Tuesday, November 3, 2009

"Whether or not the seedy Lower East Side will ever catch on as a trendy destination is open for debate"



Vice magazine celebrated its 15th anniversary this past weekend. To mark the occasion, the editors allegedly reissued their very first issue from 1994, which included this piece titled "Ludlow Street, Mon Amour."

The first paragraph:

The Lower East Side of Manhattan is not a fashionable destination. Populated primarily by dive bars, nodding junkies, and boarded-up storefronts, the thought of anything even remotely related to trendiness, fancy clothes, or art happening down here would be pretty hard to believe. In fact, the only reason anyone from another neighborhood would even set foot on the LES in 1994 would be if they were looking for illicit substances, of which there are plenty.

The last paragraph:

Whether or not the seedy Lower East Side will ever catch on as a trendy destination is open for debate. My guess is probably not. In fact, I hope not. Seeing Ludlow Street overrun with normal people looking for a “hip kick” would turn my stomach faster than a bad bag of dope. But last weekend, if only for one night, the Lower East Side was most certainly the place to be in New York.

I'm curious if anyone fell for this prank...

Related:
Hipster Media Magnate Picks $2M East Village Flower (Curbed)

4 comments:

prodigal son said...

The Lower East Side was actually pretty fun in 1994. And it was dangerous, but not nearly as dangerous as people remember.

I was gone from New York through all of 2008, and when I came back the LES seemed to have changed more than any other neighborhood. The place now really is the Meatpacking District East. Even the second wave, pseudo hip places that opened after 2001 are closing, displaced by even more ridiculously trendy spots.

Barbara L. Hanson said...

Even better in 1981!

Anonymous said...

and better than that in '77!

Anonymous said...

And the best in 1919.