Monday, November 24, 2008

New bar El Dorado opens today in the East Village


Here's the scoop!

Everyone knows that working for the press has it’s advantages. This week I was lucky enough to check out the new El Dorado bar before it even opened. Located in the East Village where the Hong Kong Club used to be this is going to be a bar to look forward to.

El Dorado is not what I would characterize as a typical dive bar. The new owners have created an entirely new atmosphere by renovating and improving the previously neglected bar. The bar mixes old school dive bar decor with a slightly modern twist that exudes sophistication. The deep red booths and long 70’s era bartop inlayed with classic comics of decades past add a certain charm that together create the comfort of a timeless lounge. The East Village bar perches on the edge, hovering between a barfly dive and a hip hangout.

The four young owners, three of which are brothers, have a certain cadence to the way they pour their drinks, they put as much care and thought into each drink they make as they did into the details of the bar. From the gold flaked floor, vintage jukebox, wood finishings above the bar and hanging chandeliers this is the type of old-fashioned bar you can tell their minds envisioned going to when they got older; a type of bar their grandpa would have gone to is his heyday.

The result is an attractive, comfortable, friendly Dive-Lounge that provides independent entertainment, honest prices and consistent, cordial service. El Dorado’s purpose was to provide East Village residents and visitors with the highest quality neighborhood lounge, and I for one fully believe they have achieved this.


Oh. Right. HUH? Hong Kong Club? So I didn't know that San Diego has an East Village too. This is from the SanDiegoish blog. Anyway, for my bar and beer news in San Diego, I prefer Beer & Burritos.

Per-man, per-hour moving war takes strange, hunky twist.

My fascination continues. Spotted on Fourth Avenue:



Meanwhile, thanks to the anonymous commenter Friday for some inside information:

Anonymous said...
Back in the 80s and early 90s I was part of an moving/trucking/van outfit based in the EV. We charged $25-$35/hr for 1 guy and a van, $55-$65 for 2 guys and a van/truck. All other expenses such as flights of stairs, boxes, reasonable mileage around town, tape, blankets etc. were included in the price. We also did a huge number of band jobs--$50/round trip to and from your gig in the city.

We were always busy and had a great crew of people and a really good rep. We also advertised exactly as these companies still do-those flyers bring back memories *sniff*.

Back then we heard plenty of horror stories from people who had made use of these $16/hr outfits because first of all, there were extra charges for EVERYTHING. Even as 1 guy with a van, you make NO MONEY charging $16/hr in this town. That isn't even going to cover insurance for the van and all of the expenses incurred, like parking/moving tickets, supplies, gas, phone, advertising, and the aggravation factor.

[Examples of the aggravation factor--showing up to move someone and finding out they live on the top floor of a 6th floor walk-up and have packed all of their belongings, including their 3 full sets of encyclopedias, into Hefty bags. Or that the person you are trying to squeeze in between 2 other jobs lied about how much crap they have and there is no way you will make it to your next job remotely on time.]

I have a million stories of stuff you can't even imagine from those years.

If you consider that the people who come to move you will be handling all of your personal stuff, it's not always a good idea to go for the cheapest deal. And moving is usually a stressful adventure so unless you count a futon, a hotplate and an autographed poster of Zeppo Marx as your only belongings, set some dough aside and don't forget to tip if they do a good job. Over the course of my time in the biz, we moved some people repeatedly and a great way to develop a relationship is to show that safe transport of you and your most important belongings to a new location is worth more than a couple bucks.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Mayor Mike's monarchy


Fred Siegel, senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute's Center for Civic Innovation, has an opinion piece in today's Post titled "KING BLOOMBERG:
MIKE IS A MAYOR RUN AMOK."


An excerpt:

While arguing over whether to reauthorize Off Track Betting, the Mayor clashed with the normally mild-mannered Governor Paterson, whose support is essential for the city; Paterson came away describing the mayor to the Post's Fred Dicker as "a nasty, untrustworthy, tantrum-prone liar who has little use for average New Yorkers."


Another!

Bloomberg is so committed to his ideal of the "luxury city" run by and for the wealthy and organized interest groups that the Wall Street collapse took him completely by surprise. Like Lindsay's successor, the hapless Abe Beame, Bloomberg seems not to understand what's happening around him. His budget projections are based on the notion that the future economic path will be shaped like a U, but it's more likely to look like an L.

New York, which became ever more dependent on Wall Street's high rollers to create each new job a thousand-dollar meal at a time, is going to have to rethink its economic future. Wall Street as we knew it is never coming back. The high taxes and over-regulation Bloomberg prefers pushes out the small- to medium-size businesses that will have to drive much of our economic growth in the future.

Greenwich Village Sunday -- 1960 (also, 1944 and 1981)

The Times examines the ongoing battle for Washington Square Park today.

Meanwhile, let's take a look back at the Park and neighborhood in something called "Greenwich Village Sunday -- 1960."



Here's a little more of the neighborhood, circa 1944:



And 1981:

Articles that I stopped reading after the first paragraph

From the real estate section in the Times today:

THE duplex five-bedroom apartment on Attorney Street that Daniel Vosovic calls home seems ready-made for a television sitcom. There’s the location, on the of-the-moment Lower East Side, with its mix of detox juice bars and Old World knishes, runway models and streetwise misfits. There are Mr. Vosovic’s four roommates, who work in disparate industries — cupcakes, high fashion, education and sofas.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Stopping the music

Last July, I posted the intro to the most deliriously awful movie set in New York, 1980's "Can't Stop the Music" starring Steve Guttenberg, Bruce Jenner and the Village People.

Well! I just got a little note from the folks at YouTube about the video...



Harumpf!

Still, there are other copyright enfringement videos that you can enjoy until the YouTune killjoys remove them...

Like the intro to the arthouse hit Weekend at Bernie's!



Or my exclusive video of Olafur Eliasson's waterfalls on the East River...

Buffalo Exchange ready for action (as soon as the gates go up today that is)

Buffalo Exchange opens today on 11th Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue...at the former spot of Rififi/Cinema Classics. How many used/vintage stores does this make now in a row on 11th Street? Five? Six?




Took these photos a few hours ago. Wonder if they plan on keeping the Cinema Classics sign?

Meanwhile! Sort of related, but not really! Malcolm McLaren's "Buffalo Gals" ... from 1983. Good NYC scenery. (For Alex!)

Just three shopping days left until the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame NYC Annex opens!


In case you want another feature story on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, the Post delivers today:

It's one for the money, two for the show, and $26 to go-go-go to the first-ever annex to Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum, opening soon in NYC. "When we were looking for places to really do something special, New York was the obvious choice," says Joel Peresman, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation president and CEO.


Whatever! Just hope they feature that Debbie Harry photo on a very large wall.

Oh and a great reader comment from my Annex post yesterday:

Ron House said...
it's always nice to get a watered-down version of something from cleveland.

More Marzzzz on the way


From USA Today:

Life on Mars got a small new lease on life — four extra episodes — and a big new time slot behind Lost, Wednesdays at 10 ET/PT starting Jan. 28, when the show is now scheduled to air 10 times behind ABC's returning hit. Mars has been yanked to preserve new episodes for the new slot....ABC's programming chief is a Mars fan and decided to give it another try.


Maybe I'll give it another try. I tuned out after the third episode.

Maybe we'll get to see more of Annie Norris too...



Previous Life on Mars coverage here.

Noted

Why the frenzy to get into Trader Joe's this morning? Thanksgiving rush?

Friday, November 21, 2008

Waiting for Mary (and the camera guy to show more of Debbie Harry's legs)

Here's Pere Ubu doing "Waiting for Mary" on "Michelob Presents Night Music," the NBC late-night TV show hosted by Jools Holland and David Sanborn. On from 1988 to 1990. Debbie Harry is along here for the show.

Just another random photo of a woman who bet that she could eat 10 hot dogs in 20 minutes at Crif Dogs


On St. Mark's. Via dpstyles at Flickr.

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition



The Dolls of Avenue B (East of Bowery)

Debbie Harry: Trailblazer (Punk Turns 30)

When lofts were new to NYC (Runnin' Scared)

On New Year’s Eve, the Knitting Factory will close for good -- Has Manhattan become too soulless for the famed club, or is it the other way around? (NYPress, via Grub Street)

Why there may be more tourists than usual at PDT, Death & Co. and other "secret" underground clubs around town: They were featured this month in United Airlines' magazine (Hemispheres)

The old-school charms of Arturo's (Jeremiah's Vanishing NY)

Why Wall Street will really need to bailed out by 2100 (Red Green and Blue)

101 reasons to heart NYC (The 405)

Real World Brooklyn on Avenue B: Find out what happens when... (NYPress)

Take a trip down Charles Lane (Greenwich Village Daily Photo)

Those "historic" eyesores (A Stitch in Haste)

Something new and different for Allen Street: A restaurant! (BoweryBoogie)

Historic designation for Trash & Vaudeville? (Esquared)

NY cheesecake: Chloe Sevigny in a bikini (The Superficial)

Just four shopping days left until the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC opens!

And The Times has a preview of sorts today.

The Clash looked down from a wall-size 1978 photograph at a roomful of workmen sawing, measuring, painting and lugging. Vintage amplifiers were wheeled in from the chill outside, passing by plexiglass exhibition cases, Bruce Springsteen’s tarp-covered 1957 Chevrolet and a 26-foot scale model of Manhattan. Then came the heads-up.

“Here comes the phone booth,” somebody said, and in rolled the wooden phone box from CBGB, plastered with decades-old stickers like a punk sarcophagus. Workers stood it up beside graffitied wall sections from that landmark club, along with two of its loudspeakers and a metal frame for the “CBGB & OMFUG” awning that hung over 315 Bowery until the place closed two years ago.

These were among the hundreds of artifacts being prepared for the opening on Tuesday of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC, a $9 million branch of the Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. The Annex, in a 25,000-square-foot basement space at 76 Mercer Street in SoHo — upstairs, facing Broadway, is an Old Navy store — was created as a smaller, quicker offshoot of the headquarters.

A trip through should take about 90 minutes, and costs $26; in Cleveland, where admission is $22, the full experience takes four or five hours. As in Cleveland, you can hardly turn a corner in the Annex without bumping into a smashed guitar, yellowed lyric sheet or pointy bustier.


Well, that's all I need to see! And $26!? Fuck me! I'm going to go twice! I shouldn't be so sarcastic. I'm sure it will be a rockin' good time. Anyway, I'm already standing in line for the opening. I'm with Alex and Hunter-Gatherer. Just keep them away from the Billy Joel! OK, OK...lies. Anyway, some photos from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex press conference from last August courtesy of the CBGB Web site:





Question: Bloomy looks so natural behind the wheel of Springsteen's '57 Cadillac. Think he has ever even driven a car?

Bonus!
The best rock and roll photo that I've seen of late? Hunter-Gatherer has it today.

Survival of the independents


From an editorial in The Villager this week titled "Helping small stores"...a few excerpts:

A main victim of the city’s development boom has inarguably been the small businessperson, as mom-and-pop shops struggle to operate in a dense metropolis increasingly driven by real estate interests.

But with the recent economic meltdown — a reality check that exposed Wall St.’s avarice — some small businesses have received a precarious stay of execution as the market chills and rents freeze in place.

While not the best circumstances for a reprieve, the current economic situation does raise interesting questions about ensuring the survival of independent, locally owned retail businesses.

From restaurants and grocers to hardware stores and barbershops, the plight of Village- and Downtown-area mom-and-pop stores has been well publicized, as neighborhood institutions like the Jefferson Market face rising rents and competition from chain operations.

...

In the end, much responsibility lies with us — the consumers — to support our local stores by patronizing them.

Without our support, the city’s diversity of offerings will give way to a streetscape of banks, chain drugstores and fast-food restaurants. And a Starbucks on every corner.


[Photo by Jeremiah Moss]

Brazen entry in the per-man, per-hour moving wars

This past summer, I -- exclusively -- was on the front lines covering the ugliest battle this neighborhood has seen since the 10 (or so) FroYo places opened within 50 yards of each other. Yes, of course I'm talking about the per-man, per-hour moving wars.

Just to freshen your memory:







And now! A new player has entered the market, brazenly slapping up these fliers along First Avenue:



Whoa. $22 an hour!? What, does Lindsay Lohan show up or something? These guys been working in, say, Dubai or someplace where they're not in a repression (recession-depression, you know)? Given that gas prices have plummeted and money is tight all around, you'd think people would be charging less, not more. Why wouldn't someone just go to the guy charging $16 an hour? What am I missing?

Looking at Life (via Google)

Morning time sucker: Search millions of photographs from the Life magazine archives, from the 1750s to today, thanks to Google.

Here are a few shots that I liked from the neighborhood:



"Members of the 10th Street artists group, a loose group of abstract expressionist artists, dancing during a party at artist Milton Resnick's studio." From 1956.



"Peter Stuyvesant Village Housing Project." From 1949.



"A group of artists bringing work into the show at the Tanager Gallery on 10th Street." (Which was 90 E. 10th St.) From 1956.



"Overshot of East 10th Street." From 1956. (Anyone recognize the block...?)

More photo fun: Catching up with Then/Now

As you may know, Times photograher David W. Dunlap has been revisiting some of the sites he shot for 1978's "The City Observed: New York," a guidebook to Manhattan by Paul Goldberger, who was then the architecture critic for the Times. (He's now at The New Yorker.)

The series started on Sept. 11, and has been running every Thursday. Dunlap explains his assignment:

Because I can still remember what the weather was like on the days I took these pictures, what the city sounded and smelled like, I was startled to look through my contact sheets recently and realize how much Manhattan had changed. New York did not just crawl out of its near-collapse in the mid-70s, it had boomed almost without interruption. Towers were inserted. Landmarks were deleted. And even in cityscapes that looked unchanged, I knew that far wealthier occupants -- residential and commercial -- could now be found behind familiar old facades.
My editors and I thought that pairing photos from then and now would be a graphic way to examine the phenomenon of urban churn that so defines this city. The series will visit a dozen or so neighborhoods, uptown and downtown, before the end of 2008. Each diptych tells its own tale, but the overall story is clear: It doesn't take much longer than a generation for New York to regenerate itself completely.


You can see the whole series here.

Can a borough sue?


Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and her rock-star husband Pete Wentz are now parents. They named their son Bronx Mowgli Wentz. Will he be friends with Brooklyn Beckham?

Noted (and with apologies)



I don't know why I do this. Anyway, this article seems to be floating around out there in the interwebs -- different sites, different dates, but all by the same author. It is titled "New York travel inspired by romantic films."

Travelling the City is like watching or experiencing what we see in the movies or any TV series. If it looks good in the movies, well, I have to say, my instinct one way or the other tells me I want to be there too! New York gives us the thrill of experiencing shopping, dining, be entertained and be romantic.
If you are a fan of ‘Sex and the City’, the first thing that you will remember is watching Carrie Bradshaw (or Sarah Jessica Parker) and her addiction to shoes along with her fashionable dresses. What do you do? SHOP GALORE! One can never go wrong in shopping at Big Apple. Prepare your Manolos or Marc Jacobs to fill your shopping pleasure with sophistication and style at Barneys Madison Avenue.
Not done with shopping? Madison Avenue is where you will find the top end department store filled with American and European designers like Saks Fifth Avenue. Of course who can forget the transformation of Anne Hathaway on the Devil Wears Prada. Make time for celebrity designer shops (Calvin, Giorgio) and fashion house boutiques (Prada, Chanel) in Madison Avenue.
One of the feel good movies with unforgettable wedding proposal to date is Sweet Home Alabama. Why? While others go for a romantic setting at the beach or high end restaurants, Patrick Dempsey picked the perfect spot for a girl (Reese Witherspoon) to choose her own engagement ring at Tiffany’s. While there is a selection of jaw-dropping engagement rings for the bride to be, fine items for men are available and even for babies. Undoubtedly, Tiffany’s remains a girl’s best friend.
After shopping fashionably, and hopefully spending wisely, it is time to perk up your social life. Sex and the City’s famous girlfriends - Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha shows us their ritual revolving with friends and loved ones is by dining out. Despite the countless fine dining restaurants in Soho the City also offers funky and inexpensive ethnic restaurants in East Village.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Weather on the 00s: It's not that cold out, OK?



Was 32 degrees this morning at the usual time. Wind chill made it feel like 27, said the Weather Channel. On the bus, people from the neighborhood were dressed for a trip to Siberia. The boy was cranky. He told his mother he was too hot. "You can't take off your scarf or you'll get sick," she threatened. He continued to whine. She finally relented. "OK, you can take off one of your hats."

Giving thanks one week early: Port 41 edition

Thank God that dingy little corners of New York City still exist that house the likes of Port 41.



To hear some people describe Port 41, you'd think they had been hanging out upstairs with Dean Stockwell and Dennis Hopper at This Is It in Blue Velvet. Hardly. C'mon, the place has a Web site and flat-screen TVs showing sports, mind you. But! Depending on what time of day (they open at 10 a.m.!) you hit Port 41, conveniently located underneath the Port Authority bus ramp on the north side of 41st Street near Ninth Avenue, you may sense a menacing undercurrent. Which I find comforting. Anyway, any place located 100 feet from Port Authority will attract a variety of interesting characters. Like the hustlers with some great "I-just-got-out-of-prison-can-you-loan-me-$50-I'll-pay-you-back-next-week" stories. Or the people who wander in and stay a suspiciously long time in the men's room.



So there are plenty of attractions here. The beer is mostly reasonable. And, like Rudy's, there are free hot dogs. Which I've never actually tried. Not to mention the bartenders wear bikinis. (Yes, yes -- a few other places in Manhattan have bikini-clad bartenders...)




Has the place has been spruced up a little bit? There are now three 42-inch flat-screen TVs strategically placed around the bar. And weren't there more pool tables in that huge back room? And has there always been a neon coat check sign? (Usually not in a bar-reviewing mode when I'm here.) That's OK. Despite the newish additions, Port 41 still looks on the, uh, rundown side. Which I also find comforting. I'm sticking to one of the booths, by the way. The stuffed hippopotamus is still mounted on the wall. And hey, where did that MP3 juke come from? Ohh! Van Halen! Slayer! Perfect! Now if I could only see.



I hesitated writing about Port 41, which took over the space that once housed Tobacco Road and Savoy Road. But I want to appreciate this place while it's around. In any event, given my most frequent visits, it's hardly a secret. The after-work crowd was split between construction workers and back-slapping chuckleheads in shirts and ties. (And several women in office attire.) Everyone got along just fine, too.

Oh, there's this. My failed attempt at capturing a little slice of the evening, and the people singing along to Van Halen's "Unchained."




[The bikini photos are via Dive In New York City. It was too dark for my shots. Of the bartender]

Bonus!
Reviews of Port 41 by the always entertaining yelpers at Yelp:

I think I have officially found the shadiest bar in New York.. Death Metal blaring, the waitress looked like a meth head, was wearing a bikini top.. Another girl in a bikini top sat there getting felt up by this disgusting guy.. And when I say being felt up, it was close to nudity.. All the while he kept saying "I am the devil, you are an angel, do you want to f*ck the devil" He kept saying this over and over again.. He eventually slammed a bottle of beer on the ground and thats when I left.. This was at 4 pm mind you..
The place was completely dark, it was so weird.. If you are looking for trouble, I think you can find it there.. Its directly across the street from Port Authority, I couldnt imagine this place after dark..


One star? Jesus! This sounds like a rare six-out-of-five-star review!

Here's a more reasonable three-star review:

Probably one of the crappiest dive bars left in Midtown. So crappy it was entertaining. Some homeless guy was passed out in the booth behind us. The bartender was wearing a bikini top, and the crowd was entirely men and some looked like they were on drugs. Drink prices were on the cheap side.

And FIVE stars:

As you read my review of Port 41, please imagine that I am speaking these words to you in a heavy German accent and it is 1925 and the Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray" is playing on the jukebox.

I realize that this request is as strange as it is impossible, but that is Port 41: strange and impossible. You see, Port 41 should not be. Port 41 is the giant hippo head hanging on the wall. It is missing an eye, and it wants you to stay for another round. Port 41 is the homeless kid, who says he is a marine. He has dirty finger nails,and says he has a Polynesian wife he married on the telephone whom he has never seen.

This doesn't even begin to explain Port 41. Go there and you might find dullness, you might find horror, or you might find magic. Anything is possible.




The MTA doesn't care how you get to the west side


The MTA's grim 2009 budget proposal eliminates the M8, the local crosstown route that links the East Village and the West Village. (Daily News)

This week's sign of the apocalypse


Gene Simmons rang the Opening Bell at the NYSE yesterday. This after the clown did the honors last Friday. Oh, and the Dow dropped 427 points yesterday. Can't wait to watch Family Jewels! (Dealbreaker)

EV Grieve Etc.: Mourning edition



"Over the past two years, Frank Bruni, the New York Times' restaurant critic has mentioned the East Village in articles over 35 times, according to a Lexis-Nexis search, while at the other end of the spectrum, neighborhoods like Harlem (7 mentions), Chinatown (4), Washington Heights (1), and East Harlem (0) were written about much less frequently." (Portfolio)

Exclusive research from East Village Podcasts: The East Village dominates in hookah bars per square mile worldwide.

Rehab on Avenue B can be all yours for $350,000 (Grub Street)

In case you need a vintage Pucci pantsuit on the fly, just head over to Cooper Square. (Colonnade Row)

The stuff workers leave lying around (BoweryBoogie)

Don't laugh: This is how Catherine Zeta-Jones met Michael Douglas



Have seen these signs several places around the neighborhood. Spotted this one on Stanton Street near Nolfolk in the LES.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I'm so wearing this to Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar

There's now a company selling the New York Cheesecake Head for Jets fans. (Or someone who really likes cheesecake.) As a response to the Green Bay Packer Cheeseheads, I suppose.




[Via SimononSports]

Citysearch gets fancy makeover

Citysearch busts out a new look. (It's still in beta...) As Cnet reports, "there's a more streamlined and Ajax-y interface, but a few important features have been tweaked as well." Citysearch has expanded to 75,000 towns and neighborhoods, "meaning that you can narrow down your focus to New York's East Village or Los Angeles' Culver City."

Indeed, you can now narrow down your focus to either the East Village OR Alphabet City! Subtle!

That sinking feeling


The Post gets into the dive bar spirit today, offering up its listicle of the city's top-10 dives. I can't say there are any surprises on the list. Or let's say shockers. Was glad to see the International get some love. Co-owner Shawn Dahl is also quoted. In any event, I always find such lists pointless, except when I make them. (Joking!)

Uh, here's the list:

MARS BAR, 25 E. First St.

RUDY'S BAR & GRILL, 627 Ninth Ave.

BLARNEY COVE, 510 E. 14th St.

TURKEY'S NEST, 94 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn

HOLIDAY COCKTAIL LOUNGE, 75 St. Mark's Place

MILANO'S BAR, 51 E. Houston St.

SUBWAY INN, 143 E. 60th St.

JOHNNY'S, 90 Greenwich Ave.

O'CONNOR'S, 39 Fifth Ave, Brooklyn

INTERNATIONAL BAR, 120 ½ First Ave.

Guess there are no dive bars in Queens or the Bronx or Staten Island. Anyway! Quibble away.

What's doing on at the northern end of Avenue B?

Been keeping my eye on the new development at 215 Avenue B at 13th Street that was once home to The Sylvia del Villard Program of the Roberto Clemente Center. The outpatient clinic was taken down in less than a week in September 2007. As Curbed reported in May, this site will be home to really-out-of-place-looking digs designed by the Stephen B. Jacobs Group, who did the Gansevoort Hotel, among many other things. (Oddly enough, I don't see this project listed anymore on the Jacobs Group Web site.) Whatever is going in here, it seems to be happening quickly. It appears as if another level is completed every time I walk by. Which is fairly often. The two shots were taken just a few weeks apart.




And workers have even been there in the early evening hours.



Meanwhile, I can't help but notice how many empty storefronts line Avenue B from 12th Street to 14th Street. I counted six. Or maybe seven. And I'm just thinking of some of the bigger names that have come and gone, like Sonic Groove at 206 Avenue B (Sonic Groove is online only now) and Luca Lounge at 220 Avenue B. And that lingerie shop that sold bras next to the coffee shop B Cup. (Heh.)


"In the late 80s and the early 90s everybody could afford to live in the East Village"


From a Q-and-A with Moby in Black Book:

People say they miss the old New York. Do you like it better now?

Only the things that I miss. it was cheaper. When you went out you never expected to spend a lot of money, so this whole bottle service, when someone goes out and has to spend $1,000 for a good night out, that’s just absurd. In the late 80s and the early 90s everybody could afford to live in the East Village, so everybody lived and worked and went out in the same neighborhood, and it just made everything a lot much nicer. So now, its almost like the NYC diaspora has happened where some people live in Bushwick, some people live in Redhook, some people live in Jersey City, some people live in Inwood, so the good old days where everybody lives on top of each other, those are gone. New York is always going to be big enough to accommodate anyone who wants to live here. There’s always going to be some new derelict neighborhood where 20-year-old artists are going to move to. That’s what Soho was, that’s what the East Village was, that’s what Tribeca was, and that’s certainly what the Lower East Side was.

A holiday classic




A little holiday spirit courtesy of the East Village institution DeRobertis Pasticceria & Caffe on First Avenue. Since 1904.

Read Jeremiah's piece on the beloved shop here.