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Stanley Kubrick’s photos of the 1940′s; gritty realism, composition and lighting.”He shot on the sly, often times his camera concealed in a paper bag with a hole in it. Of the some odd 10 000 black and white photographs he took while working at the magazine, VandM chose a total of 25, which have now been made available as prints.” (via: mash Culture)
Old school, NYC.
“It’s really all Chinatown now,” said John A. Zaccaro Sr., owner of the Little Italy real estate company, founded by his father in 1935…The New York Times Little Italy, Littler by the Year.
Yes, it’s true, the exciting crammed feeling of strolling down Little Italy while channeling a young Michael Corleone is long long gone. Intermixed and mingled in the old Italian family storefronts are foot massage joints, the latest faux purses, Chinese outdoor markets with exotic herbs and old ladies who spit as far as the eye can see. It’s all true.
Any Italian romance gone except for the guys trying to lure you in with prix fix meals and watery tomatoe sauce. I still like Da Nico’s. But remember Little Charlies? Umberto’s? A goner. Wait until the Noltians close in on the Chinese. Oh, that will be the day.
It’s hard to believe this was the Coney Island Boardwalk.
When someone you know tells you they recall the old SoHo days of the 90s’ please bring them a copy of this book Illegal Living.
There’s a terrific piece by Rosalyn Bernstein in the Huffington Post about the granddaddy of SoHo (so to speak) Shael Shapiro who co-wrote the book with Bernstein.
Built in 1895 by the real estate firm Boehm & Coon, 80 Wooster is a brick building with cast iron components on the east side of Wooster Street south of Spring that originally cost $105,000. Typical of its generation, it is a seven story warehouse building that was home to small manufacturers — doll factories, paper box and fabric recycling companies, often family businesses. It was home to the Miller Cardboard Company from 1931 to 1967 when it had become, like so many of its neighbors, functionally obsolete.
The founder of the Fluxus art movement, Maciunas, who was born in Lithuania in 1931, looked at the underutilized buildings and the moribund industrial neighborhood in 1967 and saw Fluxhouses — buildings where artists could live and work, sharing resources and creating art in studios of several thousand square feet that would cost a few dollars per square foot. It hardly mattered to Maciunas that living in these spaces, contrary to zoning regulations, was not legal.
Trained as an architect and graphic artist, Maciunas was an eccentric genius whose Fluxus manifesto spoke of purging the world of “bourgeois sickness,” and promoting a “revolutionary flood and tide in art.” Equally radical in life, he was driven by his vision to breathe life into the dead factories and he began to spread the word downtown, in smoky coffee houses and dark bars in Greenwich Village, at the Judson Dance Theatre, where the avant-garde hung out and performed, and in ads in the Village Voice. Artists flocked to see the buildings, many of them hitting up relatives and friends to borrow the $3,000 to $5,000 they needed to purchase the illegal living space.
God bless the old New York SoHo.
(2nd image: From Polaroid Portrait Series by Robert Watts, ca 1977. Getty Trust)
“The blog has connected me to new people, both in person and electronically. It also reacquainted me with New York. For awhile, I’d been turning away from the city, a place where I no longer feel at home. But writing the blog forced me to turn outward again. It sent me out walking and got me to travel around Manhattan and the outer boroughs to seek and find what remains. Along the way, there have been moments of hopefulness, instances when it seems the soul of New York is still alive and well. I’ve tried to record those moments here, together with the vanishings. The compulsion to preserve, even if it’s only with a few words and snapshots, spurs me on.”- Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York
“Here, you’ll find things that you may or may not be interested in about the East Village and other parts of New York City. Appreciating what’s here while it’s still here. Remembering what’s no longer here. Wishing some things weren’t here that are here.” – EV Grieve
A month or so ago, I asked New York City bloggers and pioneers behind Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York and EV Grieve, if they would answer a list of questions. Both, who started chronicling the city’s treasures—lost, forgotten and gone—in 2007, luckily agreed. The bonus? Neither Jeremiah or EV knew how the other responded to these questions. I think you will quickly note their similarities; which is why New Yorkers and old New Yorkers (like myself) visit their sites with such frequency and urgency. Their sites are a place to get lost and remember the good ole’ days, check out (what is left) of the old, New York and see what is disappearing…
I♥’dNY: Let’s talk about what is still good in New York. Where do you pick up your favorite cup of coffee? Morning paper?Bagel?
Jeremiah: I make my own coffee most days. If not, I get it from Veselka. I read the Times online. I eat a bowl of cereal at home for breakfast, no bagels. I’m frugal. I guess you could say my daily habits don’t really keep the economy of the city going. But as for what’s still good, off the top of my head and in no particular order: egg creams at Ray’s Candy, tuna sandwiches at Eisenbergs, eating a burger and fries in Julius after browsing for books at Three Lives.
“I still like places in which you hand your money through the sliding glass window.”
E.V.: I’ll pop by Ray’s in the morning for some coffee. It’s also a convenient way to hear a little neighborhood gossip. I’ll buy the Post and Times usually at Gem Spa. I still like places in which you hand your money through the sliding glass window. Here are a few things that EV great.
“I encourage as much interaction like this as possible…it makes it a real community effort. I mean, we’re all in this neighborhood together.”
I♥’dNY: Favorite film about New York or shot in New York.
Jeremiah: That’s easy–Woody Allen’s Manhattan. Annie Hall, too. Taxi Driver, of course.
EV: Favorite film. One? Nice try! The original Taking of Pelham 1,2,3, Manhattan, Blast of Silence and Escape from New York. I have about 10 more…
I♥’dNY: What about your favorite book (fiction or non-fiction) about New York?
Jeremiah: Two non-fiction works come instantly to mind: Maeve Brennan’s The Long-Winded Lady and Joseph Mitchell’s Up in the Old Hotel. For fiction there’s Paul Auster and Jonathan Lethem, who focus more on Brooklyn in their New York writings.
EV: “Low Life” by Luc Sante.
I♥’dNY: Take us thru a typical blogging day. Do you have an agenda the night before or do you look for tips from readers? Is the word on the street still the best?
Jeremiah: Most of my stuff is written on weekends and then sits waiting in the Blogger queue. Or else I write something when I feel fired up about it, or if I get a tip from a reader or there’s a news item I feel like commenting about, or it just feels urgent. When I’ve got nothing to say, which is more often than I’d like, I go for a walk and see what happens.
“Today it’s all glitter and glam, plastic and riches, glass towers topped with swimming pools. The change was total, 180-degrees, and devastatingly quick.”
EV: I work 10-12 hour days at my day job, so I pack in most of the blog time early morning and late night. I have a little more time for the site on weekends. While I don’t have an editorial calendar, I keep in mind upcoming events to cover, such as community board meetings. I usually always have a few possibilities in mind each day. I also keep a few evergreen topics around — items that are less time sensitive in case I hit a slow news period. I do receive a good deal of tips and photos from readers, which I’m very grateful for… I encourage as much interaction like this as possible…it makes it a real community effort. I mean, we’re all in this neighborhood together.
I♥’dNY to JM: You started blogging when Howard Johnson’s closed. Lost City started blogging when McHale’s closed. EV, what brought your computer and writing skills to the table? I stared EV Grieve because of a bar too. I was upset when the news came down in December 2007 that Sophie’s and Mona’s were for sale. I didn’t hang out there as much as before, but both bars were special to me — they were both great neighborhood places. I was growing increasingly tired of the onslaught of the condofication, bankbranchification, duanereadification and whatnot of NYC, in particular of the East Village. These things all inspired me to do something.
After a night of drinking, I signed up for a Blogger account to create a tribute site for Sophie’s. It wasn’t supposed to be about me. At first, I just collected different news items on the possible sale. Then I thought it could evolve into this project we could all be part of — making videos about the people, etc., who frequent the bar. Post photos. Chronicle the possible end of days. It would be a document capturing a special time and place. Before I ever really figured what to do with the site or told anyone about it, it looked as if the bars were staying in the family. So I retired the site on that positive note. However, Jeremiah, who — bless ‘em — linked to the site, encouraged me to continue blogging.
I♥’dNY: What city block of New York is most different from say 2001?
Jeremiah: I’d say it’s not a block but the Bowery–especially its upper reaches. A decade ago it was still the old Bowery. Today it’s all glitter and glam, plastic and riches, glass towers topped with swimming pools. The change was total, 180-degrees, and devastatingly quick.
EV: The Bowery from Houston to Cooper Union with the ritzy and glitzy additions like DBGB, Avalon Bowery Place, Peels, the Bowery Hotel, 2 Cooper Square, the Cooper Square Hotel, etc. All of Manhattan is different since 2001, when more people starting coming here in hopes of reliving the suburbs or small towns they were leaving behind. The bland masses with money have arrived, helping push out the remnants of the city’s unique characters.
“These are all indicators of a fad, I think–mostly because it makes no sense and people do it en masse, without much thought, as if caught up in a communal delusion.”
I♥’dNY: A month ago, I talked to the authors and photographers of Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York. I miss the old meat shops, liquor stores and laundromats. What storefronts do you miss most?
Jeremiah: Anything with good signage I miss–neon or interesting typefaces. Everything’s become quite bland.
EV: Kurowycky & Son Meat Products on First Avenue between Seventh Street and St. Mark’s Place. I loved the garlands of sausage hanging in the windows! And the hams. I miss the hams.
I♥’dNY: What dive bar is your favorite; How about your top three that are still alive?
Jeremiah: I like the Holiday Cocktail Lounge, Sophie’s, and the Blarney Cove, all in the
East Village.
EV:Hmm, there are so many well-worn neighborhood bars around the city. I’ll stick to the neighborhood I know best, the East Village: The Blarney Cove, the Holiday and Lucy’s. And Mars Bar. And Joe’s. Is that three?
I♥’dNY: I could use a Schaefer from Shark Bar. Okay. Sorry to bring it up…cupcakes. Similar to the frozen yogurt movement and subsequent death; are they just a fad?
Jeremiah: Yes, of course. You can tell a fad by how excited people get about it and how rapidly it proliferates, like bedbugs. Cupcake shops have exploded. You see people waiting in line and clapping their hands, mooing and whinnying outside the shop windows like farm animals. These are all indicators of a fad, I think–mostly because it makes no sense and people do it en masse, without much thought, as if caught up in a communal delusion. How long can the city sustain all those cupcake shops? Not long. I look forward to their timely death.
EV: I’m not much of a dessert person. I think cupcakes are like, oh, I dunno, Izod shirts: They’re always around, but more in fashion or something every now and then.
Thanks Jeremiah and EV!
Follow on Twitter @evgrieve and @jeremoss
Here you go, Kids. Forget the cupcakes. This was REAL New York; bikers; west side; thongs, cheap beer, pool tables and Jimbos. Now it’s your family pizza joint after you jump off the high line. This young children is the gritty New York you will NEVER see again unless you are a few blocks south at Ollie’s party; he can teach you about kinky bikers, to be sure.
Paul McDonough writes a great piece for the Paris Review about the years leading up to his decision to photograph. These are raw, street photographs that capture the true essence of New York. It’s truly an unbiased lens; the subjects merely present themselves.
Excerpt:
“Manhattan, now as well as forty years ago, was a walker’s city. I could wear out a good deal of shoe leather crisscrossing the streets of midtown, with detours into Central Park where Mayor Lindsay had just recently opened up the grassy areas that drew great crowds. The energy level of New Yorkers rushing to and from their myriad destinations (and they do move faster here than in any other city) was galvanizing. The minor—and major—dramas of the city were the main attraction. People in New York were different.”
It was the sheer quantity of people on the street that made the spectacle unique. There were so many opportunities; you had to be perpetually alert and believe something was going to happen. You were not looking for photographs, but for the raw material that would make you want to photograph; the gesture or expression that demanded to be recorded. You were in the moment and you didn’t judge or qualify. For example, in the 1973 photograph taken at a parade, two business men are perched like statues on standpipes, trying to see over the heads of the crowd that had momentarily parted. They were serious; they had a sense of purpose. About what, the photograph doesn’t give a clue. That information is outside the frame’s viewpoint and beyond the camera’s scope.”
Paul McDonough: New York Photographs 1968–1978 will be published by Umbrage Books on November 4. An exhibition of McDonough’s work will be on display at the Sasha Wolf Gallery from November 4, 2010 to January 8, 2011.
With everyone’s iPhones working double time with the Hipstamatic and ShakeIt Photo; it’s easy to create your own Polaroids without the expense of the camera, the equipment or mistakes.
Flip back the clock and take a gander at Andrew Faris’New York City Polaroid Project circa 2003. Check, check. With 2011 upon us; the city is clean and free of all the art and trash which made the art pop more. It also lacks much of the pretentious downtown Polaroid art at the time.
Wow; there is a stunning interactive feature by the New York Times on the Subway. I loved this photo by William Sauro, shot in 1981, capturing the true essence of the grainy graffiti and the three windows with a million different stories. Deep down under the subterranean world.
If you haven’t had time to check in with From Your Desks lately, I recently talked to James and Karla Murray about their vanishing store fronts, graffiti and their pit bull, Tabasco. We also see their workspace and what is up and coming.
Hey, I know blogs stack up like magazines; so many, so little time. But the creative minds involved is too good to miss.
Therefore, I implore you…
The Wall Street Journal reports Chelsea’s legendary and magnificent specimen on West 23rd Street, Hotel Chelsea (where does one even begin?) is “now the latest New York icon up for sale.”
LOVELY. I forecast an upscale, boutique hotel. Why not? New York simply doesn’t have enough of them.
“The Chelsea’s 15 shareholders, led by three Hungarian families who bought the 12-story red-brick building in 1946, are selling the property after concluding that the task of modernizing the hotel and apartment building was too challenging, one owner said. A buyer also would likely end the Chelsea’s tradition of giving artists breaks on payment schedules to assist their careers.
Hotel Chelsea opened in 1884 as one of the city’s first co-ops. Much of the early Queen Anne architecture remains, including a grand staircase and the black cast-iron balconies. But hotel analysts say its aging lobby, retail and corridors are in need of renovation.
The cost of those improvements, which could run to millions of dollars—and the infighting among the controlling families—helped motivate the decision to sell, say people familiar with the matter.”
Over the summer, I read JUST KIDS, Patty Smith’s love letter to her New York days and time spent at the Chelsea, this is particularly bittersweet.
From the HC Site: “Owing to its long list of famous guests and residents, the hotel has an ornate history, both as a birth place of creative modern art and home of bad behavior. Bob Dylan composed songs while staying at the Chelsea, and poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso chose it as a place for philosophical and intellectual exchange. It is also known as the place where the writer Dylan Thomas died of alcohol poisoning on in 1953, and where Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols may have stabbed his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, to death on October 12, 1978.
Famous visitors and residents of the Chelsea Hotel include Eugene O’Neil, Thomas Wolfe, and Arthur C. Clarke (who wrote 2001: A Space Oddyssey while in residence). Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead passed through the hotels doors in the 1960s. Virgil Thompson, Larry Rivers, William Burroughs, Willem de Kooning, Jasper Johns, Patti Smith, Arthur Miller, Dylan Thomas, Quentin Crisp and many more.
Wow; History is starting to hurt my feelings.
(image one: Unknown Hipster, image two: Chelsea Hotel 1982 Claudio Edinger. image three: Mapplethorpe + Smith in their room, 1970 Judy Lin)
