it from $15,000 to $27,000 a month. The Rawhide's last day will be March 30. Time Out NY Mayoral front-runner Christine Quinn just had this to say about the Rawhide to New York magazine in January : “One of the things I loved about Chelsea is that on Eighth Avenue, there is the Rawhide bar--not a luxury product. And for many years there were Latino guys from the neighborhood who had a folding card table every Friday and Saturday night and played dominoes. And they knew every guy who walked into the Rawhide, and every guy that walked in the Rawhide knew them. A leather bar may or may not be the bes...

The Vanishing NY Facebook page is almost at 6,000 likes. If you like this, you'll like that--with more updates and more discussion. Please "like" it right here . " Judith Malina will not go gentle into that good night. The fiery 86-year-old director of the Living Theatre is losing both her apartment and the Lower East Side home of the world renowned theater troupe she co-founded 66 years ago." [ JDF ] Bloomberg to hatch a totally invented upscale new "community" in Greenpoint . [ GPers ] Planet NYU and the mutiny within. [ Voice ] NYU boots 40-year-old liquor store. [ Villager ] Jefferson condos desecrate corpse of East Village with smarmy ad campaign. [ EVG ] The real problem with gentrification --monotony. [ NR ]  More gentrification on fast-changing Clinton St. [ BB ] " Gut Renovation , a new documentary by filmmaker Su Friedrich, opens March 6 at Film Forum and takes a hard look at the changes that Williamsburg has unde...

Cartoonist Joe Dator sends in this shot of a business card from the long-lost Kiev. Joe writes, "I was using it as a bookmark in something I probably purchased off a blanket on Second Ave." Take a look back at the old Kiev . We still miss it.

There's a window on 7th Avenue and 28th Street that has always attracted me, but only at night when it glows a yellow fluorescent glow behind a small gathering of dressmaker's dummies. The ceiling is pressed tin. A wall is hung with spindles of colored thread. Sometimes, you see the shape of a seamstress going by. It looks like a window into the past. I've always been so captivated by the window that I never looked at what lies beneath it. When I finally did, it was like a discovery. The Greek Corner Coffee Shop Diner , in business here since 1980, is another window into the past. (The building owner must be a decent human being to allow so much to remain.) It has a long counter and matching tables covered in aquamarine Formica, a color perhaps meant to conjure memories of the Aegean sea. A poster of the Acropolis hangs above. At the other end, by the front window where it can be seen and admired, a hunk of gyro meat sits on its spit. The Acropolis poster ...