The fact is that to live in New York in the late '70s to early '80s was to enjoy a cornucopia of inexpensive artistic and intellectual entertainments.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The city's greatest generation?
The Village Voice unleashes its annual "best of NYC" issue this week. Check it out here. The issue features an essay from Tom Robbins titled "The Hidden History of the City's Greatest Era." He writes, in part:
The end is near
On Tuesday, Jeremiah provided a thorough update on the fate of Mondo Kim's on St. Mark's. Yesterday, someone representing Kim's took to the streets to spread the word of the sale. At Seventh Street and Avenue A.
Stranded on Fulton
Weird not to have the Strand Annex at 95 Fulton Street in the Financial District around anymore...the store had been in this location for 12 years (in other locations downtown for another eight years)...but the double whammy of a 300 percent rent hike and the ongoing gutting of Fulton Street gave the Strand folks no other choice than to shutter the place, which happened the third week of September after some dandy sales.
And so the 15,000-square-foot space sits empty.
This box was out front the day I walked by...
At least locals can console themselves with another Dunkin' Donuts opening down the street.
[Top Strand photo taken for Downtown Express by by Jefferson Siegel]
And so the 15,000-square-foot space sits empty.
This box was out front the day I walked by...
At least locals can console themselves with another Dunkin' Donuts opening down the street.
[Top Strand photo taken for Downtown Express by by Jefferson Siegel]
Checking in on Hester and the Bowery
Been nearly one year since we first read about the new 61-unit glass box condo high-rise thingee coming to the corner of Hester and the Bowery. And one year later...things still seem to be in the razing stage.
Too late, unfortunately.
Too late, unfortunately.
Four more years?
There's a Wall Street Journal opinion piece today titled:
New York Will Survive Without Bloomberg
The mayor never bothered to prepare the city for any lean years
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
If you're thinking about moving to Akron, and you want that East Village feeling...
There's a new tool at HomeThinking that compares Manhattan neighborhoods with neighborhoods in dozens of other cities, from Akron (Ohio!) to Woodinville (Washington!). (The tool only provides the names of neighborhoods -- it doesn't offer recommendations on, say, bars, coffee shops, etc.) Oh, and if you really want to have some fun, compare Manhattan neighborhoods with far-flung locales like Brooklyn! (For the record, the East Village, according to HomeThinking, is like Boerum Hill, Park Slope and Fort Greene.) And see the amazing list of Manhattan locales that are a little bit like Brownsville.
A few minutes on the Bowery: Waiting for Lohan ... plus, a few other assorted scenes
From a quick walk: I never actually took the time to stop to admire the ads for Avalon Bowery Place on the side of Avalon Bowery Place. This is exactly the sterile environment in which I want to spend $3K-$4K a month for!
And why do they show Times Square?
Was kind hoping the semi would stop for her.
Fitting. RIP Bowery.
Still life, of sorts.
Lindsay Lohan got away from the paparazzi at the Bowery Hotel. Seriously.
Sad bank balloons. Really makes me want to go open an account.
And why do they show Times Square?
Was kind hoping the semi would stop for her.
Fitting. RIP Bowery.
Still life, of sorts.
Lindsay Lohan got away from the paparazzi at the Bowery Hotel. Seriously.
Sad bank balloons. Really makes me want to go open an account.
Remembering the East Village of the late 1970s
In the Voice today, Lynn Yaeger recalls moving to her first apartment in the East Village on East Ninth Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue. (Rent: $135.)
Lots of people think that those days — the late 1970s and early 1980s —were really the best days of New York, and it's true that the city — despite (or maybe because of) the legendary graffiti, the burgeoning art scene, the clattery punk bands, and a general climate, especially in my neighborhood, of weirdness and unease — did have an undeniable louche, gritty glamour.
Hope for the Emerald Inn
Steve Cuozzo had this (third item) in his column yesterday:
All might not be lost for the Emerald Inn, the beloved Irish pub at 205 Columbus Ave. that's losing its lease in May.
As The Post recently reported, the cozy little bar, which has been there for 66 years, can't afford an increase to $350,000 year in rent - more than twice what it currently pays.
Owner Charlie Campbell and legions of regulars were heartbroken.
But Walker & Malloy broker Rafe Evans, who's negotiated scores of Upper West Side retail leases, said he's willing to help Campbell find another location nearby.
"They have expressed interest in keeping the legend alive," Evans said.
But it won't be on Columbus Avenue.
"They can only afford to be on a side street, maybe West 72nd Street," Evans said, where rents are lower.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Farewell to the Emerald Inn
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
What's new at the Stuyvesant Polyclinic?: Well, it's better than Lenny Kravitz
The Stuyvesant Polyclinic on Second Avenue between St. Mark's and Ninth Street has a new tenant...
As Crain's reports:
British consulting firm ?What If! has signed a 10-year lease for all of 137 Second Ave., a landmarked three-story building constructed in 1884 to provide medical care to German immigrants.
?What If!, which specializes in business growth strategies, will use the 14,100-square-foot property, between St. Mark’s Place and Ninth Street, as its U.S. headquarters. It plans to move from the 5,000 square feet it rents at 62 White St. by the end of October. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The ornate facade of the red brick and terra cotta building trumpets its original function, with busts of Hippocrates and other scientific pioneers. 137 Second Ave. has been home to a series of medical facilities, the last of which closed in 2005. Redevelopment plans, including one to turn it into apartments, faltered over the years because of objections by the community and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Two investment firms, 135 Second and Lower East Side Equities, bought the building last year, thinking its prominent East Village location would attract retail tenants. After some deals fell through, the owners were introduced to Nina Powell, a managing partner at ?What If!
Ms. Powell, who calls the building “phenomenal,” especially liked the high ceilings, eight-foot-wide wrought-iron staircase and great natural light. During renovations, the firm discovered such details as skylights that had been blocked by dropped ceilings and stained-glass windows that were covered by walls.
The offices, Ms. Powell said, will create an environment in which employees can come up with good campaigns for ?What If! clients, which include Nike and HSBC. “Gray spaces produce gray ideas,” she adds.
As Jeremiah had reported in April: "The broker's listing hoped a rock star like Lenny Kravitz would buy the building for $13 million and install an 'indoor/outdoor saltwater swimming pool exiting to your gigantic organic garden' along with other whimsies."
[Villager file photo]
Noted
Anne Betts was sassy and confident strolling down New York's Fifth Avenue in her strappy, 5-inch platform heels. Until, that is, she stepped off a curb and fell to the ground.
"I felt it immediately," says the New York ad-sales manager, referring to the pain that shot up from her just-sprained ankle. Although her doctor admonished her to give up the skyscraper shoes and imposed a 3-inch-heel maximum, Ms. Betts admits she can't resist the allure of tall shoes. "I love to dance in them," she says. While standing still, she notes, "they improve your posture."
Not so long ago, high heels were defined as 3 or 4 inches -- a footnote to give a little height and a more appealing silhouette to the wearer. But this fall, shoes have been supersized with the proliferation of 5-, 6- and even 7-inch heels and platforms.
(WSJ.com)
Changes
Over at Gawker today, intern Roger West photographed New York streets today, juxtaposing them against photos from 50 years ago.
Fucked Up to play a 12-hour show on the Bowery today
Brooklyn Vegan has all the details. The show, highlighting the release of the band's "The Chemistry of Common Life" record, starts at 2 at the Rogan store at the corner of Bowery and Bond. Anyway, hope the gang saves some gas for the Bowery Ballroom show tomorrow night.
No shots in front of George for tourists on Monday afternoon
While it doesn't have the historical significance of Carrie Bradshaw's stoop, the George Washington statue in front of Federal Hall on Wall Street is a busy tourist destination. These photos I borrowed from random strangers on Flickr show just this...(and bonus points for tourists who strike the Washington post with a hand outstretched...)
Anyway! Bad news for tourists on Monday! Why? Because several media outlets hogged up the space for aerial shots of Wall Street.
So tourists had to make do with other photo opps for the afternoon...like the dumpster alongside Federal Hall. (And why would anyone take this shot of a dumpster...?)
Anyway! Bad news for tourists on Monday! Why? Because several media outlets hogged up the space for aerial shots of Wall Street.
So tourists had to make do with other photo opps for the afternoon...like the dumpster alongside Federal Hall. (And why would anyone take this shot of a dumpster...?)
Things that EV Grieve lets bother him
Been plenty of discussion already about Bowery St and the Cemusa shelters. But would it have killed Cemusa to add the "th" after the street name or an "rd"? You know, 11th Street, 14th Street, 3rd Avenue.
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