This past Wednesday, I was yammering away about buildings for sale in the neighborhood that also housed bars. And why this was cause for concern. One of these locations was Vasmay Lounge on Houston at Suffolk. (Site of the former Meow Mix.) Well, Twerking Hard in the East Village reported today that Vasmay's has closed...and moved to the former Essex Ale House location on Essex and Houston. (He also reminds us of one of the former bars in the that Essex Ale House spot -- Filthy McNasty's. Have a few stories about that place...)
Anyway, will be curious to see what happens to the former Vasmay space at 269 E. Houston St.
Wonder how long before someone removes these headlines about the Tompkins Square Riots, from Aug. 6-7, 1988. Don't want to upset the yunnies with any unpleasantness...
On June 9, Curbed reported on the former Silk Building apartment that, through the years, Keith Richards and Russell Simmons owned. Most recently, Britney Spears sold it for $4 million. As Curbed noted on June 9, the new owner was trying to flip it for $6,595 million.
Well, the pad above 4th and Broadway can still be yours for $6,595 million. It was featured in the "homes of the week" section in the Post this past Thursday.
According to the Post:
Now you can live like a rock star, pop icon or music mogul! We mean that literally, insofar as this "exclusive" newly renovated penthouse in the Silk Building has been previously owned by Keith Richards, Britney Spears and Russell Simmons. There are four levels with three bedrooms - including a full-floor master suite with two bathrooms (out of 4½ total), a mini-bar, a sitting area with a wood-burning fireplace, hand-rubbed custom cherrywood closets and a private hidden entry door. The upstairs guest suite has a terrace with an "incredible" view of the Empire State Building. The condo is fully wired with a new Crestron smart-home system that controls all the lights, putting you in the mood no matter what music you listen to.
There's a piece in the travel section of The Boston Globe today titled "New art museum in the Bowery attracts galleries -- and gentrifiers."
Among the observations made by the Globe correspondent:
The streets were busy with shoppers, merchants, and tourists on the days I explored. It felt as safe as anywhere in New York, though less crowded than SoHo, where I exited the subway to walk along Prince Street to the museum.
Change is part of the fabric of New York. The Lower East Side is the former home to the world's largest Yiddish-speaking community, but that language is rarely heard on the streets anymore. Even the Streit's Matzo factory is moving to New Jersey, although Katz's Delicatessen (remember "When Harry Met Sally") remains largely unchanged. Locals complain Little Italy is losing its true Italian heart but summer festivals still pack the streets. Chinatown bustles with sidewalk Asian markets and new construction.
If history repeats, the influx of galleries and tourists to the Lower East Side will be followed by the likes of such nearby SoHo icons as the gourmet emporium Dean & DeLuca's flagship store and trendy hotels like The Mercer. Gentrification has begun.
Um, OK. So who wants to tell the correspondent about the Whole Foods on Houston and the Bowery? Or take her for a walk on Ludlow (and how do you go to Katz's and miss, well, everything?)...Or...
Campbell Robertson takes a look at the Broadway smasheroo "Rent, " which closes in September after nearly 12 years, in the Times Sunday....("Bohemia takes its final bows")
And?
Now, 12 years later, it would be impossible to see the show and think it was set any time in the past decade. Much of “Rent” has become downright nostalgic, almost jarringly so. Several numbers revolve around pay phones and answering machines (20-somethings with answering machines!). Roger, the gloomy, HIV-positive guitarist with a nasty case of rocker’s block, plays gigs at CBGB, then a landmark of the New York underground music scene, now a menswear boutique. A group of lefty hipsters talk politics with no mention of anyone named Cheney or even the first Bush.
And?
Did “Rent” play a part in changing the neighborhood it celebrates? Probably. “Rent” is the “All the President’s Men” of aspirant hipsters, a great advertisement for Alphabet City (once and never more to be marked off by the avenues Awful, Bad, Crazy and Dangerous), where you can come live on dreams and tofu.
And?
I’d go even further and stipulate: “Rent” is a safe, accessible show that at times struggles, even strains, to put up a dangerous front. The “Rent” marketing campaign has tempered that gritty facade in recent years; the show now, like “The Phantom of the Opera,” advertises itself as something you simply have to see — and come back to — because of its place in the culture.
But think about that. Is there a more accurate reflection of recent New York history? Friendly, clean, low-crime, nonsmoking, trans-fat-free, cabs-that-take-credit-cards New York? A city we can’t honestly pretend is rough and gritty anymore?
Here are some short clips from the protest at 47 E. 3rd St. tonight. I was there for the first leg of the protest tour. (UPDATED: Jeremiah and Bob Arihood have in-depth coverage of the evening.)
Here are a few photos from the protest at 47 E. 3rd St. tonight. I was there for the first leg of the protest tour. It was fairly calm and orderly. The protestors were fenced in by the police, roughly a building and a half away from No. 47. (By the way, the police could not have been nicer. At least while I was there.) UPDATED: Jeremiah and Bob Arihood have in-depth coverage of the evening.
[Photo via Twerking Hard in the East Village]
