Then and Now

I love this ancient cupola on top of an equally historic building at the intersection of 14th and 6th in Manhattan. The original pleated brass work is still intact though the rest of the cupola has obviously seen better days. The contrast against the new building in the background adds to the feeling of history in the making.

Please Excuse My French

That's what we used to say when uttering profanity in a "mixed" crowd. These days, at least in New York, people wear profanity on their T shirts.

These two signs express the feelings of many who live in crowded tourist destinations...that is, when the tourists lose control of themselves. I spotted the signs on tiny Jersey street below Houston in a small alleyway. So please excuse my French...I couldn't resist.

Village Doors

I remember being in London once and seeing this book on British doorways. Thus began my minor love affair with New York doorways. Photographed between King and Canal Streets....these doorways cover many different architectural styles....I find them curiously compelling. Hope you do too! (and I hope the CDP police don't bust me for multiple photos!)

Vinnie the Chin

Regular GVDP visitors are familiar with my moaning/ groaning re the rapidly vanishing architecture of real New York. Numerous Village haunts are closing, but the Triangle Social Club, where many a mafia murder was planned, remains spookily alive. Contrary to public opinion (though crime rates are down), organized crime still lurks below the surface in the naked city.



WIKI: "Vincent "The Chin" Gigante (March 29, 1928 – December 19, 2005) was a New York mobster who headed the Genovese crime family. Dubbed "the Oddfather" by the press, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village, Manhattan in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself, in what police characterized as an elaborate act.

"Gigante ran a crew from Greenwich Village, Manhattan, that was formerly overseen by Vito Genovese and later Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo. Gigante's crew was based out of the Triangle Social Club, located at 208 Sullivan Street, but also met with fellow crew members at the Dante Social Club at 81 McDougal Street, and the Panel Social Club at 208 Thompson Street. Besides those locations, Gigante met with gangsters and business associates at his mother's apartment located at 225 Sullivan Street."

These days the tourists and B&Ts roaming the Village have no idea what happened on Sullivan Street. They only see this ominous facade, padlocked for years (I did see the old mobsters drinking expresso there in the late 80s) though it is regularly painted black -- the building no doubt still owned and controlled by the mob. Oddly enough, an old style mob execution, of sorts, occurred directly in front of the building in March of last year, when an auxillary police officer was gunned down right on the stoop (as reported in Gothamist http://gothamist.com/2007/03/15/cop_shot_on_hou.php). Coincidence? You decide.

Italian Bread & Biscuits

A classic Italian bakery in Soho. The Village was once full of such establishments, but they are going going gone as with Zito's, formerly on Bleecker. Vesuvio's looks like the real deal, but the owner sold out to a cappuccino concern a while back. They wisely kept the turn of the century (the last one) storefront intact.

Blimp Me Silly

Big blimp over the Village, last night, 8:30 pm. Good excuse to shoot sunset...

Bill Ponders the Unknowable

My friend Bill and I returned to Katz's Delicatessen a few weeks ago. Rumour has it that the famed pastrami and corned beef joint (Where Harry Met Sally) has been sold, destined to become yet another Banana Republic, whole foods market or Stella McCartney. Shame....

Caruso's hangout

Montes has been in existence on MacDougal Street since 1918. When Caruso played New York (he stayed around the corner in a landmark building that now houses a drug store, though the majestic columns remain), he always ordered takeout from Montes. Wonder what he ate?

Pigeon Mama

Most people despise pigeons. I know I do. But not this attentive senior citizen, who apparently sees her mission in life as making sure the local pigeon population is well fed, fat and sassy (it's illegal to feed pigeons in New York). You can see her every day, marching up MacDougal Street, bag of bread in hand, with her "children" on her mind. GRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHHHHHH.

Al-Karappi, the Great Frozen Eye of Tehran

Washington Square Park is still full of chess players, though many of their tables will be "relocated" as construction further alters/dominates the park. That's progress! This fellow arrived from another dimension, I believe -- he looked right through me! (click pic for enlargement)

50s Chrome and Steel Beauty

This beautiful Mahoney built diner sits abandoned on West Side Highway near Houston Street. Its last official business name was RIB, and back then, in the late 90s, it served good burgers and brews. Before that it was a semi chic wannabe Mexican place, before that who knows. But what is remarkable, is that even though abandoned and now vandalized, the diner retains its chrome loveliness. It still shines, its colors are rich, and the thing is as solid as a rock. They knew how to build back in the 50s!

More Inspiration, Less Work

Perhaps these homeless gentlemen of the fashionable meatpacking district would enjoy a new Saab?

West Side Lock Up

Bayview Correctional Facility. Has a nice ring doesn't it? A closer inspection of this riverside Art Deco building reveals that once upon a time it most likely housed a shipping line, or perhaps a govt. port facility. Once I started to snap pics of the beautiful nautical reliefs which adorn the side of the structure, security ran me off. Welcome to the West Village!

Love Those Cows!

As the meatpacking district turns into fashion avenue, old hulks like this slowly disappear. But who couldn't love these adorable cows, painted onto the meat market's facade?

Walking the High Line, part two

Yet another pic from my illegal journey down the High Line!

Walking the High Line

Today, I sneaked onto the High Line, the 70 year old freight line that once ran through the lower West Side, then closed in the 70s. Here's a few pics -- watch the link to the right "Walking the High Line," for more to come....

East Village Art

Renegade, guerrilla art abounds across lower Manhattan, particularly in the East Village, a lone holdout to the gentrification that is demolishing the character of much of the West Village, Soho, etc. Some might call this graffiti, but look closely and you can see some real talent, painted on mortar and brick.

Frank Gehry on West Street

New York Times: Mr. Gehry’s structure, the most fanciful of these, looks best when approached from a distance. Glimpsed between Chelsea’s weathered brick buildings, its strangely chiseled forms reflect the surrounding sky, so that its surfaces can seem to be dissolving. As you circle to the north, however, its forms become more symmetrical and sharp-edged, evoking rows of overlapping sails or knifelike pleats. Viewed from the south, the forms appear more blocky. This constantly changing character imbues the building’s exterior with an enigmatic beauty. And it reflects Mr. Gehry’s subtle understanding of context. Rather than parodying the architectural style of the surrounding buildings, he plays against them, drawing them into a bigger urban composition. The sail-like curves of the west facade seem to be braced against the roar of the passing cars. The blockier forms in back lock the composition into the lower brick buildings that extend to the east.

West Side Good Humor!

Leon Pendarvis bought his dad's Good Humor truck (built 1966), refurbished it, then hit the streets to sell ice cream. Dressed nattily and always in good humor himself, Leon brings more than cold'n'creamy refreshment to the West Village. Leon, here's to you, buddy!