Lost City in the News

Of the print publications, I've long thought the smaller titles have done the best job in chronicling the ongoing alteration of New York's skyline and character. Among the best is The Villager, the longstanding community weekly, which has covered every attempt by NYU, St. Vincent's or whatever developer to bulldoze what's valuable in what is arguably Manhattan's most historically rich neighborhood.

Patrick Hedlund, who writes the Mixed Used column, recently interviewed me about Lost City and the beat it covered. His article, which also included comments from East Village-based blogger Jeremiah Moss, appears today. It begins:

Mixed Use often counts on our local pavement-pounders for tips on the freshest Downtown development grist, but we reserve a special spot for a group of savvy bloggers who’ve kept detailed tabs on the city’s real estate boom — and its resultant casualties.

The brains behind Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York and Lost City consistently update their metro-centric Web sites with original news about neighborhood openings and closings, and commentary on the city’s ongoing evolution, with an overriding sense of mourning for the New York of yore.

"Unfortunately, there’s always stuff to write about," said Lost City blogger Brooks of Sheffield, who, as a working journalist by day, uses a pen name for his site. "These places are treasures, and once they’re gone, they’re irreplaceable."

Lost City, which recently chronicled the changes — or, as Brooks found, lack thereof — on the Lower East Side’s Ludlow St. over the past decades, often breaks news that feeds some of the city’s larger real estate media, such as Curbed.com and the big dailies....

To read the full piece, click here.