Vanishing New York Backup

We've been hearing whispers over the past few years that New York Central Art Supply in the East Village may not last much longer. Now, the following message comes from the Facebook page of James Carroll: "Artists! Craftspeople! Art material fetishists! Lend me your ears! New York Central Art Supply, the only remaining east village century-old mom-and-pop art supply store, is facing DIRE STRAITS. If you need to buy paints, paintbrushes, frames, paper, burins, styluses, gold leaf sizing, paper clips ANYTHING- go to them. Our city is better with small local businesses like these. Their absence would be greatly felt throughout our communities of creative people that need spaces for artist's materials and people to appreciate them. For every small low-income building turned into a luxury condo is a small business replaced with a corporate store, turning our city into a homogenized mall without any sense of individuality or joyful unpredictability. 62 Third Ave, ...

VANISHING Louis Shoe Rebuilders has been in business since 1921, originally located on the site of the Empire State Building before there ever was an Empire State Building. When the new skyscraper opened in 1931, the landlord took Louis in. But they won't be there for much longer. The 94-year-old shop will be closing at the end of June. Owner Beatrice Barbieri told me, "We're not having our lease renewed." In addition, "They want $25,000 and nobody can pay that on shoe repair." The Empire State Building is owned by Empire State Realty Trust , run by the Malkin family, who bought the building from Donald Trump in 2002. The building is going through changes. Tony Malkin has said he considers it the center of Silicon Alley and a " premier urban campus " for tech companies. Ground-floor windows are papered with "Retail Space Available" signs. Banners wrapped around the scaffolding cheer: "$550 Million in Building Upgrades...

While I'm in the fight to stop the spread of big, national, global chain stores in the city, I am no purist. As I've said here before , for me, it's about moderation. But even if you want to avoid the chains completely, it isn't easy. As they proliferate, they destroy the alternatives, taking away our ability to choose. Writer and urbanist Matt Falber has taken on the challenge to shop only local in New York City. He's blogging about it on his site. So far, quitting the chains cold turkey hasn't been easy. I asked Matt a few questions about his endeavor. Matt at his local pharmacy Q: What made you take this on? A: I was volunteering at a town hall a few weeks ago. People were contributing ideas about how to improve quality of life and I was writing them on a whiteboard. One man said to me, "We need to learn from what's happened to the West Village and Chelsea and keep it from happening to other neighborhoods." I knew what he meant imm...

Who says New York is dead? ( Dying , I say, not dead .) Historic preservationist Kyle Supley (he helped get new homes for the Moondance and Cheyenne diners) is running a Kickstarter to preserve and showcase all that is still cool about New York City, and he needs your help to make it happen. I asked Kyle a few questions about Kyle Supley's Out There ! Q: What inspired you to launch this project? A: I'm making "Kyle Supley's Out There!" to showcase what's great about New York City, along with the New Yorkers making it happen. Having lived in New York for 13 years, I've met incredible people, visited amazing places, and experienced one-of-a-kind things in this city that are too cool to keep to myself. I have been a collector of antiques since I was young and have always been intrigued with preserving stories as well as things. Recently I realized that the people I know in New York are just as important, if not more so, to showcase and preserve fo...

VANISHING Reader Chris Bandini sends in the sad news about Benny Louie Chinese Laundry on 13th Street near University. The sign outside says they're closing on June 12 because they lost their lease . Though it's not in my laundry neighborhood, I always liked walking by Benny Louie and seeing their old signage. We keep losing Chinese laundries, like Chin's , Harry Chong , Lee's , and many more. They're not going out of business. They're not losing customers. They're being denied new leases, or having their rents hiked beyond reach. They're being driven away. And City Hall won't do a thing to #SaveNYC .  I don't know how long Benny Louie has been here. From reviews on Yelp , it sounds like two generations. When I went in to ask about the closure, the sad young man at the counter didn't want to talk about it. One Yelp reviewer who's a regular had this to say: "Been going to Benny's for ages...when Benny's fathe...

Reader and local comic Ben Asher writes in with an update on the future of East Village Cheese : "I spoke with East Village Cheese today. They said they found a new place on E. 7th st, b/w 1st and 2nd Ave. South side of the block. They expect to move in June." photo: Kate Puls for #SaveNYC As E.V. Grieve first reported , the Duane Reade on the corner of 10th and 3rd is expanding, and so three small businesses have gotten the boot: the cheese shop, along with a newsstand and the Excel framing shop. Ben also notes "that not all of the businesses on the block are being kicked out to make way for the expanded Duane Reade." The UPS store and the Organic Avenue, both chains, will stay. Said Ben, "The woman who worked at E.vil cheese thought that was pretty lousy, considering E.vil Cheese has been there over 30 years and the framing store over 25 years."

VANISHED After more than 75 years in Greenwood Heights, the Polish grocery store Eagle Provisions closed last week. One More Folded Sunset was there and took a look inside. photo: One More Folded Sunset The Brooklyn blogger writes of the emptied space: "Pope John Paul II remains on the wall, a benevolent presence above the deli counter, and a single, skinny, length of kabanos hangs alone amidst Christmas tinsel. Farther along the wall, you can still see the portrait of John, Richard & patriarch Szczepan Zawisny, taken in earlier years, which shows them surrounded by the fruits of their labor - a glorious bounty of sausage and ham." This time, it wasn't about rising rent. It was about people getting tired, and struggling to keep pace with a changing neighborhood. “We’ve adapted as much as we could,” co-owner John Zawisny told Brooklyn Paper last year. “But there’s only so much you can do.” In a Times story yesterday, Vivian Yee wrote about Eagle Pro...