"NYC for the most part is a dead playground for yuppies and trustfunders"

Yesterday, BoingBoing posted an excerpt from the July Vanity Fair essay by Christopher Hitchens on the demolishment/development of Greenwich Village.

Here are a few responses to the essay/post:

#9 POSTED BY SEYO , SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 11:25 AM
The only thing that will save NYC in general, let alone the Vill., would be a brutal global recession. An economic downturn that would drive the rich people away and back to the burbs, and that would make foreigners stay home. Crime rates rising, budgetary deficits forcing reduction of police, and infrastructure breakdowns would help. In other words, the 1970's all over again. Not likely to happen. Bloomberg has a budgetary surplus, and has devoted his mayoralty towards turning Manhattan into a "luxury product" for financial service executives, lawyers, media moguls, international restaurateurs and fashion designers, and foreigners from the wealthy EU and Arab nations. His strategy is impervious to recession. While the rest of the country might be experiencing contraction, NYC, specifically Manhattan, has stayed stable. He doesn't give a shit about Bohemian culture, nor do the wealthy people flocking here. What they want is an Epcott Center simulacra of NYC grit and edginess because it is so Sex and the City, but they certainly don't want the real thing.

#14 POSTED BY ORCATEERS , SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 11:54 AM
I think that in a lot of neighborhoods like this, small business owners get punished for their success. They stick it out for years in a non-central neighborhood with a high crime rate and after all their hard work, the residual benefit of their business (increased community interaction, more pedestrian taffic, etc.) causes rents to rise outside their grasp, or for wholesale redevelopment to occur.

Recently I visited a traditionally downtrodden suburb of Seattle and my first thought was "wow, so many authentic, diverse, independent businesses, this place doesn't stand a chance!"

#15 POSTED BY NEWWAVE , SEPTEMBER 4, 2008 12:03 PM
Forget the Village, there isn't a single neighborhood in New York that resembles what it was in it's "heyday". Most of the people complaining have already missed the party. NYC for the most part is a dead playground for yuppies and trustfunders. Look in your backyard before you head to NYC looking for bohemia. The real thing is probably closer than you think.

"It'd be a great thing to see more opportunity for small businesses to grow again"

Gothamist interviews Steve Cohen, station manager at East Village Radio.

(EVR is throwing a music festival tomorrow at the Seaport...hope the stupid weather holds out...)

Included in the Q-and-A:

Given the opportunity, how would you change New York?

In the old days every neighborhood in New York was uniquely different than the next. Lots of different family businesses that lent a lot of character to the city. It'd be a great thing to see more opportunity for small businesses to grow again. Believe it or not, in the mid 70's, I worked as a busboy and was able to afford an apartment in Manhattan! It's always a good idea to try and feed peoples souls, now that'd be a change.

More change coming soon to the Bowery?

East Village Podcasts brings the news that the Salvation Army’s East Village Residence at 1 E. Third St. at the Bowery is closed. EVP reports: "We can confirm that we have absolutely no confirmation of a destructive demise for the residence, but we did try to call the number on the door’s sign for more info and received the Army’s voicemail replete with lilting British Isles accent."

Meanwhile, I have taken a solemn oath not to end posts with sarcastic asides such as, "Expect a [Duane Reade, Bank of America branch, PinkBerry, dessert bar, Dunkin' Donuts, 24 Hour Fitness with Derek Jeter, etc., etc.] soon. So I'll let EVP do the work for me with their headline on the post: "Salvation Army Leaves, Wine Bar Next?"

Report: Burglaries up in the East Village and LES last month

The Villager is reporting a spike in burglaries in the East Village and Lower East Side:

In the Ninth Precinct, which covers the East Village, grand larceny surged to 22 for the week ending Aug. 24 this year compared to 12 the same week last year. Grand larceny increased to 81 in the 28-day period ending Aug. 24 this year compared to 65 in the same period last year.

Burglaries also spiked in the Fifth Precinct, which covers the Lower East Side, Little Italy and Chinatown from Broadway to Allen St. between Houston St. and the Brooklyn Bridge, during the week ending Aug. 24 when 10 were reported compared to four the same week last year. For the 28-day period ending Aug. 24 there were 22 burglaries compared to 13 the year before.

Reminder: Donuts and etc. tonight at 6

Here's an earlier version of the flier and social from several weeks ago. (Please note that the time and location have changed.)  This hung on the Ninth Street side of the Christodora for two whole days. (Surprised that it wasn't removed sooner than that....)

The Donut Social takes place at Fifth Street and First Avenue. Bob Arihood has more details at Neither More Nor Less.  The Donut Social also has its own MySpace page. 

On Avenue A

In front of Bendel's

On Fifth Avenue.

A fool and his e-mail (New York Yankees/Ticketmaster edition)

My good friends at the New York Yankees and Ticketmaster sent me a nice e-mail yesterday with this subject line:

"Only three series remain at Yankee Stadium."

No kidding. It has been well reported that tix for the final 10 home games are going for a premium via StubHub and scalpers. But!



Hmm, well, maybe they released some tickets. Maybe I'll nab a decent seat in Tier Reserve or something! So I click on the links in the e-mail to Ticketmaster for the individual games. Guess what? Every game is sold out! Just like I thought. Thanks for the e-mail!

Will the (soon-to-be-former) Knitting Factory space become a nightclub?

As you know, the Knitting Factory is closing its Leonard Street location in Tribeca and moving to Williamsburg. According to an article posted on the Tribeca Tribune site Aug. 29, the Tribeca location is expected to close in January. Here's a little more from the article:

For Jared Hoffman, the club’s owner, the move signifies a rebirth for the Knitting Factory legacy. For Leonard Street residents, the club’s departure means the end of years of complaining about noise, garbage and loitering outside the club.

“It’s not fun to be somewhere where you’re seen as the bad guy,” Hoffman said during a recent interview in a converted Brooklyn apartment that’s the club’s new office. “There’s just no way, in that environment, not to annoy some people. It’s an un-winnable situation.”

“People are expecting Tribeca to be as quiet as a suburban street in Greenwich, Connecticut,” he added.

Ahn-Tuyet Pollock, who has lived next door to the Knitting Factory for eight years, said she and many of her neighbors have been waiting for the day that the club would close and the sidewalk be free of its patrons.

“It’s been a struggle for us ever since we moved in,” Pollock said. “[Club-goers] line up in front of the building, they smoke, they make all kinds of noise, they want to come into our building to use our bathroom...it’s a nuisance.”

While the departure of the Knitting Factory is welcome news to many Leonard Street residents, their respite from club-going throngs could be short-lived.

Joe Rosales, a broker for Lee Odell Real Estate, closed on a $12 million sale of the six-story building at 74 Leonard Street to the Laboz Family Trust in July, and the space, he said, has already drawn interest from developers looking to install another nightclub.

“The way that space is laid out, it has to stay commercial,” Rosales said.

Posted without comment (or smartass headline)

On Clinton Street near Rivington on the LES.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A short history of subtle butt-in-the-air billboards downtown