Vanishing New York Backup

In my latest op-ed for the Daily News , I debate the myths that the real estate industry is putting forth about the Small Business Jobs Survival Act and the demise of brick and mortar retail: More and more, in rapid succession, our streets are dulled by corporate chains, big banks, systematized “concept” shops and too many vacant storefronts. This is not New York. If you want to stop massive commercial rent hikes that put small businesses out of business, take action: - Write to the mayor and ask him to support the Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA). Here's a quick form you can fill out in just a few easy steps. - Write to Council Speaker Corey Johnson and ask him to support a strong SBJSA and bring it to a vote. Here's a quick and easy form for that, too. - Here's more you can do . - And talk about it. Talk to your friends, family, and co-workers. Tell them that mom and pops aren't vanishing "because of the market" or "all be...

You may have seen them popping up on high-rent blight around town. Monopoly cards pasted to the windows and walls of shuttered shops. They list outrageous rents and come with a Jane Jacobs quote. They're the creation of an artist called Symbol. I asked Symbol to explain the project and what inspired him to do it. He told me: "Everywhere I walked in Manhattan there were empty storefronts, and it seemed like one big game between landlords and tenants. All these landlords waiting for a pharmacy or bank to sign a 10-year lease. Is there a better analogy for that then the game of Monopoly? Seems like no one really wins at Monopoly but everyone just tires out. All the little stores just seemed to disappear. There were no replacements and Manhattan lost its juice. Bleecker went from high rent/Sex and the City famous to an empty side street. The signs on Lexington are Amazon-colored orange. The online shopping has only added to the problem and added to my tipping point. Yea...

In his Times review of a new Hudson Yards restaurant , Pete Wells writes that Legacy Records has "ginned up a history for itself that brings together sloppy research with a superficial tribute to black culture." I haven't been inside the place, so I'll leave it to Wells, who describes images of black musicians on the walls, stars like Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye, who supposedly recorded in a studio on the site. Except they didn't. There was a studio there for a few years in the 2000s, he says, "mostly used by orchestras, Broadway cast recordings and commercials." There's also a photo by Mickalene Thomas of a black woman with an Afro in a sexy pose. photo by Gary He Wells concludes: "Legacy Records has taken this shred of history and turned it into a fantasy of black American music. Exhibited in a museum or gallery, Ms. Thomas’s photo might be taken as a comment on the different postures and personas available to black...

VANISHED On Bleecker Street since 1976, Cafe Español has shuttered. There's no note to say why the sudden closing, only a sign that reads: "This restaurant is closed. Trespassers will be prosecuted." On their website, they write, "Thank you for all of these years by our side, the Cafe Español family." This is the latest in a string of closures for Manhattan's old-school Spanish restaurants, including El Quijote , El Faro , Francisco's Centro Vasco , and El Paso . What remains? There is Spain on 13th St., an absolute treasure, and Sevilla on Charles. Go while you still can.

VANISHING Since 1981 there’s been a little vintage jewelry shop on the corner of 77th and Lexington called Sylvia Pines Uniquities . By the end of June, it will be gone. It won’t be vanishing because the Internet killed it. It won’t be vanishing because no one buys Victorian handbags or Art Deco necklaces anymore. It will vanish for just one reason: The rent has more than tripled . On a warm evening, Sylvia Pines’ daughter, Judy Freedman, is behind the counter, taking care of a customer who has been shopping for three hours straight. The customer, a local doctor with a passion for antique beads and opera glasses, points to rings, necklaces, and handbags, wanting to see it all. “Is that real coral?” she asks. “No,” Judy replies. “That’s fake.” “Good,” says the customer. “I don’t want it. How about that handbag?” Judy gets on a step-stool and pulls down a pink and white beaded bag. The customer runs her fingers over the beads and the two women talk bags. “Judith Lieber,” Jud...

Earlier this year I wrote about the death of the great St. Denis building on 11th and Broadway, a building that should be landmarked but isn't, a building full of vital history . The building was bought by Normandy Partners in 2016 and all of the tenants were removed--hundreds of small businesspeople, myself included, put out. Today, a few remain, but they will soon be gone. photo: Phil Penman Now we hear that Normandy is "hungry for a refinancing," as The Real Deal reports. They want $187 million for the St. Denis. Writes TRD: "At 799 Broadway, the funding would in part go toward the construction of a new, nearly 190,000-square-foot office building replacing the existing office property... The existing building, formerly known as the St. Denis Hotel, will be completely vacated this month and readied for demolition this fall." And there's a new rendering of the soulless, dead-eyed nothing pile of glass to come: What was here before? What wi...

As I first reported in April , the shuttered Lincoln Plaza Cinemas has attracted a band of angels working to bring it back to life, including Norma Levy, who told me at the time, "I decided there has to be a way to recreate the cinema. It's too tragic to lose." Now, with New Plaza Cinema Inc., we're getting a new version of the cinema. Through a press release today they announce a partnership with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan "to host first run and independent films in its 250-seat auditorium throughout the summer." “We’re excited that the JCC has graciously agreed to screen our films this summer,” said Levy. “We’re working to find a more permanent venue which will offer first run and independent films.” Toby Talbot, who co-founded Lincoln Plaza Cinema with her late husband, Dan Talbot, supports the New Plaza Cinema’s goals. She says, “Although Dan is no longer with us, I’m sure he would have been heartened—as am I—that a band of devoted theate...