FitzGerald arrived in 1959, when St. Mark's between Second and Third Avenue was largely boarded up and dirt cheap. What began as a $28-a-month studio-and-storefront deal turned into a decades-long experiment in retail, risk-taking and reinvention.
He opened Bowl & Board in 1961, followed by a string of eclectic shops — from crushed velvet and vintage Levi's to imported goods and raccoon coats — eventually assembling multiple buildings and seven storefronts along the block.
Over the years, as the street evolved from an immigrant enclave to a bohemian hub to a global curiosity, FitzGerald focused less on profit and more on "vibe," often subsidizing tenants he believed added to the character of St. Mark's.
Tenants say he acts more like a curator than a conventional landlord. During the pandemic, he paused rent for some commercial tenants to help them survive.
He also planted the oak trees that now line the block (the first in 1974), donated $2 million from building sales to a Maine conservancy and most recently backed Village Works, the late-night bookstore devoted to New York culture.
Now 91, FitzGerald says he's not sentimental about the street’s changes — from the Gap's arrival in 1988 to the coming Sephora — viewing St. Mark's instead as "an evolving thing."
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