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“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
Dear Little NoLita Cupcake Boy and Girl:
Ah, you are in luck, now. Even though, this place was here before you…promise. You probably never had their nice bar steak and glass of red. You walked by a million times thinking it was an old diner. No worries, it was just honest food but as you know “jardin” means garden in French, so little cupcake, there is some nice real estate waiting for someone.
These days, fifteen years is a New York lifetime….Le Jardin was there that long. Today, just now, Grubstreet reports it’s closed. Great, with that nice backyard it’s only a matter of seconds before Paul Sevs or Serge or any of the Nolita cupcakes invade and snatch up the goods.
One day little boy, maybe even soon, like at your Delicatessen, you will be in this lovely retreat sipping your $15 mojitos laughing without a care in the world. You will be clueless to the fact Nolita wasn’t always about the Duane Reade, the Crepe joint next to Ceci Cela nor was it about the block of Kenmare (as you know it now). You might forget when you now pick up your coffee was once a funeral home. You might forget Kitchen Club and the feisty dog Chibi anchored the corner of Prince and Mott for 25 years (that is older than you little boy). Now look at it; good paint job though; don’t you think?It’s not about the cupcakes (which 50′s style cupcakes, COME ON guys; this is New York, CREATE! Magnolia Bakery did that (yes think we me); years ago.
NOW WHAT! WHAT NEXT? God Save the Queen!
Oh well, little boy, I must be going. Eat your brunch at the sparkly new Jardin with Polaroids in the bathroom stalls, drink your pricey watered down drink and walk over to Rag and Bone and buy your $200 shirt; ask for the rice and beans special. Oh no, that’s right Cafe Colonial is gone now. Phew; I’m getting too old at thirty-two.
What’s wrong with this picture? Everything. Wow; Same look; Different Concept, eh? I REALLY MISS THE GOOD OLE DAYS. Read the full-on Eater Exclusive here.
Marc Journals, pencils, rulers, protractors. Trapper Keepers? Why not. Accessorize your life, accessorize your world. Originality rules, West Village!
(photos 1: Eater 2: Kate Donnelly)
Two new eateries taking form (one open, one en route) via established restauranteurs below 14th Street. And, I’m not going to knock them.
1) Freemans Alley offspring, called Peels on the Bowery. Sure it’s going to be trendy but let us not forget Freemans put the Bowery on the culinary map. Come’on the food is good and you know the coffee (STUMPTOWN) is great. Nice landscaping too; way to green it up. Dare I say it looks like a West Village storefront?
2) The “Franks” are shaping up the Old Hudson Cafe, as charming looking as it once was has been quite an eye sore. Eater reveals the scoop; the two bearded fellas of Frankies Spuntino who operate Frankies 17, Frankies 457, and Prime Meats have landed the coveted corner space. We can only thank them, thus far.
(image one Guest of a Guest. image two: A Test of Will)
Are swung open and waiting for your business. You hear me on the megaphone, Duane Reade (DR) is open! Go on; head over, load up! Gatorade, pricey Advil, toilet paper, Q-tips, pharmaceuticals. They have it ALL. Below: Views from the heavenly gold gates, looking East on the once beloved Spring Street.
Congrats! Downtown New York officially looks like any big city.
Didn’t they do a great job preserving the building? Love the font on the signage. Who does your work?
Oh well, as you well know, John Mayer resident above this fine, fine drug store is ready to load up on the $13.99 extra large KYNG condoms (man, who names these?)…should his ladies permit. Just a hop, skip and jump away.
(Photos courtesy of Christina Dalle Pezze who risked life and limb albeit her street cred to procure the shots)
Since 1995, the boutique Label has been operating out of 265 Lafayette Street. Not anymore. Time is up and up. Make way for a sale and pending 2011 move.
Racked posts an “End of an Era” Sale (July 27th thru August 1st). Truly the end of an era as a giant Duane Reade opens down the block and Cafeteria’s offspring, Delicatessen serves up its $10 Heinekens. See ya.
(image: New York Magazine)
I still have my faded pink corduroy jean jacket, see photos.
From Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York , a peek inside some serious construction of what used to be a laundromat for West Village residents and the beloved, Left Bank Books. No Marc Jacobs store looks to bust a move. Nope, here it seems the vacancy creates a chance for new little cafes and places where the glut of trendy-trendy restaurants with lines out the yin-yang can wait their heart’s content. Lovely for the neighbors of the quiet, peaceful stroll along West 4th.
(images via: Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York )
A big then and now for this famed punk spot. CBGB is now a John Varvatos churning out $150 shirts a la the Bowery which is for sale and quickly selling…out.
The New York Times memoralizes the old venue and crowd change “ it was clear from the tanned, cheek-kissing clientele and the whiff of expensive tequila that this was no CBGB.”
I Loved New York can simply says gross.
(image one: CBGB website, image two: the Shophound)
Well, that certainly didn’t take long. And, yes, the West Village eyes are alive and open today. The artist formerly known as Baby Buddha has been LEASED!! The most prominent and ever-reliable source, APK tells me: The spot is becoming a pizzeria by the same outlet/people behind Malatesta Trattoria, the low-key read: good food joint at 649 Washington. This is a promising bit of culinary news for a nabe low on pizza options.
Other articles on the Buddha, Ripco matter: Bye, Bye Baby. Save Your Baby Momma…, My Own Private RIPCO and Red on RIPCO.
(photo image : Abbie Kunath Park)
It’s a bit of a buzz kill, almost bittersweet, to think one of my favorite eateries (pinpoint the one who helped fashion the taxidermy, F. Scott boys club trend) which spawned the small empire, including Freemans Sporting Club is now responsible for heading West over to Bleeker Street where the old indie bookstores are quickly being squeezed out by Marc Jacobs and co. (including his $30 rainboots and condoms) and where Ralph Lauren and his Purple Label Crew along with the rugby shirts, flannels, and obligatory canvas sneakers, PF Flyers, line the row.
Included in the F.S.C apparel description, From the Racked archive mentions ” a curated selection of sporting and camping gear and utilitarian dry goods.” As if these $200 plus shoppers are actually camping. Tiff…tiff. Stick to your robust coffee and manicured beards…please.
More seer (suckers) and taxidermy in sneakers; didn’t they get the memo Jack Spade is running the show at J Crew...we already have the Ludlow and Bowery pant suit. New York downtown is getting too bloody organized. Or perhaps too fickle. It’s too long-haired LES types who dumped their trendy grunge garb and trucker hats for a 3-piece suit or stranger yet a toggle button coat. Ahhh…how it must appeal to their lumberjack trademark. Rugged coffee drinkers out of Stanley mugs. Perhaps, it’s like playing dress up, a bit like theatre. Oh well, at least it’s Spring.
(Related downtown apparel and store/trend front pieces: My Own Private RIPCO, The Over Glamorization of Taxidermy, Freemans, and More Downtown Apparel and I ♥’d the Liquor Store.)
The light stores which dot the Bowery (see: Bowery Boogie article) , along with the industrial kitchen supply stores (most still standing) are closing down, making room for the new glut of restaurants (watch out Freemans!) along the once derelict strip of New York.
“Located in the ground level of the historic SoHotel, Lite Elite has been in business for 40 years. As New York Magazine notes, “it’s a 10,000 square-foot space along a stretch of Bowery that qualifies as a veritable Lighting Row.”
That’s what I’m on as I type this, cold meds after a quick jaunt to Texas. The eyes of the West Village have once again spoken (our good friend AKP) who reports AUTO is the latest to shutter.
Embedded in their farewell email:
Dear Friends, We are writing to let you know that auto has closed. The cost of doing business in New York and the current economic climate has forced us reluctantly into this decision.
“We are reluctant and saddened to close but we know we must embrace change and what lies ahead. As our former neighbor Florent Morellet said, “New York is the city of changes. People forget this is what they love about it.“ As of now we have no future plans to reopen either the store or the website but we promise to keep you informed of our whereabouts should this change.”
THE MESSAGE HERE; DON’T LEAVE IT UP TO THE FICKLE HIGHLINE CROWD, SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS.
