The Word On The Street, Part II: Special Mass Transit Edition

Crack down on fare evasion, get an uptick in vandalism. It is the New York City way.

Taken October 23rd, 2019.

New York Shitty Photos Du Jour: Greenwich Village

August 30, 2019 ·
Filed under: 10011, Greenwich Village, Greenwich Village Manhattan 
Taken August 30, 2019.

For Sale In Greenwich Village

April 12, 2015 ·
Filed under: 10009, 10011, Greenwich Village, Greenwich Village Manhattan, Wow, WTF 

(among other things)

Yesterday the husband and I ventured to Manhattan. Among the places we visited was Union Square. We wanted to take in the oddness (actual and contrived) to be found there and see what the Farmer’s Market had to offer. Sure enough, the Pigeon Lady was doing her thing.

The Pigeon Lady nys

I like the Pigeon Lady.

Pigeons nys

Sure she has her “schtick”, but I enjoy her work. It has a certain whimsy to it. Above all, I love how passersby (not just children either) interact/engage with her “brood”. Watching this makes me happy.

The fellow who writes the First Amendment in sidewalk chalk had clearly paid the premises a visit. This too is good.

Fourth Amendment nys

What’s more, he kicked it up a notch by throwing the in the Fourth Amendment for good measure. Excellent! However, unbeknownst to me at the time, while I was taking this photo a fellow approached my husband. He asked him if he wanted to see a card trick. My husband replied as follows:

Fuck off.

It is at such moments I am reminded why I married this man. I will make it a point to remember this the next time he does something trivial that pisses me off. But I digress. After apprising me of this interaction the Mister started getting grumpy and commenced his mantra of “God, I hate these people.” I advised him to lighten up. Union Square has long been a place for misfits and malcontents. You gotta take the bad ones along with the good ones. That’s just the way it is. And then they came.

I am perusing produce. I hear shouting. Actually it was more like chanting. I was thinking to myself:

Alright, we going to have some demonstrating/rabble-rousing!

If there’s one thing yours truly loves, it is malcontents and agitators. Such people provide a check and balance to complacency. This is a good thing. Alas, it was not to be. Once I saw their placards (which read, among other things “Turn that frown upside down” and “SMILE” I knew exactly what to do. And I did it.

hooliganism

Here’s the deal:

All because I am not smiling and/or emitting sunshine out of every orifice does not mean I am not happy. I was already having a good time and did not need a smiling gaggle of clowns assuming I was not and demanding I do. However, it should be noted that when the above finger was dispatched I did have a smile on my face. I was following their directive. I merely tossed in a little “value-added”. Best of all, my act of mischief/churlish revolt brought smiles to other people’s faces. Laughter even. Thus when you think about it they did get what they wanted. It simply did not manifest in the manner they had planned (ADVICE: revise any/all sign copy so they request smiles sans obscene hand gestures. This is New York City after all.). Conclusion: this was a win/win for all parties involved.

Upon having our fill of Union Square we headed to the West Village. Along the way the Mister wondered aloud exactly how much one of these houses would cost. He guessed $6,000,000 – $7,000,000. I told him I thought that figure to be low. Very low.

18 West 11 St nys

It was on West 11th Street he pointed out this rather unusual looking townhouse.

No Trespassing nys

It was not only for sale…

Sign nys

but sported this rather ominous “No Trespassing” sign to boot. It was at this moment is when my husband and I had our “eureka” moment. You see, gentle readers, the new(ish) facade of this building was not merely a flight of fancy on the owner’s part. It was a necessary replacement. The replacement was necessary because the original facade was blown clean off.

FDNY responds to Weatherman townhouse explosion.jpg
FDNY responds to Weatherman townhouse explosion” by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

A Little History 101: 18 West 11th Street was once occupied by a radical leftist group called the Weather Underground. While endeavoring to build bombs in the basement of said building on March 6, 1970 one detonated. Three people died as a result.  There’s a piece of New York City history for you.

Now let’s get back to my husband’s question:

How much does a townhouse— albeit in this case one with a dubious place in history which, as a result, clearly attracts “visitors” (hence the need for a “No Trespassing” sign) and may come with a ghost or two as roommates— in an “a-grade location” cost?

Without further ado, here you go:

listing18west11

 

Just shy of $13,000,000 dollars. Not surprisingly the listing makes no mention of what happened here 45 years ago. I cannot really blame the agents for seeing fit to keep quiet about it. But happened here “it” most decidedly did.

So there have you.

New York Shitty Photo Du Jour: Eye On The Street

Eye On The Street nys

Taken March 14, 2015.

From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: Union Square

Just another day in New York City as captured purrfectly by John Fullard!

From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: Washington Square Park

October 31, 2014 ·
Filed under: 10012, Greenwich Village, Greenwich Village Manhattan, New York City 

Taken by Reuben Radding.

The Word On The Street: Union Square

US1

US2

US3

Like

Taken October 25, 2014.

From The New York Shitty Photo Pool: Naptime

August 28, 2014 ·
Filed under: 10012, Greenwich Village, Greenwich Village Manhattan 

Taken by Luis Peralta.

New York Shitty Photo Du Jour: The Word On The Street

Union Square 8162014 nys

Taken August 16, 2014.

An Honor Roll Of Restaurants Past…

Thank You nys

Last night I had one helluva time falling asleep. Instead of counting sheep I decided to recount restaurants I liked in this city that are no more. Let’s just say it has been on the brain of late.* Here’s a partial list:

  1. Bleu Drawes: Jamaican food in Greenpoint? Yes, once there was! This was on Commercial Street, now the space is occupied by Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.
  2. Oznot’s Dish: Berry Street, replaced by Silent h
  3. Silent h: (see above) , replaced by a French bistro. This was the place which really got me into Vietnamese food.
  4. Barossa: Graham Avenue, replaced by Gwinnett Street whose menu is mildly upscale “artsy” food. (I do not recall the latest name for this establishment, but I imagine part of the reason for the name change was one of the owners being charged with handling narcotics. you can’t make this shit up, folks.).
  5. Kenny’s Trattoria: Havemeyer Street, razed for residential development.
  6. Taco Bite: South 4 Street at Rodney, replaced by a short-lived vegetarian/health food restaurant.
  7. Grand Sichuan: Canal Street, razed so as to build a hotel.
  8. Conos al Pescatore: Graham Avenue. Replaced by Sage an upscale Asian fusion establishment (which I will admit serves pretty good food— but still).
  9. La Vuelta: 45th Road, replaced by a barbecue joint.
  10. Village Mingala: Burmese restaurant whose East 5 Street location is now a Michelin recommended bistro. ASIDE: this leaves one Burmese restaurant in New York City.
  11. El Paso: Houston Street, new tenant TBD
  12. Casa Mon Amour: Franklin Street. They served Dominican food. Now the space is occupied by Vamos al Tequila (which is a fairly good replacement). The folks at Vamos al Tequila have my business for life for simply having the temerity to post the sign gracing the beginning of this post. I can only imagine what necessitated its creation.
  13. Driggs Pizzeria: Driggs Avenue (duh), replaced by Two Boots. This one infuriates me as much as Village Mingala’s closure (READ: A LOT).
  14. Monsignor’s: Bedford Avenue, now Lokal
  15. Rocco’s Ristaurante: Thompson Street, taken over by these guys.
  16. L.A. Ristorante: Manhattan Avenue, now a magazine/cigar store. To their credit, they did retain some semblance of a restaurant— but it really isn’t the same.
  17. Bean: North 8 Street. A nice little Mexican restaurant; now it is Pop’s.

Is it just me or is there an overall trend here? Anyone care to add?

*Thankfully it would appear John’s of East 12 Street has dodged becoming statistic. At least for now, anyway…

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