Jeremiah's Vanishing New York

*Everyday Chatter

2009-11-04T13:15:00.005-05:00

How Bloomberg got away with buying New York. [Atlantic]

“Bloomberg represented this development gone wild... That seemed like a great idea when times were flush.” [NYT]

1980s style (like everything else these days): "sanitized for your reconsumption." [NYT]

Young New Yorkers using texts to find sex: "The atmosphere is fluid, like an eBay auction. This leads to a series of marketing strategies... If you have several options perpetually before you, and if technology makes it easier to jump from one option to another, you will naturally adopt the mentality of a comparison shopper." [NYT]

from my flickr

Alert: That "free" chair you found on the street just might be cyber-stalking you. [Curbed]

The East Village "was nothing before Le Souk arrived." [EVG]

Independent merchants not doing well at new Yankee Stadium, "I think what they’re trying to do is force everybody else out." [NYT]

Hey Big Spender

2009-11-04T08:45:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, many people in this city voted to keep Michael Bloomberg as our mayor. Yet, for all his arrogance, he won by a very narrow margin, shocking his aides, who fully expected a landslide. Nearly half the voters in the city have come to their senses. It's the other half I worry about--especially the 49% of 18-29 year olds who supported Bloomberg.

Maybe the kids aren't alright. Maybe they're scared, still hoping a Daddy Warbucks will save them. Because, as the faux-affluent bubble of the past decade has burst, we're seeing the wreckage of people who have no idea how to manage their money with thrift.

Looking back to 2006, at the height of our economic insanity, the Times profiled "Bank of Mom and Dad" beneficiaries like 23-year-old Jason, who "lives a postcollege life in Manhattan that is very nearly typical... [His] walls are decorated with pennants and posters from Syracuse University... [He] carries peanut-butter sandwiches to work," and he gets a monthly check from his parents.

Parental support in your early 20s may be useful and often necessary for getting your foot in the door of this overpriced city. But what happens when it becomes a point of pride? When it goes on too long? When it's the only way to stay afloat?

In the summer of 2009, we heard that parents were pulling the plug on New York's "trustafarians."

On television The Bank of Mom & Dad recently debuted. In the show, viewers meet "deadbeats" like Christina, described by Slate as "a 33-year-old with an apartment in Queens and a mouth perpetually scrunched in a petulant sideways smirk"--and $38,000 in debt.

TIME

Last week the New York Times' Room for Debate looked at "The 40-Something Dependent Child" asking experts their opinion on adult children who may approach middle age still relying on their elderly parents to subsidize their retirements.

Holding on to the fantasy of endless financial support, of money growing on trees, young people remain helpless, even as they age into adulthood. And we all end up paying for it.

American Consumers this week made TIME Magazine's Top 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis, in the battle of Main St. Vs. Wall St.

And now we've got the hipster-made T-shirt "I Can't Afford to Heart NY." (It's actually printed on American Apparel shirts.)

photo Mark Byron

Our mayor is a man who set the record for Biggest Spender--he spent more of his private fortune on the campaign than any other politician in US history (close to $100 million). At a time when we should be valuing thrift, saving, and moderation, we're about to get Business As Usual for 4 more years--and maybe more, since Bloomberg abolished term limits.

What kind of role model is Bloomberg for the young people who voted for him? What do they see when they look at him? He might have worked hard for his billions--clearly, he invested and saved well--but that's not what he flaunts.

When we look at Bloomberg we see a shower of dollars, a magical money tree that never stops yielding golden fruit, and the promise that if you just spend enough, you'll get what you want in the end.

*Everyday Chatter

2009-11-03T14:15:00.001-05:00

Alex in NYC provides a visual before-and-after of downtown. [FP]

It's not Drew Barrymore, but someone very naked got up on the bar at Mars Bar recently. [SG]

As Guss' Pickles moves to Brooklyn, kimchi readies to move in. [BB]

In the recent past, the sight of a decorated Checker meant free rides for everyone from Taxi Ray. Today, it means free rides for customers of HSBC Bank only. Because, you know, New York's got "different values" now:

The battle of St. Saviour's continues. [QC]

Tribute for Snoopy. [EVG]

New High Line design is breaking ankles. [Gothamist]

The Coney Island polar bears have officially plunged. [ATZ]

Cleaning Up People

2009-11-03T07:00:00.003-05:00

I've written before about how Bloomberg and the forces of the New New York Order have done a thorough job of "cleaning up" the city. Like eager beavers, The Joneses have white-washed graffiti, planted trees, installed bike lanes, torn down raggedy old newsstands and replaced them with glass boxes, and bulldozed neighborhoods to make room for bigger glass boxes--all of it shiny, happy.

With four more years of Bloomberg, they'll be turning their full attention to you and me. For what good is a sleek, streamlined city if it's full of people who clash with the decor?

Smoking will be banned from parks and streets. Smoking gives you wrinkles, and an oxygen tank is not an acceptable accessory to wear with a little black dress. Of course, it's the working-class and the poor who cry foul on this one. Said one construction worker to the Times, "What--are they talking about having a body-odor ticket?" Hey, that could be next.

New York's health commissioner, Thomas Farley, announced he is targeting citizens of the outer boroughs, to steer them towards the more superior shapes of their (thinner, richer) neighbors in Manhattan. The Neighborhood Retail Alliance calls this move "a government sponsored exercise regime in order to engineer a healthier citizenry."

That phrase sums it up. You are being engineered, by the government, to look like the Ideal Manhattanite--slim, sleek, cool as glass.

If you want to see what the outcome will be, click on over to Svedka's Bot Builder, where you can "party like it's 2033" (Bloomberg will be in his 8th term?) and see what happens when you combine your DNA with a condo tower. It's nothing new, really, the Clone Wars of New York have been raging for years now.

It's tough to fight against it, because trees are nice, bicycling is good, smoking is bad, etc. It's so very black and white. Right?

But the Orwellian undertones aren't buried so deep. And we have to wonder what it is in Bloomberg's psyche that is making him launch this campaign against the messy.

In The Huffington Post awhile back, Dan Pashman posed the theory that Bloomberg, a junk-food junkie, "is essentially turning his own self-loathing on the rest of the city. He's asking us to pay for his gustatory transgressions. Bill Clinton felt our pain. Bloomberg wants us to feel his."

And this is what narcissists do. Filled with self-loathing they cannot tolerate, they project their "bad" insides onto other people and the external world. With the bad pushed out, the narcissist feels a brief relief. But here's the rub: The narcissist also needs to be mirrored by that same world. In order to maintain the narcissist's vulnerable self-image, the exterior must be ideal.

So the mirror--in this case, New York and its inhabitants--must be renovated, all of its dirty, messy chaos erased and replaced with squeaky-clean order that the narcissist can idealize and, through its reflection, see him/herself as perfect, too.

"Human perfection," says the ad campaign for the movie Surrogates, "What could go wrong?"

Just Say No

2009-11-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

As Bloomberg readies to steal democracy and buy the election tomorrow--spending "more of his own money than any other individual in United States history in the pursuit of public office" (Times)--some of you may yet be undecided.

To those of you considering Bloomberg, and to those of you considering not voting at all, I offer the following.

photo via EV Grieve

Bloomberg likes to call other people a "disgrace." Let him know it takes one to know one: When Giuliani tried to extend term limits to keep himself in office, Bloomberg called such an act "disgraceful." After Bloomberg successfully extended term limits, ignoring the democratic process, and a reporter asked him to talk about it, he called the reporter a disgrace. In this clip, Jon Stewart skewers Bloomie on the Daily Show, revealing just how disgracefully Bloomberg behaves.

Bloomberg wants you to think he's the only man who can get NYC through this economic crisis. What he won't admit is that he helped create it. Tell him you can't be fooled: Last year, I interviewed urban studies expert Julian Brash on The Bloomberg Way. Here's what he had to say: "The reason we keep having fiscal crises in the city is because we’re so dependent on the unstable industry of finance. Bloomberg has not diversified the city’s economy enough to protect it. In fact, he made it worse. He created a place where only super-profitable companies, namely finance, can buy into the city."

Bloomberg is proud of his 100 rezonings. Tell him he's just another narcissistic Robert Moses: As I've written about extensively on this blog, the city isn't the city anymore. It's a sprawling, high-rising, suburban shopping mall. And we have Bloomberg to thank for that. His 100 rezonings and gifts to developers continue to decimate the city. Ultimately, it's been a colossal failure that favored his rich friends and left the rest of us out to dry.

Bloomberg thinks he is middle class. Tell him he's wrong: Reporting on the recent mayoral debate, David Chen wrote in the Times, "When asked how he would define the middle class, Mr. Bloomberg spoke fluidly about how being middle class was not measured by data but rather by taking the subway (as he does), walking the streets (as he does) and being able to pay the bills but not save much (O.K., never mind)."

Now, enjoy the Bloomie spoof "Burns for Mayor" and, however you vote, just say NO to Bloomberg.

See Also:
Bloomberg Watch
You're A Disgrace
Vote Rev Billy
Thompson 2009

Star Wars Park

2009-10-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

Washington Square Park, I have to say, has lost its mojo since the renovation. Not much interesting is happening over there--aside from the recent discovery of a long-forgotten tombstone.

In the night, Star Wars fans gather in the park to practice their light-saber moves, perhaps practicing for Halloween? I doubt it. These folks are year-rounders.

I want to say something about how every aspect of our lives has been taken over by pop-culture franchises. About how life has become a simulation of something we saw on a screen.

It would be easier to be cranky about this if I wasn't also part of that culture, raised in part by George Lucas. Watching these guys made me wish I had a light saber, too.

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-29T11:30:00.003-04:00

On W Magazine's cover, a sad, rich, beautiful lady (Linda Evangelista) poses near NYU with a cardboard sign: "It must be somebody's fault." What do you think she's referring to?

Wall Streeters (any left?) will be reading about Slum Goddess and Crumb today as they commute. [WSJ]

Brooklynites demand vacant condos to be turned into affordable housing. [BE]

Bloomberg just made clove cigarettes illegal in NYC. [Gothamist]

Looking back at Burger Klein. [BBB]

Find answers about NY's uniqueness. Says one reader, "The city has been one large shopping mall with a false edifice of culture to trick those moving here into thinking they are part of the old New York City aura that is actually long long gone." [CR]

Now you can own next summer's obnoxious party destination. [EVG]

Celeb-obsessed teens used Internet to rob the celebs they loved...Hilton, Lohan, et al. [yahoo]

Backside Post Script

2009-10-29T07:30:00.000-04:00

With summer thoroughly over and the clocks falling back, as the loudmouth weather goes south, we return for a look back at the Backside of the Cooper Square Hotel.

The douchebags are gone from the fire escapes, the shit-stained panties have been unhoisted, and the orgasm sound effects have been silenced. The Backsiders can begin to enjoy a bit of quiet after a stormy summer.

But they leave up a few subtle reminders, final notes to what had been a symphony of resentment. In the windows facing the hotel's patio, signs remain taped to the glass, stating the obvious, with a tone of weary resignation, to anyone who might bother to read.

You can find the complete Notes from the Backside here:
Note 1
Note 2
Note 3
Note 4
Note 5
Note 6

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-28T13:06:00.009-04:00

The floor-to-ceiling window debate continues. [Curbed]

Breslin bar owner to upset mosque-goers: "This is the United States of America and we’ll do whatever the fuck we want." [Eater]

Washington Square Park tombstone revealed [Gothamist] ...and it comes with a press release. [WSP]

Is that the trace of a New York accent in a corner market's flower display?

EV residents wait for the Ekonomakis mansion to flip. [EVG]

East Village eulogy: RIP Valentina. [BBB]

Talking about gentrification & homelessness at the laundromat. [LM]

Carmine Survivors

2009-10-28T07:00:00.001-04:00

After taking a quick look yesterday at what's been lost from Carmine Street, I am happy to say there are still a few worthy survivors that have yet to vanish.

The House of Oldies survives--since 1968.

As the sign in the window says: "No CD's, No Tapes, Just Records."

You will also find the Unoppressive, Non-Imperialist Bargain Books store, where you can dig into an amazing cache of comic book reprint collections, as well as many books about The Beatles and Jack Kerouac.

There's also a little shoe and watch repair shop with a fascinating window display, along with various other survivors.

In some ways, even with the many boutiques and new cafes opened, Carmine Street feels surprisingly overlooked by the waves of change that have swept much of the city. I should walk there more often.

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-27T14:30:00.002-04:00

And the dream of a glass city crumbles evermore, as thousands of new condos show their shoddiness: "the wave of development in New York City that started in 2004 and crested in mid-2007 has resulted in a wave of accusations about defective construction and building design." [NYT]

Good news--films are returning to Theater 80. [EVG]

Slum Goddess plays a gig with R. Crumb. [SG]

This week, Chris Ware offers one of the best New Yorker covers ever--exposing the ghoulishness of iPhone addiction:

On Orchard: "Welcome home nouveau riche." [BB]

Remembering Miss Rheingold. [ENY]

Urban Archives in the Bronx. [Gothamist]

Is the Ekonomakis private mansion, formerly a multi-unit tenement, already being flipped? [EVG]

Lost on Carmine

2009-10-27T07:00:00.000-04:00

Back to my collection of 1990s non-digital photos, I found two scenes lost from Carmine Street. One was the Village Flute and Sax repair shop. Run by Rick Rajca since 1977 and closed in 2001, the shop now exists online only.

In its place today stands a Thai restaurant. One of thousands of other Thai restaurants in the city.

I also found this photo of Joe's Pizza, on the corner of Carmine and Bleecker.

One of my favorite things about these two old photos are the people in them--the brass repairman in his apron, the old Villager in his trench coat and red necktie, possibly wearing a wig.

Joe's Pizza initially gave way--along with its Vegetable Garden neighbor--to Abatino's pizza and pasta. Today, Joe's lives on further along the block, but the Vegetable Garden wasn't so lucky.

photo: West Village Bob

Where Joe's and Vegetable Garden once were, there is now Grom--one in a chain of many from an Italian gelato company.

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-26T13:45:00.001-04:00

Artists vs. advertisers. [NYT] & [Gothamist]

As New York's uniqueness evaporates, ask an expert about what still makes the city extraordinary. [CR]

Enjoy a new Walker in the City: "Yeah, he’s lookin’ at ME! This whole train fulla sex perverts and homosexuals and he’s gonna look at ME? Yeah, he’s the one. Are you a sex pervert, sir?" [WIC]

Will the Empire Diner be the city's next exported diner? [Eater]

Has a tombstone been uncovered in Washington Square? [WSP]

Sometimes it's fun to play "count the cell phones" coming out of a movie at Union Square. Bonus: As the credits roll, how many seconds before every iPhone in the joint springs to life?

Visit the "Far East Williamsburg" industrial zone. [FNY]

Union and Confederate soldiers invade Tompkins Square. [EVG]

Halloween shenanigans in TSP. [NMNL]

StuyTowners react to last week's verdict. [NYT]

La Bonbonniere

2009-10-26T07:30:00.000-04:00

One of the last places you can get a cheap and greasy meal in Greenwich Village, La Bonbonniere is a loveable dump that's been there for years (how many?)--and it's still going strong.

A regular describes it aptly on Yelp: "Blue linoleum flooring, ripped bar stools, wobbly tables, tin walls (knock on 'em), newspaper & magazine clippings taped up, a griddle that appears to have outlasted the energizer bunny, dripping a/c units perched above the entrance (bring your umbrella in the summer), and the most precarious staircase leading to the dungeon bathroom (with sign that reads 'Not responsible if you fall down')."

Tucked onto a quiet stretch of 8th Ave., at Jane St., Bonbonniere feels like a well-kept secret. But that's far from the truth. The walls are covered with photographs of the diner's famous fans: Ethan Hawke, Molly Shannon, James Gandolfini.

Serious Eats likes their unpretentious double-cheese burger. And they've even made it onto Vogue's radar.

Still, any time I've gone for lunch, I've never waited in line. The people I've seen in there are reading the paper or a magazine or just staring out the window, not feverishly texting or shouting into cell phones. It's still a Village place--in a time when Village places are fast disappearing. And any fame La Bonbonniere has received has not gone to its head.

Recently Vanished:
Galaxy Diner
Joe Jr's
Chez Brigitte

David's Redux

2009-10-23T07:00:00.000-04:00

If you've walked on 7th Street lately, you may have noticed that David's Shoe Repair is being gutted.

Last October, we had a scare that the beloved business was closing, which I wrote about here. One year later, it looks truly bleak. The walls have been stripped, the old machines hauled out, and boxes filled with rubber heels sit waiting to be tossed.

But fear not.

I spoke to the new owner. He is David's grandson and he promises that, after a renovation, the business will remain the same. In fact, it will even have the same name, since the grandson is also David. As for the old cobbler, he is doing well, but has decided it's simply time to retire.

It's rare these days to see a grandchild taking over and maintaining a long-term small business. And it's cause for relief--the city's legacy lives on, and that's one less vanishing for a street that has been changing rapidly and almost completely.

Further Reading:
David's Shoe Repair
A. Fontana Shoe Repair
Howdy Do

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-22T11:30:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to Miss Heather at NY Shitty for winning Best Neighborhood Blog from the Village Voice. After tireless poop scooping and neighborhood reporting, along with almost weekly fights with the Post, it's an honor well-deserved. [Voice]

For a quick buck ($10,000 in 5 weeks), you could be a Times Square toilet flusher--but you have to audition first. [1010] via [Animal]

Court rules against Tishman Speyer in a major blow against landlord greed. [STLL]

Will Avenue D finally turn into Avenue C? [EVG]

The shopping mall that once was the Limelight already has a cupcake shop. [CR]

East Villagers, brace yourselves--yet another cupcake shop is looking for a space in the hood. [Eater]

Trash/Art

2009-10-22T07:30:00.001-04:00

Two scenes from the same day, encountered just one hour apart. Trash imitates art. And vice versa.

On Orchard:

On Bowery:

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-21T13:15:00.001-04:00

The Swiss are listening to the death rattle of New York--Lost City and Vanishing NY are interviewed for Switzerland's daily paper. Anyone read French? [Le Temps]

Slum Goddess on Page 6! Says the newly crowned celeb, "Can't wait to stumble out of a limo with no underwear on so the paparrazi can catch it on film..Then i'll go to Mars Bar for my photo spread." [SG]

At the East Harlem mall, after much delay, developers bring "suburban-style big-box shopping" to Manhattan. [NYT]

Next to vanish: The city post offices. [CR]

The pitchforks came out this week for Le Souk. [EVG]

10/24: Check out open art spaces in Bushwick. [BBK]

Another demolition for Hester Street. [BB]

St. Marks has signed copies of Lethem's "Chronic City." [SMB]

McModern

2009-10-21T07:00:00.001-04:00

There's a new restaurant on 6th Avenue and 15th Street. Text on its gleaming, glassy exterior describes it as: welcoming, playful, roots, heritage, SECOND HOME, authentic, REAL...

Inside you'll find mid-century modern furnishings, including seating inspired by Arne Jacobsen's biomorphic Egg and Swan chairs of 1958.

The walls are decorated with playful cubes and colorful stripes in sage, olive, and terra cotta. Flat-screen televisions hang mounted over the dining tables.

What is this trendy new hotspot--yet another Momofuku? A black flag printed with a pair of golden arches flies over the entrance. It's a McDonald's.

The new look was announced in 2006, described in BusinessWeek as "iPod clean" with a dining area "separated into three sections with distinct personalities. The 'linger' zone will offer comfortable armchairs, sofas, and Wi-Fi connections..."

Yes, the linger zone.

Haven't we already gotten through the phase where everything has to look like a West Elm/Design Within Reach catalog?

This Starbucks-chasing, upscale redesign worked in Europe when it was launched in 2007, but how will it go over in recession New York (where it feels a bit late)? Anyway, if you're worried about losing your old, grimy, depressing McDonald's to the fashionistas, fear not--the colors and textures may have changed, but the grease-slicked gloom remains the same.

P.S. At the recent Fashion Week, you could buy Ronald McDonald's gloves in an haute couture version.

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-20T13:30:00.005-04:00

"The Rent is Too Damn High" guy is now driving around in a car decorated to rival his website:

Mars Bar, after many recent visits from yuppies and celebs, declares the East Village dead. [EVG]

...So has Mars Bar jumped the shark and become totally yunnified? As City Room puts it, has this dive become a diva? [GoG]

Ray's Candy is now serving Belgian waffles. [NMNL]

10/23: Celebrate the opening of two new rooms at the art-filled Carlton Arms Hotel, presented by Artbreak.

11/11: The Independent Booksellers of NYC are kicking off their Indie Bookstore Week with a party in Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Museum is about to debut "Who Shot Rock & Roll?" [Stupefaction]

Review: What the Dog Saw, collected New Yorker essays by Malcolm Gladwell. [NYT]

Will any High Line graffiti survive? [Gothamist]

Minetta's Gould

2009-10-20T07:30:00.003-04:00

VANISHED

As a fan of the old Minetta Tavern, it was only a matter of time before I forced myself to go to the new Minetta. When I finally got there, I discovered a major piece of the place has gone missing. But it took a couple of painful tries just to go in.

One night, I stood around outside watching well-heeled, flinty patrons climb out of monstrous Escalades on the helping hands of chauffeurs, to be passed like precious eggs into the hands of the Minetta's doorman/bouncer, a large, shaven-headed man in a black suit, with hands, by the way, the size of catcher's mitts. Deterred, I walked away muttering.

I guess I'm one of what Thrillist called, "the joint's wizened, soon-to-be-muttering-outside-angrily ex-patrons."

But I went back, this time getting close enough to hear the big bouncer, with surprise tenderness, warn away a number of poor schlubs who knew nothing of McNally's renovation. He gently told them, "It's changed since you were here last. An hour and a half wait if you don't have a reservation. Come back tomorrow at 5:30 and you might get a seat at the bar."

I took his advice. I arrived at 5:28. The place was empty, with only three people at the bar. I took a stool. A pearl-chokered woman two stools over quickly grabbed the seat between us, glaring at me as if to say, "Mine!" Her friend arrived, took the stool, and they commenced a gruelingly detailed conversation about the properly made Pimm's Cup.

Literally, within 5 minutes, the place was mobbed. I was, thankfully, halfway through my drink. Because in another 5 minutes, by 5:40, the din of barking diners had become unbearable. I finished and left, but not before noting a glaring omission in the supposedly faithful preservation of the wall decor.

2008: The missing portrait

The portrait of Joe Gould is gone. I searched the walls, but could not find it anywhere.

Joe Gould was probably the most famous, or infamous, habitue in the history of the Minetta Tavern. We know him thanks to Joseph Mitchell, who wrote about the Village eccentric in Joe Gould's Secret, later a film starring Stanley Tucci. Gould, a marginally domiciled, psychiatrically challenged bohemian, ran with famous artists and writers, like EE Cummings and William Saroyan. He was drawn by Al Hirschfeld and painted (sporting three penises) by Alice Neel. He exemplified the Village spirit.

So why did McNally choose to remove Gould's portrait, once prominently and proudly displayed in the center of Minetta's front dining room?

2008: Gould's portrait is in the center of this photo

Maybe I'm mistaken. Maybe it was moved to another spot and I missed it. But a commenter on Greenwich Village Daily Photo noticed the erasure, too, and stated that he asked the restaurant's host about the missing painting, saying, "it's now collecting dust in the owner's 'private collection.'"

Is this because McNally loved the painting so much he wanted to keep it at home? Or did he decide that a tobacco-stained portrait of a homeless madman poet was not fitting for the delicate sensibilities of the Minetta's new clientele?

Same view, 2009, photo: Daily News

Back in March, Keith McNally told Zagat, "No one familiar with the Tavern from the past will know exactly what's changed." But the truth is, the place has changed quite a bit. It's a lot like the new High Line--the old, rag-tag contents were taken out, cleaned up, and rearranged in a careful design not at all organic but pleasing to the eye. Not every item made the cut.

It would take a real Minetta expert (and I am not one) to go picture by picture to know exactly what didn't make the cut, but the deletion of Joe Gould cannot be overlooked. It's a telling omission. Today, Gould would never get through the door.

See Also:
Last Night at Minetta's
Minetta May Day

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-19T11:30:00.002-04:00

Yet another fratboy bar--complete with beer pong--makes itself comfortable on the new LES. [Grub]

For those of you who, like myself, enjoy complaining about idiot cell-phone behavior, here's one from the Times' Complaint Box. [CR] ...and here's the best of readers' comments to the complaint.

Etherea Records lives on--out of an office space in DUMBO. [Stupefaction]

The East Village on weekends is like "Dante's 8th Circle of Hell," but not for stars of Gossip Girl, who make themselves right at home at Mars Bar. [EVG] & [EVG]

At the wake for the old ABC No Rio building. [FIB]

Here's a scene that stirs my brand of real-estate envy--someone is sitting in that bank of windows, writing, on a quiet Village street:

The Art Cars are making the rounds around town--Slum Goddess snapped a bunch and so did Boogie.

More scenes of big change from Taxi Driver to today. [SNY]

Giuliani uses fear to support Bloomberg: "I worry daily that the city might be turned back to the way it was, to the way it was before 1993." [Gothamist]

Madonna's neighbor is suing her noisy ass: "The building's board says it has already threatened to evict." [yahoo]

Nuisance Tax

2009-10-19T07:15:00.001-04:00

After many, many fans of Sex & the City continued to climb aboard and pose for photos on the stoop of the Perry Street townhouse where, I guess, the fictional Carrie Bradshaw lived in the show, the owners of the townhouse mounted a defense.

The chain and the sign have been up for over a year now and I'm not sure how the deterrent has been working out. Maybe not so well. SATC fans are an irrepressible bunch. But now the Perry Street townhousers have added a new twist.

To all those SATC picture-snappers they say, "Took a picture??? Now Please Help," and donate a dollar to orphaned kitties and puppies. That's making the most of a deeply annoying, invasive, uncontrollable situation. I like it.

In fact, I think it could start a trend. Call it a Tourist & Yunnie Nuisance Tax.

Beleaguered neighbors of noisy hotels like the Cooper Square and the Jane could put out boxes saying, "Puked on my sidewalk? Woke me up with your drunken screams? Donate a dollar to [your favorite charity here]."

Just think, if every yunnie or tourist in the city donated just one dollar for every time they did something annoying, we might have the means to cure HIV, eradicate world hunger, and save all the orphaned kitties of New York.

More on SATC:

*Everyday Chatter

2009-10-16T13:22:00.008-04:00

Enjoy a payphone tour of Third Avenue with Anna Jane Grossman. [Obsolete]

Brilliant: Get your souvenir miniature of the recession's failed glass towers. Boym also makes "Buildings of Disaster." [Curbed]

Revisiting the Times' "Rooms" of the city. [NYT]

St. Marks' newest burger joint goes up for beer license Monday--but they're already selling beer. [EVG]

"Downtown is dead," says Alex... [FP]

...but it lives on in the new film Downtown Calling, a look at NYC from 1977-1985. [Stupefaction]

Looking forward to the Cambridge Companion to the literature of NYC. [P&W]

A particularly icky NYC Rhymology. [NYCR]

Blondes get ready to strike a pose with MePa's Madonnas:

And more:

More Jane, Less Marc

2009-10-16T07:00:00.002-04:00

After spotting his bright yellow "More Jane Jacobs, Less Marc Jacobs" postcard in the Soy Luck Club cafe on Greenwich Avenue yesterday, I contacted graphic designer Mike Joyce of Stereotype Design and asked some questions about his recently launched, pitch-perfect "guerrilla campaign."

Stereotype Design

The Village has been turning into a luxury shopping mall for years now. What was the last straw for you, the impetus that drove you to launch this campaign?

I moved here in '94 (I know, I missed the Village heyday by about 30-40 years) and loved just walking around desolate areas like the Meatpacking District (a crazy time when they actually packaged meats) or finding an old garage on Washington being used as a makeshift bookstore.

I guess what finally did it for me was watching about twenty of my favorite restaurants going out of business or being driven out by rents doubling and tripling. This is a sad and direct effect of the franchises like Starbucks, Ralph Lauren, and Marc Jacobs moving in. The management companies like Gottlieb and Ripco have a new client to cater to and it definitely doesn't include the independent small business owners. Biography Bookshop on Bleecker is leaving to make way for another Marc Jacobs store.

You say on your website that Greenwich Village is your “client” for this campaign. What kind of client is the Village and what are its needs?

That was just a way to be consistent on my site and fit it in with all the rest of my projects that truly are created for clients. But if the West Village was a client of mine, first of all they'd have no money, and secondly I think they would really be into this message. The perfect pro-bono client.

from Businessweek

I’ve written before on the proliferation of Marc Jacobs stores along and around Bleecker and their effect on the neighborhood. Sometimes, I get comments like this one in his defense: “the guy is a local NYer who started out working in a consignment shop in the east village during the 80's.” How do you respond to the argument that, because Marc Jacobs started out small and local (he’s also a native New Yorker), his saturation business model should not be critiqued?

Ya know it's funny, when I started this I thought I would get a ton of comments like that but it's really been completely the opposite. Everyone seems to really enjoy the sentiment of the card and I've seen them propped up in store windows and counters and even pinned on an old lady sitting on a bench on Hudson Street.

Probably the biggest question I am asked is "Who's Jane Jacobs?"

But I definitely understand that counterpoint and to those people I have two things to say. One, it is absolutely not meant to be a personal statement against Marc Jacobs. I actually like some of the store's window displays and think he and his team are really talented designers. And two, don't be so literal! It's a play on words to reflect the Village being taken over by franchises and chains of all kinds--not just the six Marc Jacobs stores. Oh, that would be my third point, there is of course a place for Marc Jacobs in the Village but six stores on two blocks?! Come on, the person that argues for that has no individuality.

What’s the next step in your guerrilla campaign? Will there be t-shirts, baseball caps, posters, performance art pieces?

I like the idea of performance art. Maybe we can reenact the last scene in Do the Right Thing? I was originally going to do stickers but I hated the idea of people plastering them on store windows and street signs, so I went with the less obtrusive postcard. But I'm definitely doing t-shirts! I think I'm going to do a reverse of the card--yellow type on black tees. And pins too--the kids love pins these days. I'll let ya know when they're out.

Where can people get their hands on some of these postcards if they want to help in the distribution?

A few people have contacted me for this and I'm more than happy to give a handful of cards out free of charge--just e-mail me at Stereotype. I'll definitely be reprinting more!