Things are getting so bad, psychics are even going out of business

On Avenue C. And shouldn't they have seen this coming? (Sorry)

Noted

Now open on Madison Avenue: The White Shirt Bar, with 20 styles to choose from!

Diaper Genies safe out on the streets

For now, anyway! Jill at Blah Blog Blah has the story.

Appreciating the work of James Jowers

Stupefaction has an excellent post on the work of photographer James Jowers. In the mid-1960s, Jowers lived on the Lower East Side and worked a night job at St. Luke's Hospital. This allowed him to roam the city streets during the day taking photos. Here is the Jowers Flickr page with some 50 photos, like the one above of Tompkins Square Park circa 1967.

"So much bad stuff was being built"

Is it Wednesday already? I'm still catching up on reading from last week, such as this terrific Q-and-A with renowned architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable in the Sunday Times. The 87-year-old has a new book coming out called "On Architecture: Collected Reflections on a Century of Change." She's interviewed in the Times by Phillip Lopate. Here's a smidgen of the Q-and-A:

Lopate: From my perspective, there’s been a healthy shift from seeing cities as basically dying to essentially buoyant, yet still requiring help.

Huxtable: We’ve seen a reversal. Years ago there was white flight to the suburbs, the inner cities were crime-ridden, there was a lot of poverty. We still have poverty, but people started moving back to the cities.

Lopate: There’s also been a shift in attitude regarding density.

Huxtable: Yes, urban renewal tried to get rid of density. It was viewed as concentrating poverty and disease. Now there’s the awareness that density is more energy-efficient and less destructive of the environment than urban sprawl.

Lopate: I take it you’re for density but not for overbuilding.

Huxtable: How can I be against density? I’m a New Yorker! I grew up with density. Still, in a way I’m glad for this downturn in the economy. Because so much bad stuff was being built. This will give us a chance to think, to take stock. I am so weary of these stupid alliances between developers and cultural institutions in which the cultural institution is given a block of space and the developers overbuild the rest and make an enormous profit.
The Museum of Modern Art has become a real estate operation. I admit a certain amount of nostalgia: I remember a street that was once one of the best streets in New York, 53rd Street. Watching it change over the years, I can’t help but view their new Nouvel tower as the last destructive nail.

[Image via pantufla on Flickr]

A quick check on Nassau Street

Back in June, I did a post about walking around Nassau Street in the Financial District. At the time, I wondered how many of the mom-and-pop businesses could stay open with the condofication of the area under way. So far, just on the stretch of Nassau between John Street and Ann Street, four businesses are either closing (like the one above) or have already shuttered. (And then there's Burritoville, which had a location here.) Sure, one thing may not have anything to do with the other, but...

The secret to my FroYoSuccess

Last month, Jeremiah bravely posted a report from the field in the midst of the city's harrowing FroYo Wars, reporting on the changes afoot for dessert pioneer Tasti-D-Lite.

Anyway, for no good reason, I recently came across an ad in Entrepreneur.com highlighting the benefits of starting a Tasti D-Lite franchise:

"Tasti D-Lite is the 'guilt-free' daily indulgence of loyal celebrities, A-listers, supermodels, and any New Yorker in the know."

Abfroyolutely!

So, based on that, you could introduce this deliciousness to, say, the good people of Lima, Ohio:

"You could be the first to bring this New York phenomenon to your area, and start a healthy eating trend in your own community. We're now offering single franchises and multi-unit franchises in many U.S. states and territories. If you seek to grow beyond a single location, our simple business model scales beautifully."

How to get that "East Village look" without some of the unpleasantries

East Village Podcasts came across a style maven who tells you how to do it. (All you need is $279 for the coat!)

Champagne wishes

At First Avenue and 82nd Street.

LES liquor license update

Thanks to Rob at Save the Lower East Side! for his continued coverage of the CB3. He has the results from last night's Liquor Licensing committee at his site. A mini overview:

There was community opposition to 8 applications.
The committee unconditionally denied 4 of these.
Under pressure from the committee, another 2 withdrew,
and the committee approved 2 (both transfers of existing licenses to new owners).
The 2 that were approved had only one resident speaking in opposition.

Meanwhile, Eater has the story of Perbacco's desire to move from its current East Fourth Street spot to bigger digs around the cover on Avenue B. And we can thank Frank Bruni for this!