Midnight at the Federal Reserve

You've heard about the Federal Reserve, right? That's the place where they used to stash all the gold, now it's the mysterious bastion of bearded men intent on either saving or destroying the US financial system. That's it's on the left, late night, when all the powerful bankers have gone home....dig those massive concrete blocks intent on preserving the Union....  

Trump/Atelier Offends at Varick & Vandam

Since the early 1950s, perhaps earlier, the low slung red brick building on the corner of Vandam and Varick in the Village was the home to the country's first Spanish language newspaper, El Diario/La Prensa. On March 11, 1992, Manuel de Dios Unanuem, the editor of El Diario, was shot and killed by a member of a Columbian drug cartel bent on revenge for Unaneum's courageous reporting against the Columbian drug warlords.
El Diario eventually left Varick, but is still going strong. The building the paper occupied has been empty for years, or so I thought. Today, I noticed it's a beautiful new, block long City Winery! Now, open businesses are better than closed ones, but this corner of the Village has been overrun of late. Of course, a Starbucks is across the street. Across from that, a giant 40 story Trump Tower is being built, this in an old industrial area that wasn't zoned for condos, until Mayor Bloomberg, against all local protests and Landmark Preservation committee requests, pushed it through.  
Oh, Trump was in such a rush to beat the hearings on the construction (before Bloomie gave him a pass) that one guy laying concrete fell off the 37th floor and died. But still the blue glass goes up. Nice bar, eh? That barrel to the right adds an "old Village touch." 
Here's where the hostess will check you out. Hmm. What are you wearing, sir?
The window of high end clothier, Atelier, also across from City Winery. Don't these shoes looked used to you?   

Wrinkled shoes for $500 a pair? This is the future of the Village I am afraid...

Back to Smith's Bar

No story here, just an old bar near Times Square that serves locals and tourists with equal doses of fun and classic signage!    

Fat Black Pussycat

The Fat Black Pussycat, used to be Kettle of Fish, and the bar's ties to the famous folk days of Greenwich Village are apparent from the faded photos on the walls and the patron's equally faded faces. In the 60s, this address was Gerdes Folk City, a prominent folk venue where the likes of Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel used to play. Upstairs used to be a Gay Liberation Front community center, which housed the Radicalesbians--who fought sexism in the gay liberation movement and homophobia in the feminist movement. Bookended by an evil frat bar and McDonald's, Fat Black Pussycat holds on to the past.   

Skywatch Saturday

The view from my window overlooking the west village, NYC...

Village Characters

For 30 years, Jimmy DiCiccio and his brother Philly (below) ran a butcher shop on lower MacDougal that was patronized by, among others, local mobsters like Vinnie "the Chin" Gigante and on occasion, John Gotti. The brothers grew up in the neighborhood with all the "made guys" though the DiCiccios didn't participate in the hooliganism. "Those guys were good guys," Jimmy says.  Jimmy spends his Thursdays at Aqueduct Raceway betting on the horses. His favorite greeting phrase," Hey, Kenny, what is it?"  

Back in the 60s, Philly DiCiccio was best friends with Jilly, the right hand man of Frank Sinatra. They all grew up in the neighborhood. Sit around sipping coffee (at Lenny's Something Special) with Philly long enough and he will regale  you with tales of the old days: hanging at Atlantic City with Jilly and Frank.  Partying at Sardi's with Sammy Davis and Keely Smith.  Seeing a young Barbra Streisand perform at the Gaslight Cafe. Or when he was a kid and Joseph Kennedy would recruit local teens to run liquor on the waterfront during prohibition.  At 91, Philly's knees are not so good these days, but he's still one heck of a snappy dresser.   

Caffe Reggio on MacDougal Street

Since 1927 Caffe Reggio has served Italian pastries, sandwiches, pasta and "original cappuccino" to hungry Greenwich Village locals and tourists alike (as well as famous poets and folk music artists) . America's oldest cappuccino machine sits in a corner (original Reggio owner Dominic Parasi introduced cappuccino to the US with this very machine) , next to a table marked "reserved" which is never seated. Serpico, The Godfather, Shaft and John Huston's The Kremlin Letter were filmed here; Reggio still serves as a location for new films and TV commercials. Love the chicken sandwiches, espresso and profitto rolls...
From the Reggio site: Looking around the caffe as you sip an Original Cappuccino, you will notice a beautiful array of artwork, some of which date back to the Italian Renaissance period. A dramatic 16th century painting by the Roman master Caravaggio and an antique bench bearing the crest of the illustrious Medici family are among the works that impart a feeling of grace and warmth to Caffe Reggio.


Caffe Reggio proprietor and all around good guy F. Cavallacci...

Route 130 Road Trip

Along America's forgotten backroads you can still find examples of the small business creativity that built this nation's economy. Route 130 in New Jersey moves a little slower than it once did, but the drive is easy and packed with friendly people.  And pride.   The USA Country Diner in Windsor reaches out to the sky, its blue finish and vertical chrome smartly matching the anchoring sandstone base. Closed as of 2006, the diner's shelves are still stacked with plates, cups and saucers, awaiting a new owner who can sling some serious hash.  
Air conditioning and color TV? I'm there.  
The owner at Travelette ran out and shouted, "You no stay? You no take-a pictures!" Dig the mad '60s running couple next to the cursive lettering (double click to enlarge)..  


Can you say "Bates Motel"? "Get Strangled at Stangel's!" 
Mario and Frank's is a homey Italian restaurant in business since 1975. A truly wonderful dining experience.   
LJ's 2nd "hand" Shop was stuffed with curiosities. 
End of the road in Burlington at Amy's Omelet House, a wonderful 1950s chrome diner updated in the '60s with Califorinia styled stone work. The blueberry pancakes rocked! 

go go go go gone

This weekend, after the mad holiday, my long suffering galpal Leacy agreed to join me for a tour of New Jersey's scenic Rt. 130. It's the highway that time forgot and ain't I happy. Mom and Pop businesses abound on this laidback corridor between Princeton and Philadelphia, everything from pizza joints to diners to liquor stores seemingly unchanged since 1965. Thanks to Randy at www.roadsideonline.com for the diner tips that lead to my discovering the joys of 130, and er, the strangely disproportionate girls so well illustrated above.

Holiday Cheer

Now that the gorging segment of the holiday is over, let the drinking begin! And what better establishment to get it started than Smith's Bar, a Times Square area landmark that has somehow retained its facade and remained in business.     

Welcome to Dublin!

The Dublin House Tap Room, that is. One of the finest "old man" bars in the Upper West Side, Dublin House is homey, the drinks are strong and the barkeep friendly. This classic Irish watering hole is always a welcoming sight after taking shots uptown in the winter weather.   

West 4th Monday Night

Old Friends

Amid the gentrification that has turned Tribeca into an enclave for the well heeled, you can still find a few majestic ruins, ancient signs and memories of old New York. These rusty lawn chairs sit outside an annoyingly trendy bar (or is it a shoe store?) called (W) ine.  The name says it all, but the chairs are quite dear I think. 

Mori Restaurant by Bernice Abbott

Mori was a popular Italian restaurant at the corner of Bleecker and Laguardia. The facade retained its classic looks until a couple years ago when Duane Reade took over. Even then, the window frames, columns, lintels, circular railings and top windows are the same. Duane Reade destroyed the set back off the street and the large ground floor windows, which were still intact pre '06. Lenny of Something Special was married here. The top pic was taken by Bernice Abbott, 1935.



144 Bleecker Street, Originally two Federalist era townhouses, the facade of the building was redesigned for Mori's Italian restaurant by Raymond Hood in 1920. The restaurant went out of business in 1938. The building hosted a variety of tenants until 1962. In that year the Bleecker Street Cinema, an indie art house, beloved in its era, opened in the building. After the cinema closed, a series of music venues occupied the building including the Elbow Room (06) and Nocturne, as well as Kim's Underground Video (RIP). Most all of these businesses departed the location due to rising rents. It's an eternal New York story.

Across from Mori's

I was on Bleecker, trying to shoot the former location of Mori's Restaurant (before/after pics to come)when I spotted this cool curlicue railing. You can see the awning for The Bitter End, one of Greenwich Village's oldest clubs in the background.

Newsstand Noir

Something about this old sign, the tattered awning, the overly stocked window, just spells New York to me.

Bernice Abbott's Charles Lane 1938

Museum of the City of New York: CHARLES LANE (between West and Washington Streets, Perry and Charles Street) SEPTEMBER 20, 1938. Bernice Abbott claimed that Charles Lane was the only back alley she ever found in New York City. The lane was one block long, sandwiched between the New York Central Railroad freight viaduct--seen at a distance in Abbott's photograph--and the elevated West Side Highway. Abbot focused on the Lane’s south side, which in 1938 was still lined with stables and tradesmen shops, as it had been in the nineteenth century. 

First paved with cobblestones in 1893, Charles Lane is still cobblestoned, but its buildings, both old and new, are now residential. Although the elevated highway and freight viaduct have been demolished, the narrow alley has retained its scale and quaint character, after a successful battle in the late 1960s against a proposal for a high-rise housing project.

 Abbott was no doubt struck by this tiny lane lodged between two recently completed transport behemoths, the viaduct and the highway. She may have enhanced the alley's picturesque appearance by arranging an old bucket in the foreground.

Rays of Light

6th Avenue and Mott Street.

Washington Sq. Park Night