Have Your Next Party at Club B66

I find this Bensonhurst club at 6612 New Utrecht Avenue hilarious. As far as I can tell, it's named after a bus line. It's in the middle of an industrial wasteland, and absolutely nondescript in appearance.

It is advertised as "a unique nightclub located in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Whether you are looking for a place to host your next Birthday/Baby Shower/Sweet 16/and more.. or you are just looking for a place to party all night with your friends come on over to B66 Club. With the sexiest European bartenders in all of NY, and the wildest crowd, we will definitely make it one night you will never forget!"

Some of those sexy European bartenders can be seen below.

A Good Sign: D'Still Liquors

D'Still Liquors. Get it? Distill—D'Still. Get it? Get it?

At 7020 New Utrecht Avenue in Brooklyn.

Sofia Brothers History Explained For You

Recently, I posted an item about the nearly 100-year-old, family-owned storage company Sofia Brothers.

Apparently, I didn't quite get the family history of the place quite right.
Theodore C. Sofia II, who was named after his grandfather, the founder of the business, wrote in to set me straight, and I am happy to be set straight.

Sofia said his father Alan and Uncle Ted sold out of their interest back in the mid-80's, leaving Theodore II's great Uncle John's the boys—Frankie, Johnnie and Lenny—to run the business. Thus, Sofia Brothers.

La Bonne Soupe Back Tomorrow

According to Eater, quoting Bret Thorn at Nation's Restaurant New, the quaint Midtown standby La Bonne Soupe, which suffered a terrible fire three months ago, will return to business on June 30.

Or not. La Bonne Soupe responded to Thorn's item, saying later in the week was more likely. Anyway: soon! Visiting Frenchies and City Center subscribers rejoice!

Can't imagine what it will look like inside now. It's sweetly rundown atmosphere was always part of its charm.

Stores Die, Websites Live On

Many a landmark New York shop, restaurant, bar or business has succumbed since I began this blog three-and-a-half years ago. Some pass away without a trace, paved over by Gotham's ceaseless, heartless march of progress. Some leave slight architectural hints of their existence. Others live on in the spectral twilight of the Internet.

Most shops that meet their final end quickly bring the curtain down on their website. Take, for instance, the site of Arnold Hatters, which shuttered a month ago. No sooner had it ceased operation than the owners took down all Internet info except for a succinct letter of farewell.

Other stores, however, aren't so thorough in cleaning up their cybershop. Joseph Patelson Music Shop closed its doors a couple weeks ago, but on its website, there's still a sale going on. Manny's Music ended its 83-year-long run on May 31, but www.mannysmusic.com is still open for business and ready to answer your e-mails.

OK, OK, those places only closes a little while ago. So we should give them time, right? Well, what about the Upper West Side's Cafe Mozart, which still a picture gallery, menus, applications for gift certificates and reservation page? It closed in summer 2008. And the vastly missed Vesuvio Bakery's site still boasts a menu from its final incarnation as a cafe. Maybe the owners are just too heartbroken to attend to details such as these. So they stay there, to break our hearts.

Another website floating out there without any material foothold on Earth is the one for Florent, the legendary Meatpacking diner that closed in 2008. But, then, there are rumors Morellet is reopening in a different location. So maybe he has his reasons for keeping the site up.

A Good Sign: Dick's Hardware

Nice, hand-painted sign way the hell up on upper Broadway, at 207th, in Inwood. "Everything you need for your home and more." Don't know how old, but people say it's been around "forever."

Buildings on Stilts

Those who think Manhattan is a flat island would be surprised by what they find in Inwood, where hills, or even cliffs, are not uncommon.

Take, for instance, these apartment complexes on Broadway terrace, that look like they're built on the peak of some Tuscan hill town. The ones on stilts I find rather alarming. How do they possibly stay erect?

Arnold Hatters' Old Flagship Store—Possibly

I was having a beer at the Rum House on W. 47th Street, when I noticed this picture on the wall. The words "Knox Hats" immediately grabbed my attention. Arnold Hatters, the great old Midtown hat store that closed late last month, had a sign like that above their store. (They once carried Knox Hats, and people came to think that was the actual name of the store, so they kept the sign up.)

I asked the waitress about the picture. She said it was given to the bar by a longtime regular, a guy who owned a hat store that had closed a few weeks ago. This was a picture of the store his family had once owned on 42nd Street.

Bells went off inside my head! Was Arnold Rubin the name of the regular? Was Arnold Hatters the name of the store? Yes and Yes. (I could see Arnold in the Rum House; it's his kind of place.) I remember, when talking to the Rubins in the past, that Arnold's uncle had owned a chain of hat stores, not just one, and one of them was on 42nd Street, just west of Broadway. Could this be it?

The name above Knox Hats troubled me, though. Scott Hatters. There was no one named Scott in the Rubin clan. But the address, 201, was right. That's right at the northwest corner of 42nd and Broadway. Maybe Arnold's uncle bought out an existing store called Scott Hatters. After all, the family was in the habit of leaving up old signs.

Nice looking store. Take note of the reflection of an old Kentucky Fried Chicken store in the window.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

[Picture courtesy of Best View in Brooklyn]

Wrap-up of the various ways the City lied to the Gowanus community at the Jan. 23 public meeting about the Superfund Scandal. [Found in Brooklyn]

The City then returned on Jan. 24 to lie some more. [Pardon Me for Asking]

The owner of an eminently landmarkable 1870 house in Bayside doesn't think the place is "elegant" enough for landmark status. Gosh, think he might have selfish personal reasons for that stance? [Daily News via Gothamist]

The inside of Circus legend James Bailey's unwanted Harlem mansion is crazy beautiful. [New York Mag]

Big crack in building: no good. [EV Grieve]

That was Beauty Bar, and don't it look grand. [JVNY]

Cuckoo control freak Bloomberg said on WNYC, regarding school control bill: "If the Senate passes something that differs by one word or more, it is saying to the city ‘We want to resurrect the Soviet Union. We want to bring back chaos.’” [Queens Crap]

The War on Bikes

I have a driver's license. But I don't own a car. I wouldn't want to in New York. It would be a nuisance six ways til Sunday, to myself and the City. But I own a bicycle, and, when not on a bus or the subway, it is my main "wheeled" way of getting around town.

And so, I notice when a new bike lane appears. And I also take notice of the reaction to them. These, in many cases, have been extreme.

To me, the new emphasis on getting around by bike has been one of the few things the Bloomberg administration has gotten right. But the communities on which the new bike lanes have been "inflicted"—even liberal ones like Park Slope—appear to universally loathe them. Stick-in-the-mud non-bikers hate then on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg. They hate them on Grand Street in Little Italy.That is, if you believe the press, which seems to chase after a few loud voices and give them full play.

The battle is usually one of bicyclist (and the civic bureaucracy that aids them) versus merchant, though sometimes its pits parking-spot-losing car owners against bikers. Bike lanes take out about a yard-wide chunk of the road—a section usually used by the delivery trucks that service shops and stores. And so the merchants complain: these lanes are an inconvenience, they're bad for business. They also argue they could make is hard for ambulances and fire trucks to get through.

I understand that. It must be annoying for those store owners and truck drivers. But just a minute. Why are double-parkers suddenly victims all of a sudden. We all deal with double-parked trucks making deliveries? They back up traffic. They create congestion. They care about no one! And I've seen many a parked truck block the path of a fire engine or ambulance for minutes on end, far more often than I've seen a bike do the same truck. (Actually, I've never seen a bike do that.)

And, yet, news reports instruct us that we are to feel bad about them, and despise the bike riders, who do none of the above, road-clogging things, and only want to get from one place to another. No bike lane has every killed a business, and none ever will. The bike lanes help everyone in the city, decreasing congestion and air and noise pollution. The double-parked trucks contribute only to the stores they serve. They aren't going way—I know that. They bring goods to the City, goods that people need. But they're the ones who have to find a way to work around the lanes, not vice versa. The lungs of the City are more important that the balance sheet at one shop.

Recently, some students at Hunter College with nothing better to do conducted a study that revealed "a large number of cyclists routinely disobey many traffic laws." They compiled 5,275 observations of riders at 45 randomly generated intersections across Midtown from First to 10th Avenues and 14th to 59th Streets, and discovered such whopping truths as: 37% of the cyclists observed blew through red lights; and only 29.8% of the riders wore helmets.

I don't dispute any of this. Nor did it surprise me. (It surprised no one, actually.) But what sort of weird double standard is going on here? The study seems to be operating under the unspoken implication that cars are obeying laws, while bikes get away with murder. But, you know what? Cars sometimes run red lights. Cabs regularly do. Drivers don't wear safety belts a lot of the time, and also talk on cell phones constantly, endangering other drivers and pedestrians. So, what the study is telling us, really, is that bike riders can be as bad as car drivers when it comes to being scofflaws.

But the study also leaves out this important fact. If I get hit by a bike that isn't obeying traffics law (and I have), I probably won't die. A car? My chances aren't as good.

Yet, press organs that picked up this story gleefully took swipes at the biking community. The media—which is run, by and large, by rich white men who don't have a terribly progressive way of looking at things—seems to have a standing grudge against the bike lanes. Look at this obviously biased editorial that appeared June 18 in the Brooklyn Paper.

The Paper (the editorial is unsigned) states "in virtually every case, the lanes offer a false sense of security to bicyclists, motorists and pedestrians. Yes, accidents are down, but no amount of paint can protect a cyclist from a collision with a menacing automobile or save a pedestrian from the two-wheeler who speeds through a red light."

A fine piece of sophistry. I'm sorry, but, as a bicyclist, the lanes do give me a sense of security. Not total security—nothing delivers that. But I feel a hell of a lot more safe than if there were no bike lane at all. Also, if I am insecure in the bike lane, that has more to do with the behavior of the motorists around me. If you want the bike lanes to work, it's them you should be talking to. They need to adjust, not the bikers. Yet, this editorial is pointed at the bike-lane advocates.

The editorial goes on to say: "We do believe that the Department of Transportation’s bike program has played an important role in reducing accidents and encouraging bicycling. But too many bike lanes have been laid down without sufficient understanding of how the lanes will conflict with existing conditions."

The faulty premise here is that those "existing conditions" should continue to exist, when the whole point of the Green, environmental, pro-bike movement is that things have to change. A City that continues to rely completely on cars and trucks will be dead in the water in a couple decades.

The editorial then ends with a "common-sense quiz," which one should take laying out a bike lane:

• Does the road have heavy traffic?
• Does the lane fail to get bikers safely to key destinations?
• Is there a lot of through- or two-way traffic that will conflict with the bike lane?
• Is it a busy pedestrian area?

If the answers are “yes” to all of these questions, a bike lane is clearly not appropriate in that location.

Let's follow the illogic, shall we? A bike lane doesn't belong on roads with heavy traffic, right? But it shouldn't exist if it doesn't get a bike to a "key destination." Well, duh, guys—it's the roads with heavy traffic that go to key destinations. If you put a bike lane on a road with light traffic, you're not sending that bike to a key desination. Furthermore, pedestrians are everywhere in New York, so that nixes more streets.

Lets take the north-south roads my neighborhood of Carroll Gardens as an example and see where, using this test, it is appropriate to put a bike lane.

Columbia Street? Lot of through traffic there, heading to Fairway and IKEA. Also two-way traffic. So, no. Hicks Street? Heavy traffic heading to the BQE, plus a lot of pedestrians. So, no. Henry Street? Lots of pedestrians traveling back and forth across the BQE bridges; very residential. And it doesn't lead you to any huge destinations. Again, no. Clinton Street (where there already is a bike lane)? Again, lots of foot traffic, and through traffic; it's a big lane for cabs returning to Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge. Negative. Court Street or Smith Street? No. Major shopping thoroughfares. Cars, trucks, people, through traffic. Everything! What about Hoyt Street? Hm. Maybe Hoyt. Not much going on there. But it goes nowhere! So, scratch that.

Ladies and gentleman: the quiz that allows no bike lanes!

Call me a radical, but I think bikes should be allowed to go anywhere a car is. People in cars need to get everywhere and anywhere, right? It's just assumed that that's their right. Well, so do bikers. They're citizens and workers and family members just the same as drivers. They're not out on some endless, frivolous joy ride. Most bikers you see are going somewhere specific for a specific reason. Why should they live segregated lives, when the gas-guzzling, smog-creating, pedestrian-endangering metal dinosaurs are given free run of the City?

Little Boxes, on a Hillside

These three, thin, little houses, on a sloped street in Inwood, look like they're about to topple over any minute. San Francisco-ey. As far as I can tell, none of them are inhabited.

"I Am Willing to Take Anyone Over Bloomberg"

Is it me, or are the cries for Bloomberg's ouster increasing by the week? Last fall, I often felt like a voice in the "But I like Bloomberg, he's all right" wilderness. Now, it seems astute observers from all corners are recognizing Mike's power grab for the rank piece of top-drawer corruption it is. (And the phrase "illegal third term" is being used more and more). This piece, written by The Pollitikat, was published on the estimable political blog Daily Kos yesterday. Worth a read.

Iran is Not the Only Election Being Stolen--Michael Bloomberg?

"New York, New York big city of dreams, but everything in New York ain't always what it seems, you might get fooled if you come from out of town," those lyrics are from a classic hip hop song next line to that classic hip hop song is "but I’m down by law and I know my way around," the reality is you might and will get fooled even if you are from town. If you dream of making it big in politics then New York is the city for you. New York City has a reputation of being progressive and that may be true when it comes to our vices but we are one of the most backwards. One of original thirteen colonies, we didn’t have an African American governor until the Spitzer sex scandal, and New York city the most culturally diverse cities has only had one minority leading the city, Dinkins who was kicked out after one term because of antics from people like Rudolph Giuliani.

We are often fooled by those seeking to use the state or city to promote their political careers; the most recent is Hillary Clinton who used New York as her base to establish a political career that would potentially lead to the presidency. It didn’t work out for Hillary but New Yorkers didn’t seem to have a problem with her using the state and overwhelmingly voted for her during the primary.

Now we have the situation of Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg an extremely successful Wall Street businessman was a registered democrat who many New Yorkers had never heard of before he decided to run for mayor in 2001. Bloomberg had virtually no name recognition outside the Business community and it was clear that he would not win democratic primary or the support of democratic political leadership so he jumped parties and captured the republican nomination. He spent over $75 million on the mayoral campaign and narrowly defeated the democratic candidate Mark Green. Bloomberg is now serving in his second and what should have been his final term except for one thing.

Michael Bloomberg is an opportunist; when it was clear that being a republican was no longer popular he again made the switch to "independent". Some speculated the change was made to line up for a possible run for the white house, but Bloomberg had something else in mind. He wanted to circumvent the wishes of new Yorker and run for a third term as mayor, even though new Yorkers twice voted to have the mayor serve only two terms.

Bloomberg has decided that he is the only one that could save New York City. The mayor claims the city has many problems and he wants to be around to help fix them. My question is where have you been for the past eight years Mr. Mayor? Wasn't he the one in office when the problems were getting out of control. The mayor has had eight years to tackle the problems that plague New York City, yet he has had minor impact. As a matter of fact the Mayor worked down the street from Wall Street and claimed not to know what was going on there. The mayor is one who also favored deregulation of the banks. While Wall Street stole the people money, the mayor was just chillin in city hall giving the cities money away.

While many New Yorkers seem to be fascinated with Bloomberg he remains in my eyes a mediocre Mayor, garnering much of his support from conducting what I call media stunts. The mayor has been very good at marketing himself and creating a smoke screen to distract us from his many failures since he became leader. The city has not gotten better, I would say things have gotten worse. Let us start with the MTA strike, the handling of the black out in queens, taking over of the board of education and the continued failure of the city's public school systems. Poor maintenance and deterioration of public housing, lack of low income or affordable housing, and the hole that’s still in lower Manhattan. Just to name a few. New York is one of the states affected by predatory sub-prime lending there are many houses in foreclosure and cars being repossessed. While Manhattan is kept nice and clean for the tourists the outer boroughs are in disarray. Drugs and guns continue to be a problem here.

After the strike fight with the union I did not expect what would come next. Bloomberg negotiated to give the New York Yankees over 600 million to build a new Yankee stadium. Well after we gave the Yankees our tax dollars they built a beautiful stadium that average new Yorkers cannot afford to attend, baseball which is usually a family affair, well the average New York family cannot afford it. If a family of four wants to see the game it will cost about $400 without tax. The Yankees are one of the most, if not the successful franchises partly because they are in New York. Did Bloomberg think the Yankees were going to leave the city if they didn’t get the money?

Campaign finance reform is something that we have been spending a great deal of time talking about for the past couple of years. Many feel that because Obama spent a record breaking amount of money in the last campaign that it should be ok for people to just go ahead and break the bank open if they have it. But realize that Obama raised that money from his supporters. People who wanted to see Obama win the office of presidency. Why does Bloomberg need to spend so much of his own money for his re-election? If he was doing such a great job as mayor wouldn’t there be an overwhelming show of support for his re-election. Wouldn’t he have been able to raise the money he needed from his supporters.

Wouldn’t he have presented to the people the option of allowing him to run again for a third term in the form of referendum vote; asking the people whether or not they supported him again for a third term. What the heck is Bloomberg afraid of and why doesn’t he respect the people of new York, why doesn’t he respect the fact that twice New Yorkers voted for term limits, yet Bloomberg felt that he had the right to overturn the will of the people and put himself on the ballot again for a third term. What is Bloomberg afraid of, he has no respect for the voters of New York and he bribed the members of the City Council to ok a third term for him by promising a third term for those who would have been also been termed out this year, he is once again trying to buy to office of the mayor. They way that the mayor is trying secure his third term I think is enough to vote him out, and any council member who supported the mayors efforts should also be removed from office.

It may sound good to just let Bloomberg go ahead and have his third term and I wondered who was going to step in as mayor because Bloomberg seems to be intimidating most of the cities leaders, and some treating him as a god, even though over seventy –nine schools have been closed under Bloomberg, the city is virtually bankrupt, public housing is falling apart, and wall street went bust under his nose. This city is in such bad shape that I considered keeping Bloomberg because there was no one else out there that seemed to be able to challenge him.

Bloomberg has a multi-million dollar budget and apparently willing to spend it all to ensure that he secures an illegal third term as mayor of the this great yet distressed city. To date Bloomberg has spent over nineteen million dollars on his re-election campaign. It is clear that he is once again trying to buy the mayors office. Although he feels it's his money and he should be able to do what he pleases with it I disagree. Millionaires should not be able to pour unlimited sums of their own money into a campaign and the law allowing that needs to be changed to limit the amount of personal funds a candidate can use to fund a political campaign.

William Thompson is the only candidate that is willing to take on Bloomberg, I am not sure that Thompson has the right message and is making the right points, I am willing to take anyone over Bloomberg, no politician should be a powerful as Bloomberg has become. So while we are condemning actions abroad in countries that have no bearing on our day to day lives, let’s remember those in this country who violate our laws, seizing power and refusing to let go. It seems we are always demanding that democracy be recognized abroad but when it is compromised here we are willing to acquiesce. People from out of town always have this perception of New Yorkers as progressive and not taking any crap, but most New Yorkers are from out of town. When it comes to our politics we are very malleable and easily fooled. We have to get Bloomberg out now, if we do not block Bloomberg at his attempt to steal a third term who knows when we will get rid of him.

People Die But Dino Is Forever

The same reader who sent me the priceless shot of the Betty Boop-Milky Way hearse at Carroll Gardens' Raccuglia Funeral Home now delivers this shot of the final farewell to someone who really, really liked Dean Martin. As Dino so wisely said: Ain't that a kick in the head!

Sign of Our Times

Grub Street uncovered that the late, great SoHo bakery, Vesuvio, is now living a spectral life as part of a Morgan Stanley Smith Barney ad:

The scene you see here (of a fictional employee walking in with a bundle of baguettes that he then puts in the window) is part of a montage accompanied by a voice-over saying, “Where will you find the stability and resources to keep you ahead in this rapidly evolving world?” Ironic.

To say the least.

I can't think of a more bitterly pointed illustration of wronged priorities of the New York we now live in. Independent businesses of long standing—businesses which truly contribute to their neighborhoods, and the cultural fabric of the City—tumble one after another, and no one in power lifts a finger or sounds the alarm. Meanwhile large, rapacious economy-despoiling money machines like Morgan Stanley prop up the corpses of the same indy shops to push forward further confidence schemes, trading on the integrity and purity of stores like Vesuvio—an integrity a Wall Street brokerage couldn't begin to approach.

Cynical. Hypocritical. Ugly.

Good Mexican Arrives on Union

Off-topic here. No longer will Carroll Gardens West (or whatever you want to call it) suffer a drought of good and cheap (I'm looking at you, Alma!) Mexican food. Calexico is finally open, roughly ten months after they announced they would move into the old Schnack space on Union Street.

The space is still recognizably Schnack-y. Same red banquette along the left wall. The door handle is still a hog dog. Otherwise, the place is agreeably spartan, aside from a couple mock Catholic shrines (see below) and a wall of crosses and quasi-Medieval, frameless paintings. (Mexico is a religious country—we get it.)

The lunch menu (no dinner yet) is simple and straightforward: burritos, tacos, quesadillas, tortas, chips, salsa, salad, beans, rice and sodas. Nothing above $10. Wednesday lunch, the place was already full by 12:30. And why not? Good, fresh, filling stuff. Yum.

Rainbow Rollercoaster at 191st Street

Anyone out there who thinks their subway stop has some flair and wit should first check out the 191st station on the 1 line. It gets bonus points right off for having the biggest extant IRT sign I've ever seen. Beyond that, it's been painted with a riot of colors, and with a wide variety of depictions of local Inwood and Washington Heights attractions (though, I must say, the sign saying "Malcolm X Tonight" on the Audubon Ballroom gives me the chills).

I guess riders need a bit of cheer before taking that long elevator ride down. At 180 feet below street level, the station is the MTA's deepest

Gino Makes a Change

Gino, the age-old red sauce joint on upper Lex, is one of those places that doesn't accept credit cards—even though a meal there will probably cost you $60.

But, perhaps feeling the pinch of the times, that has changes. The NY Post reports will begin Gino accepting credit cards.

"Times change," said co-owner Michael Miele. "You have to go forward. Especially the younger generation, they don't carry cash."

Then there's this priceless exchange:

Still, a sense of possibility hangs in the air. [Patron Michael] Barlerin turns to bartender Bruno Blazina.

"The next question I'm going to have is, 'When are you going to start serving [food] at the bar?' "

"That will never happen," responds Blazina.

"Credit cards were never going to happen, Bruno."

Lunch at the Capitol

The Capitol Diner has been sitting on upper Broadway near 207th Street since 1927. It's basically your last chance for standard-issue diner food before you hit the Bronx.


As is often the case with aged Greek diners, the splendid oldness of the place ends with the facade. Great sign. Inside, it's a more mundane oldness at work, probably only stretching back to the 1970s. The food's nothing special, but serviceable. The "homemade" cream of chicken soup was obviously Campbell's. The fries weren't bad. And I was impressed with a regular's very specific order: "Can you give me a burger, medium rare, no bun, with mozzarella, fried onions and gravy on top."


This tile design on the wall kind of blinded me. A bold choice.


I have no idea why, but the Capitol was serving drinks out of cups advertising The Hat, a California fast-food chain that specializes in pastrami.

One other thing that clinches this place's fabulousness: It's the Capitol Diner, ladies and gentlemen, not the Capital Diner. "O," not "A." As in the place where Congress meets.

Not good spellers? Or do the owners truly revere the American democratic model?

Play Bloomberg-opoly! (We're All Forced To, Anyway, Right?)

The Angry New Yorker blog has come up with perfect board game for our time. It's frustrating! It's hilarious! It's all true! It's Bloomberg-opoly!!!

Of course, King Bloomberg is the guy in the tux and top hat. And it's his board, baby! You just play on it. Boardwalk and Park Place? They're the new Yankees and Mets stadiums, and you have to pay plenty in taxpayer money if you land on them. (Between them, taking the place of the luxury tax, is Bloomie's failed Olympic bid.)

Community Chest is now the City Council Slush Fund. Chance is now "Rezone?" The green squares are a series of failed developments: Coney Island, West Side Yard and Atlantic Yards. Only developers are allowed to land on the yellow space labeled "eminent domain."

Any, of course, Free Parking is now Free Ride, as in Term Limit Extension.

Alley-Oop!

Second Trip to the Red Hook Ballfield Vendors

Had an enchilada at the Carrillo Guatemalan vendor. Doesn't look like your usual enchilada, does it?

If Sofia Brothers isn't the oldest family-owned storage business in New York City, it's got to be one of the oldest.

The tall, impressive, art deco building at Broadway near 187th—which is adorned with a luscious piece of vertical neon along its side—says the concern was founded in 1910, making it nearly 100 years old. It was founded by Theodore Sofia and carried on by his five sons. It is still owned by the family.

Sofia Brothers has three locations in Manhattan now, but, from what I can gather, used to own more. One, at 1221 Intervale Avenue, the Bronx, was used to store 600,000 bottles of beer during Prohibition, leading the Feds to arrest Theodore. Excitement! Another, on West. 61st Street near Columbus Circle, which is considered by architecture critics to be an Art Deco gem, was converted into condos in the 1980s. The building was declared an official city landmark in 1983. It now called The Sofia.

Armando's to Open in August; Sign's Fate Still in Limbo

The last report about Armando's—the "We're closing for good," but "We've had second thoughts, so we're reopening," landmark Brooklyn Heights eatery—was that it would be reopening in three months time. That was in the Daily News in March. So, it's three months. Where is it?

Not open. So I checked in. Activity is brisk on Montague Street. Construction is nascent, but very much going on. The owner, Peter Byros, was on premises, wearing a mouth mask. Armando's will reopen in early August, he told me. What about the iconic sign? Is it coming back, or is the Landmarks Commission continuing to give him unwarranted grief about hanging it back up. "We're working on it," is all he would say.

The Gimbel's Bridge

A reader sent in the above picture of the sky bridge that connects two building on W. 32nd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, asking what it was.

That's as good an excuse as I need to talk about this three-story, Art Deco, copper-clad wonder, which used to connect the Gimbel's flagship department store to its annex across 32nd. Before becoming the sorry excuse for a shopping center know as Manhattan Mall, the building on Broadway between 32nd and 33rd was the great Gimbels, which lost its war with Macy's sometime in the 1980s.

The unique bridge was built in 1925 by Canadian Richmond Harold ("R.H.") Shreve and William Lamb from Brooklyn, who, with Arthur Loomis Harmon from Chicago, went on to work on the Empire State Building.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

The Coney Island Mermaid Parade goes on, despite the rain. [Gothamist]

Another example of the endemic abuse of eminent domain now common in Bloomberg's New York. [Queens Chronicle via Queens Crap]

A toast to the number 169 [Ampersand Seven]

A house in Admiral's Row goes kerflooey. The culprit: rain, and governmental neglect. [Curbed]

Why I Want More Rain

The New York Times revealed on June 19 what most of us have been feeling in our bones for some times: June has been freaking rainy!

Record rainy! Rain had fallen for 15 of the first 19 days of June. And this article appears before this past weekend's (and today's) contributions. So make that 18 or the first 22 days of June.

On Friday, 2009 already ranked at the seventh wettest June in New York on record, with 7.62 inches. By now, I'm we've blown away No. 6: 1887's 7.76 inches.

You might think I'd be sick of the rain. And I am. But, I want it to continue, for a little bit anyway. I didn't go through all this dreary wetness not to set a record! 2003's 10.26 inched is going down! We're only a couple inches away. So, let's go for it.

And then we can have a nice sunny July, full of cloudless skies and big, brimming reservoir.

A Belated Mourning

My apologies to Frank's Fish Market of Washington Heights. It deserved far better than to be mourned a full six months after it closed up shop. But I did not know.

Frank's was on Broadway between 179th and 180th. It served Washington Heights for more than 70 years, offering fair prices of fresh fish and seafood in a clean environment. A small storefront, partially obscured by a tree, it also boasted some bee-OO-tiful signage, which remains.

Hedge fund king Glenn Dubin—as recently as last September one of the richest Americans and worth $1.3 billion (no idea what his status is now)—scaled fish here as a youth, for what it's worth. Married a former Miss Sweden and bought Jackie Kennedy's former Fifth Avenue pad. I wonder: has he heard about Frank's?

Greenhorns Get Their Goats

Saturday's rain did not stop the Greenhorns—a group of young, idealistic, back-to-basics farmers—from throwing a down-home hoe-down right in the heart of Carroll Gardens, inside and outside the newly reborn Vermont Market and Pharmacy, which look to became even weirder in its second incarnation that it was in its first.


There was a mighty crowd—average age: 24—on the corner of Henry and Sackett, enjoying music, politically correct food and informational literature under the scaffolding (which had been painted green and inscribed with quotes from Walt Whitman for the occasion). I swung by because I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see a goat turned on a bike-powered spit. And because I knew this would be a rare chance to see the inside of the long shuttered pharmacy. So, I got to see the tin ceiling for the first time.


And I got to see the ornate tile floor, which stills bears the name of Longo's Pharmacy, the gun-running shop that was here before the Vermont version showed up.




To see these attractions (and to claim a "free" beer) cost me $5. I was give a bean from the cashier, which I, Jack-and-the-Beanstalk-style, gave to lady in trade for the brewsky. To get a goat sandwich cost another $10. I opted not to get the $5 side salad and ice cream. Whew! Going Green sure costs a lot of green.


Now, I lean liberal in my political and social beliefs. But, I have to say the Greenhorn's new venture was about the most weirdly Hippie-ish happening I've ever encountered. People were sitting on hay bales, for cripes sake. Flowers were worn on various heads as halos. There was elderflower syrup for sale, for, I guess, to put on your pancakes. One could participate in something called a "Silent, Non-Violent Auction." (Is vocal bidding an act of violence?)


Don't get me wrong. I wish these guys well. (No target date on the opening, by the way.) I support most everything their into: local food, natural products, etc. They want to do the right thing, and more power to them! I just couldn't help but put myself in the shoes of the staring old Italian men across the street at the Society of the Citizens of Pozzollo social club, who were probably thinking it was the '60s all over again.


The goats were off the spit by the time I got there, but there was plenty of goat meat and goat ribs around. The little tin-can-chewers were brought down from a farm in Connecticut and there had been two of them. As I said before, the spits were powered by bicycle. Someone excitedly asked the man in charge if that ingenious arrangement has worked all right. He shrugged. "Not really," he said.

Goose Heaven and Fly Hell and Other Mayoral Attitudes

From the Daily News, via Queens Crap, your Mayor is speaking...about...something:

"I don’t know why he did it. I had pickets outside my house for geese last night. We are sending some of these geese for well-deserved rest up in the sky, wherever geese go.

"But the bottom line is, we can make fun of the geese but they’re a danger to human beings flying. And we’re doing what's appropriate, and I’m sure what the president thought about was that particular fly might be spreading something like the H1N1 flu and he was going to risk his own life with hands - bare hands, without Purell - and he protected the public by hitting that fly, and we owe him a great debt of gratitude. I'm sure he’s laughing about it right now."

I'm sorry. Does Mike Bloomberg really believe in Goose Heaven?

Gowanus, the Superfund and the Evil of Today's New York

There is perhaps no better way of illustrating the utter wrongness of the way development issues are handled in today's New York than an examination of the Gowanus Superfund scandal that has been unfolding over the past two months. (Yes, it is a scandal.) It has been a pageant of mendacity, chicanery, greed and utter disregard for public welfare from the get-go, from the tactics of the developers The Toll Brothers to the behavior of politicians at nearly every level of City government, from Bloomberg on down.

To fill in those who are not aware (they can't be many, the issue has been given such press coverage), in April 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to list the long fetid and neglected Gowanus Canal on the Superfund National Priorities List. This might have been good news at another time, under another Mayor. But during the boom-boom development decade that has just recently died, the Toll Brothers decided the Gowanus Canal was like Venice or something, and whipped up a bizarre plan to erect a bunch of tall, luxury housing towers along the waterway.

Let it never be said the any New York developer ever came out on the side of the community. And, sure enough, the blindsided Tolls hated this idea. It would slow down (money) development! It would hinder (money) the rebirth of the area. And, you know, they said, the canal isn't really that dirty, when you think of it. (They actually went on the record with this position!) Plus, plus, plus, plus....we've got our own plan to clean up the canal! No, really we do. It's around here somewhere, just give us a minute. And it's so much better than the EPA's!

Bloomberg, suddenly hearing that one of his peeps (i.e., wealthy developers) was in peril, immediately came out against the clean-up. Again, the main concern was that the Toll Brothers would be negatively impacted. Lots of other pols came out against it, too, including the super-slimy Bill DeBlasio, who takes a bath in extra virgin olive oil every morning so as to render himself as slippery as possible. No surprise there, after the Tolls spent near half a mil on lobbying City Hall for the zoning change that gave them the ability to build on the canal. Nobody, meanwhile, seemed to be thinking about the communities of Gowanus, Boerum Hill and Carroll Gardens, and how the rejection of a free clean-up of a poisoned canal might effect them.

One of the first folks to come out in favor of the Superfund was Josh Skaller, one of the five candidates for the City Council seat that DeBlasio vacated. Skaller—who refuses to take money from developers, and is supported by The Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development (C.G. CORD) and the Friends and Residents of the Gowanus Canal (FROGG)—held a press conference at the Canal today to elucidate his position, and counter the campaign of misinformation that has clouded the issue.

And what misinformation! As Skaller pointed out, the Toll Brothers have hired the same environmental "expert" and the same high-priced public relations firm that Bruce Ratner employed when he was busy raping downtown Brooklyn for Atlantic Yards. They've been challenging the EPA's Superfund track record—while playing down the fact that the City has absolutely NO track record in large clean-ups. They promote the idea that the Toll Brothers are fully intent on cleaning the canal—while making no mention that the Tolls might not like the Superfund because its rules would require them, as one of the responsible parties involved, to chip in for part of the clean-up, whereas a plan they support might not cost them a single dime, simply because, well, when the EPA goes away, they might just forget to do it! (The City described the Superfund as "an adversarial process focused on enforcement and litigation." Don't you just hate law enforcement and people who sue you when you don't do the right thing?!)

There's also little explanation in the anti-Superfund camp of how or why Bloomberg suddenly whipped up a plan to fix the Gowanus after the Superfund showed up, whereas before that he seemed to be content with letting things be. As had every other Mayor—for decades! "Any cleanup plan proposed by the City would clean the canal to the same standards as Superfund," said the City. Funny, the timing, isn't it?

Take a look at the pictures of the canal on the nyc.gov site. They all look very pretty, don't they, no signs of sewage and refuse. Makes you want to live there. Then look at pictures on Pardon Me For Asking that are a tad more probing.

Recently, residents, including Katia Kelly of Pardon Me For Asking, started to notice anonymous, fear-mongering flyers being distributed around the neighborhood. We will be stigmatized!, they cried. The Feds will sue us to pay for the clean-up! It will take 20 years! The City can do it in two!

Only after extended negative exposure did the authors of this flyer actually sign their names to the screed of lies. Why, it was the Toll Brothers! Can you imagine? Plus dogged old Buddy and Debra Scotto, who can be counted on to be behind every bad and dishonest real estate idea along Court Street. (Poor old Buddy. He used to be a leading force in the area's rejuvenation, but now is just a shifty old nuisance who can't get around the idea that men with money don't always mean well.)

The Mayor's Office, meanwhile, showed how much it wanted to hear the people's voices on this urgent issue by scheduling "two meetings for the property and business owners who are adjacent to the Gowanus Canal to discuss the proposed listing and the City’s alternative plan." Problem is, he didn't notify any of them. Instead, the notification was sent to people in Fort Greene! The meetings, FYI, are on June 23 at 6 p.m. and June 24 at 6 p.m., and will be held at P.S. 32 at 317 Hoyt Street, near President.

The Brooklyn Paper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, was there at today's press conference, and asked Skaller a few pointedly anti-Superfund questions, like "Do you think the government has a good record at clean-ups." But Marlene Donnelly, a founding member of FROGG, pretty much shut him up with a persuasive five-minute answer that reminded the reporter that the City has no record at cleaning anything up, took forever to come up with a plan, and that it is misleading to compare (as has been done) the tiny 1.8 mile long Gowanus Canal to the Superfund's efforts to clean a mighty river like the Hudson.

You know what this whole affair keeps reminding me of? That episode of "The Simpsons" where Montgomery Burns ran for Governor in order to prevent regulation of his nuclear plant. He was accused of polluting the area when a three-eyed fish was found in river downstream from the plant. Burns' campaign is only foiled when he's invited to a public dinner at the Simpson house and Marge surprises him by serving the three-eyed fish. Burns takes a bite, but spits it out, thus ending his campaign.

I might might believe the Toll Brothers and Bloomberg and DeBlasio more if they took a nice cooling swim in the "not that dirty" Gowanus.

[Picture courtesy of Pardon Me For Asking]

Lost City Asks "Who Goes to Donohue's Steak House?"

Add Donohue's Steak House to the cluster of timeworn treasures to be found around and about Lexington in the lower '60s. Along with Gino, Subway Inn and Le Veau d'Or, it's been a source of Upper West Side comfort for more than 50 years.

Who Goes There? Donohue's Steak House

The name of this sliver of an Upper East Side restaurant—which Smith & Wollensky could eat as a snack—is a bit of a misnomer. There’s steak on the menu, but it doesn’t play the dominant role as it does at most New York beef temples. Given just as much play are such dishes as calves liver, ham served “Hawaiian sytle,” various seafood dishes and burgers and “Roast Maryland Turkey.” (Someone please tell be why turkeys from Maryland are particularly prized.) It has always been thus, as a framed menu from 1950—the year of the Lexington Avenue eatery’s founding—attests. “The prices were right, then,” quipped my blond, Irish waitress as I took in the artifact.

Donohue’s makes more sense when thought of not as a steak house, but a traditional Irish bar with a small “Dining Room in Rear,” as the gold leaf in the front window reads. The long, beautiful, vaguely Art Deco bar dominates the front of the restaurant. Pass along it, and the seemingly hundreds of coat hooks on the opposite wall, to the end of the wood-paneled space and you find a snug grouping of ten black vinyl booths with bright red tablecloths. Low-set sconces barely illuminate the various paintings depicting maritime and French scenes (which is probably just as well). Specials are written on a chalkboard hung beside a working wooden phone booth.

Donohue’s patrons are “all neighborhood people,” according to my waitress. Some of the diners on a recent night could have been there when Martin Dononue opened his doors 59 years ago. An aged newspaperman endlessly regaled his captive companions with old tales of editors, city rooms, and politicians. One short, stout matron wore the biggest hat I have ever seen outside of a church or a funeral. Slim, tottering, ash-blonde ladies in black slacks walked in and out with stooped husbands in tweed jackets.

Who else ate here? Well, uh, how do I put this? The scourge of society.
Bernie Madoff was a fan of the ravioli, apparently, and a decent, but not spectacular tipper. Dennis Kozlowski and his wife bellied up to the bar after being convicted of raping Tyco of $400 mil. This is the Upper East Side, after all. (Donohue’s has a motto, by the way, which I doubt Madoff ever considered—"Generosa virtus nihil timet,” which means "Generous valour fears nothing.")

I expect Kozlowski was allowed to nurse his sorrows as long as he wished. There is no rush to flip tables here. Many diners who had finished their meals before I came in were still there when I left, twisting the stem of the same almost-emptied wine glass. I could have had my coffee cup warmed up until closing time and no one would have said a thing. And I might have, if not for having other plans for the night. Donohue’s is dangerously consoling to the jangled soul. It’s dim lighting and dark booths cradle you into a comforting quietude, a place where your boss or the bill collector or the evening news, or even the Federal Marshals, can’t get to you.
—Brooks of Sheffield

Suitcaseful of Flowers

A Good Sign: Office

Nice old fading painted sign, way down south on Smith Street, in Red Hook.

City Planning Approved Coney Island Plan Nobody Likes

Do Mike Bloomberg and Amanda Burden ever listen to anybody? Ever?

Yesterday, City Planning Commission yesterday approved—by a 12-0 margin—the rezoning plan that accompanies the City's plan for redeveloping Coney Island that is almost universally disliked, by everyone from Coney preservationists to the New York Times editorial board to disingenuous Coney mega-developer (destoyer) Joe Sitt. The former don't like it because it drastically decreases the amount of land devoted to amusements (down from 60 acres to a tiny 12), thus revoking Coney's historical character and reason for being.

Sitt doens't like it because, if put into effect, it takes away some of the land he's acquired with the supposed intent of developing the area. “The whole concept of the government taking over the site and building it … and then dealing with the state is mind-boggling,” Sitt told The Brooklyn Paper. (Welcome to the eminent domain era, Joe! How do you like it when it's the developer, not the small businessman or homeowner, who gets shafted?)

Bloomberg and Burden used the same smoke-screen argument they do to push through every rezoning and development plan they have ever wanted instituted: affordable housing units and construction jobs. "We cannot allow Coney Island’s decline to continue," said Bloomie, "and the opportunity to create 6,000 permanent jobs and 25,000 construction jobs in addition to 4,500 new housing units – 900 of them affordable to low and middle income families – cannot be passed up."

900 out of 4,500? Sound like a good ratio to you? And what happens when those temporary construction jobs are gone? We're stuck for life with a lousy new model for Coney. Trusting these two to rezone a New York neighborhood is like hiring a fox to plan a reorganization of your chicken coop.

The Tourist Mayor

An on-target editorial from the Daily News:

Mayor Bloomberg's priorities out of whack

By Patrice O'Shaughnessy

Years from now, people will look back in awe at the Alice's Wonderland that New York is becoming before our very eyes.

To build a billion-dollar major league ballpark, they took away Bronx parkland from kids.

Randalls Island is not for people in upper Manhattan and the South Bronx, but for elite private schools to use, because they pay for the privilege.

Ten years and $172 million went into building an elevated strip of park - the Highline - in Chelsea, which consists mostly of weeds poking through the ruins of railroad tracks. There are more dedicated park enforcement officers assigned there than to all of the Bronx, according to an advocacy group.

They shut down blocks of a major traffic artery in the heart of Manhattan so people can lounge in beach chairs on Broadway.

More and more, it feels like "Alice in Wonderland," but underlying the absurdity, it's like a tale of two cities, a story of the haves and the have-nots.

Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, had another literary reference.

"The Emperor's New Clothes," he said of elected officials' unquestioning acquiescence to the Bloomberg administration steamroller.

"They are destroying much of our parks system," Croft said. "It's out of control."

Consider the parks that the city gave to the Yankees so it could erect the new stadium and massive parking garages.

Three years after construction of the new ballpark began, none of the permanent parks that the city promised to replace Macombs and Mullaly are there.

The Department of Parks and Recreation had promised that seven of the eight replacement parks would be done in time for opening day. The schedule was pushed back, and a report by the Independent Budget Office revealed that costs had ballooned from $116 million to close to $200 million.

But Croft predicted, "Taxpayers will pay close to $400 million to replace parks that the city should never have taken."

And Heritage Field, a public park with baseball and softball fields, to be built on the site of the old stadium's diamond, isn't expected to be ready until the autumn of 2011. The old stadium hasn't been torn down yet.

"It troubled me that they could knock Shea down before the first pitch at the new Stadium," said Sean Sullivan, principal and assistant baseball coach of All Hallows High School on 164th St.

"And here, we still have two stadia on 161st St."

His baseball team ended the season with a 2-16 record (most games were lost by one or two runs), due to the youth of the team, but it didn't help that there wasn't enough practice time, due to lack of a field.

The diamond they had always played on vanished with the rise of the new Yankee Stadium.

"It was difficult to play home games in Staten Island," said Sullivan. "It was bizarre.

"We had an interim park for practice at 161st St. and Jerome Ave., but everyone was there. People were driving golf balls," said Sullivan.

"But now, that's been ripped up," he added.

Croft said he watched two weeks ago as that park was destroyed to make way for a five-story parking garage.

"Seventy percent of the mature trees in Macombs and Mullaly parks were destroyed," Croft lamented.

Maybe the kids in the Bronx should head on down to Times Square with balls and bats and play right there in the street.

Broadway is now closed for five blocks running through the Crossroads of the World.

The reasoning was to ease midtown traffic congestion. (It took me just 25 minutes to get from 12th Ave. to Sixth during the first week of the plan!)

But the real reason is to keep the tourists happy.

It's great that people from across the nation and the globe want to visit New York.

But do we really need to inconvenience people who live and work in the city?

Yes, the out-of-towners need to plop down and sprawl out after all the stress of seeing "Mamma Mia!" They are exhausted from all the New York things they've experienced, like visiting the Hard Rock Café, and shopping at The Gap.

They need a place to relax.

How about Central Park? Or the Highline? Or any of the other green gems throughout the city?

But don't look for a shady place to stop near 161st St. You can go to the new mall at the ballpark, though, with Applebee's, Babies R Us and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Yes, 10 years from now, we'll be looking back at former Mayor Bloomberg's absurd remaking of a city of unique character to one big homogenized mall, where the tourists feel right at home because it is exactly the same as their hometown.

Oh, wait. Bloomberg will probably still be in office, trying to close off E. Tremont Ave. to all but tourists in horse-drawn carriages.

I'll make a further prediction. In 10 years, we'll remember Mike Bloomberg as one of the worst mayors New York ever had.

Bloomberg Also a Petulent, Controlling Jerk When He Golfs

From the New York Times:

For Bloomberg, a Leisurely Pursuit or an Obsession

By MICHAEL BARBARO and DAVID W. CHEN

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is not much of a sports fan. In baseball-mad New York, he has a passion for neither local team, has famously called Joe Torre “Joe Torres,” and finds the Belmont Stakes — and many other sporting events he is required to attend — something of a bore.

But like many driven men in their seventh decade, he has settled on a pastime that now borders on obsession: golf. And he pursues the game with the same results-oriented approach he brought to business and politics: fixating on prevailing and unbothered by the cost.

The billionaire mayor has hired two golf pros to improve his swing. He has joined exclusive clubs in Bermuda, Maryland, Florida and New York. He purchased a digital simulator to measure the speed of his swing and the distance of his shot.

His security guards sometimes keep his golf clubs in the trunk of his city S.U.V. when Mr. Bloomberg marches in parades, so he can escape to the links afterward. And when the banking system collapsed last September, and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. needed to reach him on a Sunday, he was patched through to the SUBURBAN course where Mr. Bloomberg was playing.

As the mayor’s game improves, ever so incrementally, golf is finding its way into his conversations, public and private, as he invokes the sport as a metaphor for government and life.

(“He is obsessed with it,” said Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and no golf lover.)

Mr. Bloomberg’s determination to master the sport, despite little natural talent for it, has proved a humbling chapter in an otherwise charmed life.

He took up the game around 2000, but “you probably wouldn’t want to call that golf, what he played,” said Daniel M. Donovan Jr., the Staten Island district attorney, who has played with Mr. Bloomberg for years.

“He was confused by it, actually,” said Morris Offit, a longtime friend and golf buddy of Mr. Bloomberg’s. “He felt that if he tried hard, gave it the appropriate attention and got good instruction, that he would improve rapidly.”

He did not.

Online records from those early days, recorded by the Metropolitan Golf Association, show that the mayor regularly shot over 100 — not exactly Tiger Woods territory.

Frustrated by his poor play, Mr. Bloomberg plunged himself into the game, becoming a regular at the Randalls Island driving range, and stealing away for weekend golf outings in Westchester, the Caribbean and the Hamptons, his security detail in tow.

And he often brings an instructor with him on the course. (One of them, Tom Sutter, commands $130 an hour.)

About a year ago, Joseph L. Bruno, then the majority leader of the New York Senate, invited Mr. Bloomberg to try a special driver designed to test a player’s swing. At the slightest mistake, the driver’s head swivels back and forth “like a wet noodle,” Mr. Bruno said.

When Mr. Bloomberg swung, “the thing flipped and flopped, and I could see he was getting pretty upset,” Mr. Bruno recalled.

Several weeks later, Mr. Bloomberg returned to Mr. Bruno’s office in Albany and demanded a second chance. He swung the club perfectly. “He must have gone out and bought a dozen of those things and swung them everywhere he went,” Mr. Bruno said.

Those who have played with the mayor said that, unlike some politicians who fail to tally errant shots, he is scrupulously honest on the course, counting every shot, no matter where it lands.

Mr. Bruno recalled playing with the mayor in Bermuda, where Mr. Bloomberg has a home. The mayor’s intensity kicked in when his ball landed on the edge of the woods.

“The ball looked unplayable,” Mr. Bruno recalled. “He didn’t have a clear swing. He had the right to move it a club’s length and take a one-stroke penalty. He insisted that he would hit it. It proved unplayable after a couple of swings. He was not a happy guy. The steam was coming right out of his ears.”

Aides to Mr. Bloomberg refuse to make public his handicap. The United States Golf Association listed it at 18, but that appears to be based on scores he posted when he was just starting to play (like the 121 he scored in 2002 at a country club at Purchase, N.Y.). Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani has a handicap of 17, according to the association, while his wife, Judith, has a handicap of 16.

Those who play with Mr. Bloomberg said the mayor, 67, who stands 5 feet 8 inches and appears fit, if not ripped, hits the ball straight but not especially far. He is a decent putter, but loudly scolds himself when he hits a bad shot — “Come on, Mike!”

These days, he still hits more bogeys than birdies, but Mr. Bloomberg now routinely shoots between 80 and 90, said those who play with him. “The improvement in his game is amazing,” said Mr. Donovan, who is scheduled to play with Mr. Bloomberg over the Fourth of July weekend.

Donald Trump, who has played with Mr. Bloomberg at the Trump National Golf Club at Briarcliff Manor in Westchester, said: “He’s got a wonderful golf swing. He hits its steady and straight. If he had more time to play, he’d be a terror.”

The game has proved a useful political tool for the mayor. He has schmoozed the head of the Staten Island Republican Party over a round of golf. And he flew Mr. Bruno and Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the State Assembly, to Bermuda for a weekend of golf and conversation.

Still, his unbridled fervor for a game associated with the country club set has occasionally landed him in hot water. During his weekly radio address in 2006, Mr. Bloomberg was asked to name a typical job performed by illegal immigrants. He immediately thought of golf.

“You and I are beneficiaries of these jobs,” the mayor told his co-host, John Gambling. “You and I both play golf. Who takes care of the greens and the fairways in your golf course?” The remarks drew howls of protests from immigration groups.

And at a civic meeting in Canarsie, a working-class section of Brooklyn, earlier this year, homeowners interrogated the mayor about rising taxes and living costs. At one point, Mr. Bloomberg asked how many golfers were in the audience — and the answer appeared to be zero.

In 2001, when he first ran for mayor, Mr. Bloomberg quit the Century Country Club in Purchase, which is predominately white. He maintains memberships at the Deepdale Golf Club in Manhasset, the Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton, the Saint Andrews Golf Club in Hastings-on-Hudson and the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference on Wednesday, he described playing Bethpage on Long Island, where the United States Open begins on Thursday.

“It’s very long, it’s very hard, and that’s when it’s normal,” the mayor said. “What they do for these tournaments is they grow the fescue so tall that if you go in it, you almost never can find your ball. I think they have a 500-yard par four, which for me, to go 500 yards, is at least three shots, and that’s on a good day.”

He said he planned to catch some of the tournament on television, but will not attend himself.

“I’m a golfer. I’d like to play this weekend.”

Inside the McGovern-Weir Greenhouse

There are many old structures in the good old City, but among those edifices that just plain look incredibly old, I would have to nominate the McGovern-Weir greenhouse on the western border of Green-Wood Cemetery. (There used to be many greenhouses near the entrance of the cemetery, as you might guess.)

It was built by James Weir, Jr. (son of founding florist James Weir), in 1880, at the corner of 25th Street and Fifth Avenue. Architect Mercein Thomas designed the glass and wood building. Fifteen years later, Weir hired architect George Curtis Gillespie to enlarge the greenhouse. The sign at top was once visible from a long way off. Buildings were shorter then. Weir and his two sons, James E. and Edward, all lived on 25th Street near the greenhouse. Cozy.

It is the only Victorian-era greenhouse left standing in New York.

The Weirs owned the greenhouse until 1971, when they sold to the current owners (McGovern, I assume). I stepped foot in the place for the first time this past weekend. My God, the thing is ancient. (Does the Landmarks Commission prevent the owners from giving the building a new coat of paint?) In a world of steel, it's completely wooden structure comes as something of a shock. Reminded me of the Cyclone, somehow. The spiderweb pattern of the domed roof is awe-inspiring. The rusted, chipping windows are less so. They belong in a haunted house.


There's a building next door that was obviously once part of the greenhouse. The architectural style is the same and it appears to be of the same era. The windows are boarded up now. But there are some awfully curious, designs etched into the vertical timbered, once painted green.

Cobble Hill Resident Seriously Wants You to Curb Your Dob

These are just a sampling of the handmade signs that can now be found outside a house on Kane Street in Cobble Hill. Some are tied to a tree with string and packing tape. The question is: What degrades one's property more—dog feces or excessive ugly signage?

Chickens and Rams and Swordfish

This billboard, on Third Avenue and 21st Street in Brooklyn, is whacked and wonderful. A face-off between mammal and fowl and fish, with lots of action! The animals are all but leaping off the sign in agitation. Is this a sign for a zoo, a circus or a meat market?

Please note that you can also get "Turky" at the Alnoor Halal Live Poultry Market.

Lost City's Guide to Gramercy

Most New York neighborhood have their ups and downs. Not Gramercy Park. Ever since land developer Samuel B. Ruggles drained the swamp that was here and set up a private park, Gramercy has been swanksville, boasting the most genteel air of moneyed aristocracy to be found in the entire city. There may not be many Olde New York aristocrats around any more, but you can fairly breathe money in the area, as well as the strong scent of civilized reserve and principled preservation. It's the closest Gotham gets to Mayfair, or the New York Edith Wharton must have experienced. One can feel more evolved simply by walking down E. 20th from Park to Third.

THE ROOSEVELT HOME: Start at 28 E. 20th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South. This is Teddy Roosevelt’s birthplace. Or, rather, a facsimile of it. People assume this brownstone is the original. But Teddy’s house was torn down in 1916 and replaced by a commercial building. Citizens loyal to Roosevelt, however, bought the new building in 1919, tore it down, and built the image of Roosevelt’s birthhome. Weird. It wouldn’t happen today. No. 26, a museum now, was Theodore’s uncle Robert’s place.

No. 1 GRAMERCY PARK WEST: Walk east to Gramercy Park West and turn left. In the 1850s, Dr. Valentine Mott lived here, the most renowned surgeon of his day and founder of Bellevue. I just mention it because I love the name Valentine Mott.


No. 4 GRAMERCY PARK WEST: Notice the twin lanterns that mark the gate. This used to be a sign to all New Yorkers that a mayor lived or had lived in the house. In this case, it was James Harper, mayor of New York in 1844 and founder of the Harper publishing house. What are the chances of a literary man being elected mayor today? Great, New Orleans-like ironwork all over the place.

GRAMERCY PARK HOTEL: Turn right at Gramercy Park North and stop at Lex. At 2 Lexington Avenue, near the park, is one of the city's legendary hotels. Built in 1925. It had an attractive bohemian character, having been home at times to Edmund Wilson, Mary McCarthy, Humphrey Bogart, S.J. Perelman, Bob Dylan and such. It's owned by Ian Schrager now and not as bohemian. Used to have a great bar, and a beloved bellhop named Pinky.



GRAMERCY PARK: The only private park left in Manhattan. It's 1 ½ acres of beautifully preserved land, and contains a statue of Edwin Booth playing Hamlet. You need to live on the park to get a key to the gate, which sucks, and can get your back up in a Marxist kind of way. But it's not hard to befriend someone who has access to a key, and gain access. They used to open up the park to the Great Unwashed once a year, but that practice was discontinued in 2007. The land was laid out in 1831 by Samuel B. Ruggles—who also mapped and named lower Lexington Avenue, and named Irving Place after his friend Washington. The area became the home of the elite for quite a while. Can’t speak for how elite the people are today, but it's just as expensive a place to live as it ever was. Still elegant, too.


THE BROTHERHOOD SYNAGOGUE: Round the park to where Gramercy Park East meets Gramercy Park South. Built in 1857 as a Friends Meeting House, this was converted to a synagogue in 1975.


THE PLAYERS CLUB: Turn right, walk to 16 Gramercy Park South. Actor Edwin Booth bought this handsome building, revamped it and formed the Players Club back in 1888, when actors were outcasts and had no smart club to call their own. It's still in business, though hardly the center of the theatre world that it once was. If you're invited to go inside, do. The walls are full of grand old paintings and drawing of the great actors of America's past, including a couple by John Singer Sargent. Also, in various cabinets, are props and costumes used by the likes of Booth, Barrymore, Jefferson and more. The charming Grill in the basement makes for a wonderful lunch date. Booth lived on the top floor and his rooms are kept exactly as they were. Spooky.


NATIONAL ARTS CLUB: Right next door is the National Arts Club. Founded in 1898 by Charles de Kay, a literary and art critic for The New York Times then, forgotten today. It was conceived of a gathering place for artists, patrons and audiences in all the arts. The building, 15 Gramercy Park, used to be the mansion of the Al-Gore-of-his-day, Samuel Tilden. Tilden was Governor of New York, but is most famous today for having won the national popular vote in 1876, but lost the Presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes, due to Electoral College mischief on the part of southern Republicans. (Florida was one of the disputed states, if you can believe it.) Tilden has taste. He hired architect Calvert Vaux (Central Park) and stained-glass genius John LaFarge to revamp the place. Glass master Donald MacDonald created a stained glass dome for the building. After the election, Tilden feared for his safety. Under the building there is supposedly a tunnel to 19th Street, perfect for a quick getaway.


IRVING PLACE: Backtrack to Irving Place, which takes up on the south side of the park the path Lexington traced to the north. It's not often that New York honors its literary sons with street names. Irving Place, named after Washington Irving, New York City's first author superstar, is a rare exception.


PETE'S TAVERN: Walk down to the corner of 18th Street. Forever warring with McSorley’s for the title of New York’s oldest saloon is Pete’s Tavern, which has ridden the coattails of writer O. Henry for a century now. A well-known drinker, the short story writer is supposed to have been a habitué and written “The Gift of the Magi” while sitting in the second booth to the right as you enter. The story, so specific in its claim, sounds fishy. But I’m willing to bet O. Henry darkened the door once or twice. The front room is the place to be; it’s the original space. The back rooms have less charm. Eat if you must, but the food is exceedingly indifferent. (O. Henry lived at 55 Irving Place, btw.)


190 THIRD AVENUE: Walk over to Third Avenue and down to 17th. A curious building that has somehow escaped destruction. It was built in 1894 as Scheffel Hall, a German music hall named after German balladeer Joseph Victor von Scheffel. It was later Allaire's, a restaurant that was yet another haunt of O. Henry (can't get away from the guy in Gramercy), and Joe King’s Rathskeller, and then Fat Tuesday’s Jazz Club, where Les Paul was a regular. Signs of its past existences can be found on the façade.

Even the Dead Want the Superfund

The kitschy vintage antique store Astro-turf, on Court Street in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, hasn't been open for more than a year. But even it is in favor of the Gowanus Canal being certified for Superfund clean-up money!

The shop, which hasn't opened its door for business since well before Obama won the Democratic nomination, sudden has a "Superfund Me" poster on its door. The inside of the door. So someone went in there to tape it up.

When people who don't care enough to keep their business afloat care about the Superfund, you know it must have struck a chord in the community.

Cryptic Message from Calexico

Waiting for Calexico to open in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, has been more of a Godotian affair than anyone might have suspected back in September 2008, when the owners of the popular Mexican food trucks said they'd be ready to go in a month. But while we're waiting, we can all ponder the mysterious message in cutlery left outside the eatery's future Union Street home yesterday. "THANKS," spelled out in knifes and forks. Underneath this, in marker, is the addendum "So Free It Hurts."

Uh. It could mean...well, perhaps it's... Oh, just open already.

First Visit to the Red Hook Ballfield Vendors

I paid my first visit of the season to the Red Hook Ballfield Food Vendors yesterday—a rite of summer like few other for me. I enjoyed some chile rellenos from the Carrillo Guatemalan vendor, a lemonade from the Sosa Fruits vendor, and a beef-and-cheese papusa from the Lainez Salvadoran vendor. I liked it better when the vendors were on the field, instead of on the sidewalk, but the wonderful atmosphere is little changed. And, of course, the food remains peerless.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

Forgotten New York has posted a survey of Brooklyn's Court Street which cites yours truly not once, but twice. (Not that that's the reason we love it; we love it anyway.)

The New York Times' incomparable Christopher Gray finds some "automobile houses" of New York's bygone millionaires hiding in plain sight. [NY Times]

Christian Albin, the executive chef of the timeless Four Seasons restaurant, died on Saturday at a Manhattan hospital. He was 61, and had worked at the Four Seasons since 1973. [NY Times]

Another Virgin Megastore dies in Manhattan. [EV Grieve]

A long-gone Bavarian restaurant in Yorkville that I never heard of before. [Ephemeral New York]

Freaky images of building facades. Cooooool. [Restless]

Black Horse Loves Berkley

The new Black Horse Pub, in the South Slope, at 16th and Fifth Avenue, has been under construction for some time. All things looks ready to go inside. And a blackboard on the wall says the bar will open in two weeks time.


What's most important, however, in our Lost City way of looking at things, is that the new business seems to be retaining the old Berkley Coats sign, which has been hanging on the building for God knows how long. If the bar was planning on taking the beautifully bedraggled thing down, they would have done so by now.

Timboo's Gets a New Sign

I never thought I'd see it happen.

Timboo's, one of the most untouched of Brooklyn dives, has gone in for a new sign. I'm guessing its the facade's first update since the joint opened on Park Slope's Fifth Avenue in 1969.


I can't imagine what made the owners splurge for the new signage. I doubt the drunks inside where complaining about how the distressed storefront reflected on their image.

I have to hand it to the owner for doing his best to duplicate the original look (seen below, in a picture taken in January). He stayed with black. He stayed with shiny. He went for black on the cloth awning, too, instead of the previous burgundy color.

He also kept the basic design: "Bar" in block letters on either side of a cursive "Timboo's," and everything framed by two illustrations of Champagne glasses (a beverage nobody inside ever drinks). But the new lettering is much cleaner and more clinical, and one can't help but miss the more hand-painted feeling of the first sign.

Nothing else about the bar appears to have changed.

This Week on Lost City: Arrogance and Desecration (Plus Some Niceness)

Bloomberg Decided to Destroy the City; Arby's Is Cleared to Move Into Gage & Tollner; Arrogant Greedhead Louts Eat at Keens; Generosity and Fresh Bread Live on at Mazzola Bakery; a Carroll Gardens Cafe Is Horribly Renamed; Changing of the Guard at Sam's; the Bloomberg Watch Is On!; the Walentas Family Succeeds in Their Splendid Plan to Obscure the Brooklyn Bridge; Go Drink Some Stork Club Punch!

Harry Nilsson Lives on Court Street

I wonder how many Carroll Gardeners, having passed by the Court Street Chinese take-out joint Me & My Egg Roll, know the name is inspired by a (by now obscure) Harry Nilsson song from 1971.

At least, that's my take. There's no other explanation for the oddball moniker. Nilsson's song was "Me & My Arrow," and it was a mild Top 40 hit. It was written for a hour-long animated special called "The Point," conceived of and scored by Nilsson. The story concerned a boy, Oblio, with a round head born into a town where everyone had a pointed skull. He is ostracized to The Pointless Forest where he meets a lot of strange folks and learns some lessons about uniqueness and the evils of conformity. It was originally narrated by Dustin Hoffman, though Ringo Starr performed that service in the video release.

Nilsson is a favorite artist of mine. He was a kind of whimsical wunderkind from Brooklyn, with a honeyed multi-octave voice and great talent for breezy, yet substantial songwriting ("One," "Coconut," "Jump In the Fire"), though he's best known today for singing songs he didn't write ("Without You," "Everybody's Talkin'"). The Beatles once called him their favorite American singer AND group, and he was friends with John Lennon and Ringo Starr. He died in 1994.

Every time I pass by Me & My Egg Roll, I started humming Nilsson. There are worse things.

It's Official: Bloomberg Insane; Wants to Destroy New York

Want to know what Mike Bloomberg has in mind for New York for the next four years, should he be elected to a third term? Well, here you go. You're gonna love it!

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has unveiled its Recover NYC Program, which will basically hand over those parts of the city that haven't yet been raped by overbuilding to big-money developers in sweetheart deals. The program will provide "financial assistance to private-sector for-profit companies seeking lower-cost financing for shovel-ready construction projects. Available assistance is mainly in the form of access to triple tax-exempt bond financing authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009." This was announced June 10.

Bloomberg, the man who's supposedly going to get us through this economic crisis, is still a one-trick pony when it comes to ideas. Pressed to think of new ways to generate employment and industry, he can only think of the same one he leaned on heavily during his first two, disastrous terms: unheeded development. And he wants to use Federal Stimulus money to do it, made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Let's read more: "Private sector, for profit companies with projects located in NYC Recovery Zones seeking to acquire, construct, renovate or equip facilities within New York City that will result in a positive economic impact. Commercial, industrial, manufacturing and retail projects requiring between $20 million and $100 million are all eligible to apply for consideration."

Whoa. Wait a minute. "NYC Recovery Zones." What's that? Well, it's almost none of Manhattan (which Bloomie thinks is just fine as is, except for the northern third, and Chinatown, where all those minorities live; he likes most of Staten Island, too), and almost all of Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx, which, in Mike's eyes, are junkheap, slum boroughs in desperate need of crappy housing complexes. Big surprise there: Bloomberg has never given a damn about the outer boroughs. Just rip 'em up, boys!

You can see the map for Queens above. The orange parts are open season for developers. The Brooklyn and Bronx maps are even more orangey. Brooklyn neighborhoods that are considered almost completely "distressed": Greenpoint, Bed-Stuy, Flatbush, Williamsburg, Red Hook, Kensington, Borough Park, Ditmas Park, Sunset Park, Coney Island, Gravesend. (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Park Slope, Carroll Gardens: you're safe)

As for The Bronx, all of it is pretty fucked-up in City Hall's opinion, except for City Island, Stuyten Duyvil and Riverdale.

This is a rush job, by the way (so the community doesn't get in the way, you see). The first round of applications is due on July 13. "Staff will evaluate applications received and selected respondents will be required to submit all additional application materials by July 25. Respondents with the most favorable and complete applications will commence the public review process and be presented for Board approval in the fall. A second round of applications will be accepted on October 12, 2009 for Board presentation of successful applications anticipated in December."

So he can ram it all through even if he DOESN'T get elected.

Arby's Plan for Gage & Tollner Now Apparently Super Terrific

Those of you who thought (hoped) Arby's would walk away from the landmarked Gage & Tollner space when the Landmarks Commission rejected their plans for the interior have been badly disappointed today.

Arby's said "You're not getting rid of me that easily," and came back with a new plan, which the city signed off on with a 7-1 vote. Restaurateur Raymond Chera has promised to continue working with the agency "to tweak his designs for large menu sign in the rear of the restaurant," according to Brooklyn Paper.

My personal opinion is that there's no way a fast food joint can work in the context of that 1890s interior. The two things are just antithetical and can't help but get in each other's way. The address needs a sit-down, waiter-service restaurant.

Not everyone agrees with me. "[This proposal] has come a long way,” said Commissioner Roberta Washington. “The sign is the one thing that prevents this proposal from being fantastic."

"Fantastic." Can you believe it, ladies and gentlemen.

"We’re thrilled with the Landmarks decision,” said Chera. “We’ve put a lot of hard work into making sure we properly preserve the historic interior."

Well, I'm no fool. I don't like this, but you can bet that when that Arby's opens, I'll be there ordering a roast beef sandwich. Nothing's going to keep me away from that gorgeous interior once I have the chance to see it again.

PortSide NewYork Fundraiser Is Tomorrow!

Not doing anything tomorrow? Don't forget that PortSide NewYork, the Brooklyn folks who brought you opera on the Mary Whalen tanker and the revolutionary Kayak Valet, are going to hold their first-ever fundraiser on Saturday, June 13, from 6 PM to 9 PM.

Nydia Velazquez will be on hand at the event, to take place at the Brooklyn Lyceum at 227 Fourth Avenue at President Street. PortSide NewYork bills itself as "a young, innovative non-profit organization developing diverse programs about water and the waterfront, and moving soon to Atlantic Basin."

Tickets are $50, and can be purchased at: http://portsidefundraiser.eventbrite.com.

In conjunction with the fundraiser, PortSide is holding an auction on eBay that will expire after the fundraiser on June 17. Items to be auctioned include a gantry crane tour, blacksmithing lessons, tickets for ferries and charter vessels, works from Brooklyn artists, an antique stove and a sailboat.

PortSide is soon to get our first publicly accessible home. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is negotiating directly with PortSide NewYork to create a home for the boat in Atlantic Basin, next to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. This will include a berth for the Mary Whalen (below), a pier where they will host "visiting vessels of every description, and an interior space that will house programs and interpretive spaces. Visible from PortSide will be huge cruise and container ships, gantry cranes at work, tugboats, charter, excursion and historic vessels."

Anything that bring Brooklynites closer to their waterfront is a good thing. Show your support!

Quite a Footprint

Time to check in with the various unpopular mega-developments around Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill and see how the grandiose plans are faring with the Great Recession.

Billy Stein's hugely hated 360 Smith, which has blighted the Carroll Street subway station for nearly a year? Crickets.

The Clarett's Group's giant black mausoleum on Court Street, crowned "The Collection"? Tumbleweeds.

The L&M Equities development between Hicks and Columbia, near LICH? Well, this is actually the only major construction site in the area that's showing activity. Workers have been very busy for some time and the planned 150-odd units of new housing should be here before we know it, casting a big ol' shadow on the area. I don't think people realize just how hefty this big boy will be. Look at the size of that footprint! It's going to go up six stories, baby, straight up from the sidewalk.

The other properties that were torn down around the same time as this one—75 Columbia Street and 86-98 Congress Street—are still pretty quiet. That's all right. More time to enjoy this old Wrigley's gum add that was uncovered on Warren Street.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

Some good folks have launched the new Bloomberg Watch, the title of which site says it all. It's organizer is Neil Fabricant. Sez they: "We’ve just launched www.bloombergwatch.com to add our voice to those who feel that Michael Bloomberg’s term limits override and his ensuing candidacy represent a radical departure from and a challenge to the fundamental principles of democratic government: the rule of law and the consent of the governed. True, the city council had the legal power to do what it did, and there will be an election in November. The forms have been observed; that is why we use the word “challenge.” We see this election is a watershed moment in our political history; a teaching moment much like the 1975 fiscal crises or the election and administration of Barack Obama." They also plan to run a lot of juicy cartoons, like the Nast-like contribution above. (This is great news for me, since I'm standing by my pledge never to post a picture of Mike's nasty face again. But cartoons? Yes!)

Times Square when it wasn't full of people sitting on their asses in lawn chairs. [Greenwich Village Daily Photo]

The historic Tower Buildings (their real name, not Cobble Hill Towers) in Cobble Hill, built to serve working-class people, are going condo, putting them out of the reach of most working people. [Brownstoner]

The Empire State Building is going to get a super swanky cocktail lounge, The Empire Room. Could be great. Could be cheesy. [Eater]

Restless offers a fair analysis of the new monstrosities along the Bowery. (Guess how I feel about them?) [Restless]

Forgotten New York walks across five NYC bridges that cross the Harlem River. All I've got to say is "All Persons Must Leave When Draw Gong Sounds."

A Beautiful Thing

I was heading home late last night along Union Street. When you're heading home late at night on Union Street, you can count on a few signs of life. There's that guy who lives in the brownstone at the corner of Clinton, opposite the library, who's always standing outside smoking and talking on his cell. A few cabs, having taken Brooklyn nightowls back to their abodes, are heading back north on Clinton toward the bridge. And, at the corner of Henry, they're busy making bread for the next morning at Mazzola Bakery.

The smell of freshly baked loafs is one of the rewards of dragging your tired hide back to western Carroll Gardens at 1 AM. I always pause to look at the lit kitchen windows and think what life must be like for the midnight bakers. Hard work, I should imagine. But also serenely elemental. They're performing a simple task that satisfies a basic need, in perfect isolation. The bakers must enjoy a clear focus about the usefulness of their labors. Like the occupation of firefighter, there's little ambiguity to baking bread, and almost nothing to criticize. Fresh bread is a beautiful thing.

I experienced a special treat this recent evening, however. As I stopped at Henry and Union to catch a glimpse of the lighted back door, I saw something more: two tall, wheeled metal racks standing on the sidewalk, packed full with rows of long, seeded Italian loaves, cooling in the night air. Small skyscrapers built of bread bricks.

I couldn't stop looking at the bread. A worker emerged from the kitchen and eyed me, at first suspiciously. He asked how I was doing. Wishing to set his worries at rest, I said I was admiring his work. He puffed on his cigarette. You want one?, he asked. I leaned in. What? You want one, he repeated, for free? I hesitated. Seriously?

He gestured at one the racks and opened up a crisp brown paper bag, which seemed to me to be the most perfect brown paper bag I had ever seen. Not a crease, not a rip. I waited for him to snatch a loaf off the tower, but then it became clear I was to make the selection. I walked up to the rack and grabbed the end of one loaf near the center. It was warm and soft like no Mazzola bread I've ever bought before. The smell of the roasted sesame seeds rose off the crust.

I put it in the perfect brown paper bag, and the worker gave the bag to me. I shook his hand, and crossed Henry. Eating half the loaf before I got home, I thought about my siblings and wondered why they live in the Midwest and Los Angeles.

City Council Sees to It That Injustice Is Done

Curbed reports that City Council has given final approval of the Walentas' loathsome Dock Street Dumbo development plan to erect a building that will block views of the historic Brooklyn Bridge.

The Dumbo Neighborhood Alliance issued an angry press release that I see no reason to add anything to. Here's part:

Those who have fought hard to oppose the Dock Street development are disenchanted and disenfranchised by our elected officials, who after wide-spread opposition to this zoning change, which included 25,000+ signatures and postcards, 8 neighborhood organizations, the National Trust, the Municipal Art Society, the Historic Districts Council, Architecture Society of New York City, the Roebling Society – Chapter for Industrial Archeology, the American History Museum of the Smithsonian, Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough, cinematographer Ken Burns, the Roebling Family and more, the 'will of the people' was disregarded.

That's the Walentas clan up there. If you see them on the street, tell them I said "Hi."

How I Didn't Kill Someone Today

So I'm at Keens Steakhouse for lunch, trying to decide between the $45 Mutton Chop and the $48 Filet Mignon (I ended up choosing the $15 hamburger), when the lawyer one table over, in a dark suit, checked shirt and Burberry plaid tie, begins talking.

"What I can help developers do is make their buildings as big as possible," he said. "I can squeeze as much space out of a property as can be, getting the most money out of it. That's what other guys can't do. They may know to set up a development, but they don't know New York. Things are different here. I know how to get around zoning. I know how to get around the Building Department. People come to me because they know I can do that, and because I don't do anything illegal when I do it. I talk to a lot of architects, and a lot of them are like, 'Oh, I don't want to bother myself with that stuff. I'm just designing my building.' I can't stand that attitude. I can't stand architects who don't want to deal with the practical side of things, the business side of things, who don't want to get their hands dirty."

The man talking did not seem to hear the sound of gnashing teeth coming from the table next to him. Luckily, the busboy cleared away my steak knife before I could do anything rash.

This, I guess, is the sort of person who can afford a $45 Mutton Chop—the kind of man who has to point out that he doesn't do anything illegal. If it were up to him, he'd probably have Keen's torn down due to some zoning loophole, because his developer-client had his eye on the lot.

Remember Florsheim to Herald Square

For decades, Florsheim Shoes had a big, uh, foothold just north of Herald Square. The chain—recently back in the hands of the actual Florsheim family, since 2002—lost the lease on that landmark store. The branch shut down last November.

You can say your last goodbyes just now. The letters "Florsheim Shoes" have been taken down, but can see the outlines of where the letters once were, plus some curious holes here and there. It was a big sign. Some of the letters are as tall as people. Imagine a New York where a mere shoe store had such a street presence.

Oh, Dear God, No

The storefront on Court Street between Carroll Park and the Citibank branch has always had trouble finding its tone. For a decade or more, the landlord has been renting out to cafes of various form, but they all have fallen flat, beginning with the bygone Cuckoo Nest on. But the Happy Pants Cafe? I'm sorry—the Happy Pants Cafe? This garish awning appeared recently. I stared at it a second today, with its illustrations of colorful, running "happy" pants, before I felt sick to my stomach and had to turn away. Oh God, please take it down. Please.

A Glimmer of Light

From today's NY Times:

Poll Finds Lukewarm Support for Bloomberg

By DAVID W. CHEN and MARJORIE CONNELLY

Despite generally broad approval for the job Michael R. Bloomberg has done as mayor, a majority of New Yorkers say that he does not deserve another term in office and that they would like to give someone else a chance, according to a poll conducted by The New York Times, Cornell University and NY1 News.

A majority of New Yorkers say that Mayor Bloomberg does not deserve another term in office.

With anxiety rising over a difficult economy, few surveyed have a lot of confidence in Mr. Bloomberg’s ability to lead the city out of the recession, a troubling sign for a mayor who cited his financial acumen as the rationale for his undoing of the term limits law that otherwise would have forced him from office.

In addition, some 51 percent say that the city is on the wrong track, while 40 percent say it is going in the right direction.

And though Mr. Bloomberg has sought to elevate his image nationally and internationally as a bold-thinking mayor with a record of innovation and results, New Yorkers in the survey struggle when asked to identify any particular achievement of his tenure. More than a third of those polled could not offer any answer when asked what was the best thing Mr. Bloomberg has done since he became mayor almost eight years ago.

Despite the poll’s findings, Mr. Bloomberg maintains tremendous advantages heading into November’s city election. In addition to the powers of incumbency, the mayor has already poured $20 million into the race and has indicated he could spend as much as $100 million to win another term.

His presumptive Democratic opponent in November, the city comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., is largely unknown, with almost three-quarters of respondents saying they have not heard enough about Mr. Thompson to form an opinion, even though he has been a citywide official for the same duration as Mr. Bloomberg.

While New Yorkers have concerns about the economy and the state of the city and they would like to see a new mayor, at the same time they think Mr. Bloomberg has been doing a good job. The latest poll shows that 60 percent of residents approve of Mr. Bloomberg’s job performance, while 34 percent disapprove.

The poll of 683 New York City adults was conducted by telephone from May 29 to June 3. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus four percentage points.

In follow-up interviews with those surveyed, a sense emerged that Mr. Bloomberg has tried his best under difficult circumstances, but that a fresh perspective could be healthy. That is a change from four years ago, when a majority said that Mr. Bloomberg deserved re-election.

“I think the city’s needs change as time goes on,” said Deborah Fantera, an architect who lives in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. “And I also think there’s a complacency that happens when someone has been in their position too long.”

Eric Weinstock, an economist and Democrat who lives in Flushing, Queens, said that Mr. Bloomberg had done a poor job of controlling spending and taxes. That opinion mirrored the finding that 58 percent of those surveyed said their city taxes have risen under Mr. Bloomberg.

“Bloomberg was supposed to be not just another politician but a businessman and smarter on the economy than anyone else,” Mr. Weinstock said. “That’s why we elected him, because he was different. But he wasn’t different.”

Mr. Bloomberg is no stranger to wild fluctuations in popularity. In a New York Times poll from June 2003, for example, only 24 percent of those polled approved of his performance, citing job losses, tax increases and service cuts. It was the lowest approval rating for a mayor since The Times began taking polls on mayoral performance in 1978.

But Mr. Bloomberg’s numbers rose later in that term as more New Yorkers credited him for trying to overhaul public education and fight crime, as well as his success in banning smoking from restaurants.

“I approve of what Bloomberg has done for New York City,” said Leo Pachter, a retired businessman in East Elmhurst, Queens, who is a Democrat. “I feel he wants to complete what he’s doing and make more improvements.”

The mayor is also personally popular, with 48 percent expressing a favorable view of him and 26 percent a negative view. Among black residents, the mayor’s favorability is 10 points lower — 38 percent have a positive opinion of him, 33 percent a negative one. Black New Yorkers and Democrats are also more likely to say that it is time for a new person as mayor, the survey finds.

Mr. Bloomberg is also credited with doing a good job handling the city’s latest crisis: the outbreak of H1N1, or swine flu. Almost three-quarters of those surveyed say that the city has provided enough information about the outbreak, and 70 percent say that they are satisfied with the city’s response.

Yet the majority of New Yorkers say important aspects of city life, including affordable housing and crime, have either deteriorated or stayed the same since Mr. Bloomberg took office.

And even though New York City’s public school students showed substantial gains on state math tests this year, particularly in the middle school grades, most people are dissatisfied with the quality of public schools.

The poll shows that the recession is affecting city residents in personal and tangible ways. A third say someone in their household experienced unemployment in the past year, and most say the unemployment had a serious effect on the family’s standard of living.

While almost 60 percent say that the mayor can have a big impact on the economy, only 20 percent have a lot of confidence in Mr. Bloomberg’s ability to bring new jobs to the city.

Mr. Bloomberg has unleashed a flood of television ads in recent months, publicizing his concern for average working New Yorkers and promoting his economic recovery program for the five boroughs. He has been eager at news conferences to move beyond the polarizing battle over his successful push to revise the term limits law last fall, which enabled him and other officials to seek four more years in office.

But the survey finds that residents are unhappy over that change, with 58 percent saying they disapprove of the term limits extension and 37 percent saying they approve.

“Eight years is long enough for a politician to do his service,” said George Chin, a retired financial consultant and political independent who lives on the Lower East Side. “Lengthening terms sets up some sort of crony system where things get stagnant and politicians get too chummy with all the people they work with. I approve of Bloomberg, but I probably would not vote for him because term limits is a significant issue, and it’s time to get someone else in.”

Hallelujah! So the people have a little common sense left. But, the question remains, can they be made to stop be complacent and actually vote for someone else other than Bloomberg?

Raccuglia & Sons Funeral Home Takes All Kinds

It's difficult to even venture a guess as to the nature of the loved one receiving their final farewell at Carroll Garden's Raccuglia & Sons Funeral Home, seen in this picture, sent to me by a loyal and watchful reader. Betty Boop? The Milky Way candy bar logo? "Grandma Down." Were these among the deceased's favorite things?


Raccuglia, run by old time Carroll Gardener Vincent Raccuglia, is known for such outlandish flower arrangements, and for giving longtime locals the special treatment they're looking for in their time of grief. Vincent came into his business after a stay in Long Island College Hospital. He had been in a car accident at age 20, which left him in a coma for a year. After he recovered, he took a job at LICH as a kind of greeter, comforting neglected patients, feeding them meatballs and minestrone. This interest translated easily enough in a curiosity with death and the deceased. A funeral director was born.

Anyone who lives in Carroll Gardens knows that, when Raccuglia is doing a funeral, he owns his corner of Court and Sackett. Traffic-regulated signs are posted in the street, stretch limos are everywhere and men in dark suits keep things running smoothly. The building is rather handsome and austere, although it's been obscured by scaffolding for almost two years now. There's a great vertical neon sign on the building's corner reading "Funeral," with a clock at the bottom (though I've never seen it lit at night, and the clock doesn't always work). You can see it below in happier times. If I'm not mistaken, the funeral home was featured in the movie "Moonstruck."

The Torch Is Passed at Sam's Restaurant

A sea change has quietly taken place at Sam's Restaurant, the 79-year-old Cobble Hill staple (it was South Brooklyn when it began business) that serves pizza some say is as good as Grimaldi's or Di Fara's, in a time capsule space complete with red leather booths and checkered tablecloths.

For nearly 60 years, the pies here have been hand made by Mario Migliaccio, who emigrated to the U.S. from Italy when he was 22 and Truman was President. He's put in less and less time in the last couple years, as he got older, coming in just a few hours a day. But he never retired, and never stopped making pizzas.

Last month, Mr. Migliaccio's wife passed away. The pizzeria was closed for a few days. And today, June 8, the old pizzaiolo hung up his apron for good. In classic New York Italian-American immigrant fashion, he is flying back to his home land—specifically, a house he had long been building for himself on his birthplace, a small island near Ischia, an island north of Capri, in the Gulf of Naples.

Taking his place in the running of Sam's will be his son, Louis, a familiar face to Sam's regulars. No need to worry: the place isn't going anywhere, and Louis doesn't plan to change a thing.

81-year-old Mario Magliaccio was one of Brooklyn's master pizza makers, but few knew it. He kept to himself and didn't court publicity the way some other old pizzerias did. For that, you have to admire his integrity and modesty. At Sam's, making good, simple food didn't qualify the owners for any special genuflection; it was a matter of course.

(Photo courtesy of Slice)

Brooklyn Bridge's Got Bling

I was reading a nice historical plaque, situated on one of the Brooklyn Bridge's stone towers, the other day. It told the story of the good old Roebling tribe. But what do I see in the lower right-hand corner in tiny letters? The fashioner of the plaque: Tiffany & Co.

Swan-KY! Appropriate enough: the company is older than the bridge! But did the plaque dome in robins-egg-blue box?

Welcome to Bloomberg Beach

An excellent piece by Mike Lupica of the Daily News on Bloomberg's Times Square pedestrian plaza. He hits the nail on the head in pointing out that "Bloomberg Beach" is all about revenge and Mike getting his way. Love it.

The two policemen are standing in Times Square Sunday, or at least what we used to think of as Times Square before it became the newest summer tourist attraction of New York:

Mayor Bloomberg does in Times Square what he could not with congestion pricing

By Mike Lupica

Bloomberg Beach.

It is not yet Rockaway or Coney Island or Jones Beach or Main Beach out in East Hampton, but there's plenty of time, we haven't reached the first official day of summer yet.

Eventually, the city will embrace the way the furniture has been rearranged south of 47th St., literally and figuratively. Or else. If you don't embrace it, starting with the cheesy beach furniture, Mayor Bloomberg will get the City Council to pass an ordinance saying that you have to.

So, at the corner of 43rd and Seventh on Sunday morning, with the sun already high in the sky, one of the uniformed cops smiled and pointed to a guy sleeping in front of Sephora. At this point in the day, what the mayor fancies as a new plaza of the city - one of his new "pedestrian malls" - looked more like a shelter.

The cop said, "Ask yourself something: Who's gonna want to be the next person in that chair?"

Bloomberg Beach, don't you know, is the mayor's latest attempt to landscape the City of New York in a way that makes him memorable. And it isn't just Times Square, it is other patches of concrete that stretch all the way down to Herald Square and Madison Square Park.

But the most eye-catching spot right now in the mayor's memorable landscaping is Times Square, where the red-and-blue plastic chairs and the chaise lounges are supposed to make you feel more civilized and cosmopolitan than the Champs Élyssés in Paris.

I ask another cop, watching the scene from in front of the ESPN Zone, what he thinks of the whole idea and he shakes his head.

"Let's call it a work in progress," he said, as another street guy settled in for a nap in front of Starbucks. "Either that, or comic relief."

This is supposed to be about Michael Bloomberg's continuing attempts to do something heroic about midtown traffic, and a broader vision of his about the greening of the City of New York. That is the cover story, anyway.

This also has more than somewhat to do with Bloomberg getting banged around by Albany on his plan for congestion pricing last year. It would mean that Bloomberg Beach and all other areas like it suddenly springing up in Manhattan are really Bloomberg's revenge.

Because even more than tough questions from the media about term limits - the kind that can rouse the mayor to call the reporter asking them a "disgrace" - this mayor hates being told no.

Out goes congestion pricing? In come the cheesy beach chairs. It's like they say in football: You can't really stop Bloomberg once he gets fixed on something, you can only hope to contain him.

Of course the cop Sunday was right, this is still a work in progress. For instance: If you do get to Bloomberg Beach early on a weekend morning and are lucky enough to have your pick of chairs, on either side of Times Square, you just have to imagine that the roar of the hoses from the red Hotsy street-cleaning machines is actually the roar of the ocean.

It is more crowded on a nice Saturday afternoon, most of the chairs filled from 47th to 42nd, and a salsa band playing in front of the Sunglass Hut on 45th St. and a woman rolling out a yoga mat and posing for a photographer, and the crowd. Whether this is ultimately good for the city, and good for businesses in Times Square, is a jump ball.

"The sidewalks are a lot busier," Tom Kopie, a Queens kid working in the store Element, said the other day. "I can't say that we're a lot busier in here. But maybe it's a slow week." He shrugged and said, "Or a slow year."

But it is a busy time for the mayor as he moves up on a third term, acting as if he is running unopposed, acting as usual as if nobody is supposed to oppose him on anything. This time he didn't have to ask Albany about traffic, he went ahead and did what he wanted, as if everything from streetcorner to streetcorner belongs to him.

When you are about to be Mayor for Life, it's either Bloomberg's way or the highway. Or, in this case, the area just east of the Great White Way. Pull up a chair.

Recipes of the Lost City: The Stork Club Punch

It's appropriate, isn't it, that the debut of the Stork Club in this running column would be for an alcoholic beverage? Didn't the swellest and richest people in the world get blitzed there nightly for 30 years running.

I've heard of the Stork Club Cocktail; you can still get it in some swanky bars. This formula is for the Stork Club Punch. So make sure you invite over some thirsty friends before you make it. I haven't made it myself. Looking at the ingredients, it seems very fruity and very potent (all that rum). Why "domestic" maraschino liqueur is need, I have no idea? The most famous maraschino liqueurs are Italian. But, then, this recipe was printed in the New York Times in 1944, and we were at war with Italy. So that may account for it.

We were not, thankfully, at war with Jamaica.

STORK CLUB PUNCH

1 1/3 cups orange juice
1 1/3 cups pineapple juice
1 1/3 cups lemon or lime juice
1/2 bottle Jamaica rum
1/2 bottle Bacardi rum
1/3 bottle domestic maraschino liqueur
1/3 cherry brandy
Sliced orange and lemons or limes.
Slice fresh pineapple, if available
Canned cherries

Mix ingredients, except slices fruit and cherries, in a large bowl, then pour into a punch bowl containing a big piece of ice. Add the sliced fruit in amounts to taste—there can be as much or as little as you like. Serve with bread and butter sandwiches or simple cookies. This makes a quantity sufficient for twenty.

Previous Recipes From the Lost City

PortSide NewYork to Hold Fundraiser June 13

PortSide NewYork, the Brooklyn folks who brought you opera on the tanker and the revolutionary Kayak Valet, are going to hold their first-ever fundraiser on Saturday, June 13, from 6 PM to 9 PM.

Nydia Velazquez will be on hand at the event, to take place at the Brooklyn Lyceum at 227 Fourth Avenue at President Street. PortSide NewYork bills itself as "a young, innovative non-profit organization developing diverse programs about water and the waterfront, and moving soon to Atlantic Basin."

Tickets are $50, and can be purchased at: http://portsidefundraiser.eventbrite.com.

In conjunction with the fundraiser, PortSide is holding an auction on eBay that will expire after the fundraiser on June 17. Items to be auctioned include a gantry crane tour, blacksmithing lessons, tickets for ferries and charter vessels, works from Brooklyn artists, an antique stove and a sailboat.

I don't know about you, but I might go for those blacksmithing lessons.

More info at www.portsidenewyork.org/fundraiser.htm.

Note: Joseph Patelson Music House Closes Tomorrow

Say your goodbyes while you can. June 7 is the final day of operation for the 89-year-old Midtown business.

What a lousy week it's been.

This Week on Lost City: Historic Closings

Arnold Hatters falls after 83 years; Manny's Music finally closes after 74 years; Joseph Patelson Music House's Last Days; Mayor Bloomberg tells reporters what to ask and when to ask it; Times Square transformed into someone's backyard; The ferry from Brooklyn to Governor's Island goes into effect; the Fifth Avenue Record and Tape Center gets a stay of execution; Smith's Bar & Grill is scrubbed clean.

Lost City Asks, "Who Goes to Pietro's?"

Pietro's on E. 43rd between Second and Third seems to exist only for the people who love it and are devoted to it. You never read about this place. It's nice to know a restaurant can survive for 75 years in New York without becoming a "hot" destination, by simply catering carefully to the people who like what they do. Of course, that goes for a lot of the restaurants I profile in "Who Goes There?," but it particularly applied to Pietro's.

Excellent photos from Eater's Krieger, as usual.

Who Goes There? Pietro's

“Better than a club,” reads the slogan on the menu at Pietro’s, the stubbornly long-lived Italian joint hidden on an absolutely uninteresting block of E. 43rd Street between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan. It’s an apt description. There’s so much gray hair around, both on the patrons and the waiters, it does seem like these people have been spending a lot of time together over the decades. The word “Regular” is all but stamped on each diner’s worn, smiling, relaxed face. There is so much chummy back-and-forth between the customers and the blue-jacketed servers—as well as between one table and another—that a meal at Pietro’s might as well by the annual pancake dinner fundraiser at a small town Lion’s Club.

Loyalty is visibly honored by dozens of small gold plaques that line the chair rails near certain tables. They read “The Hinzler Table,” “The Cohen Table,” “The Colonel’s Table,” “The Weinstein Corner,” etc. Unlike, say, the “21” club, the engraved names are nobody you might have heard of. The wall behind one table in a semi-secluded nook bore no less than eight plaques, showing that, while you may be a mainstay at Pietro’s, you still have to share your territory. The plaques are of different sizes and feature different fonts, giving the wall of fame a kind of haphazard feel. (What? Did Pietro’s use a different engraver every time? Or do the customers have some influence over what their trophy will look like?) A waiter told me that many of the honored names on the wall still come to eat often.

The plaques lend a bit of charm to what critics have made a habit of calling a “charmless” and “nondescript” room. Indeed, there’s little to say for the acoustical tile ceiling and framed prints of herbs, flowers and vegetables. Pietro’s, which was founded in 1932, used to be on E. 45th Street, where I trust the digs had more personality. They were forced to move to their present location in 1984. The owners don’t want you to forget their history, though. A big sign near the door reads “This place has been here since May 1932.”, near another sign (above) that reads “This place has been here since 1984.”

As with many “Who Goes There?” restaurants, the fans of Pietro’s will not give you specific recommendations, but only say, “Everything’s good.” My waiter, after being disappointed that I wasn’t going to order the special, chopped steak ($45 if it was a dime), steered me to the Veal Parmigiana, which arrived, big as a flounder, at my table 10 minutes later. I commented on the fillet’s astounding size. “You gotta eat a-SOMETHING!” he smilingly answered in an Italian accent. I replied that there seemed to be little danger of starving at Pietro’s. “Absolutely!” (The veal was excellent; maybe the best Veal Parmigiana I’ve had.)

Despite the colorless room, Pietro’s has a lot of odd touches. In the Rex Stout books “Bitter End” and “Too Many Women,” detective Nero Wolfe’s assistant Archie Goodwin apparently dined at Pietro’s. (Not even Wolfe, but his assistant!) So there’s a slight literary patina in play here. In 2005, the New York Times wrote lengthy piece on Pietro’s coat check lady, Alva Barrezueta, who is able to remember who owns what garment without the aid of tickets. And Pietro’s has the only restaurant bathroom I have ever encountered with a window in its door. Expect camaraderie at Pietro’s. Not privacy.
—Brooks of Sheffield

Previous Who Goes There? columns

Smith's Bar & Grill Cleans Up for the Guests

I must have been napping, so I don't know when formerly grungy Times Square relic Smith's Bar and Grill cleaned up its act. But I was walking by the Eighth Avenue joint the other night and it just didn't look right.


I peered in. What was it? Then it hit me. The lunch counter was gone. There used to be this old-style, none-too-fancy, hot-food counter to the left just as your walked in. You could get a lot of unappetizing hot grub at a cheap price. It was so Eisenhower Era. There was a sign over it that said "Hand Carved Hot Sandwiches." (See far below.) Now it was gone. In it's place where some polished wood tables and stools. (See above.) Very antiseptic. Very Bennigan's.


I noticed other things. There was a clean new awning leading up to the entrance. New awnings always scream "gentrification!" The words "Smith's" was etched, all classy-like, in all of the windows and doors. The grime and menace of the place had been scrubbed away. The 55-year-old tavern is making nice with Bloomberg's New York. What a shame.


All that remains of the old Smith's is the fantastic neon sign. Thank God for that.

A Bit of Good News

A bad week is ending with a couple pieces of good news. Gothamist reports that the Fifth Avenue Record and Tape Center in Park Slope, which was being forced out of business after 38 years by a greedy landlord, will stick around.

No, the landlord didn't have a change of heart. They never do, dontcha know. 72-year-old owner Tony Mignone has found a new home just three doors down from its current spot at 439 Fifth Ave. "I'll give it another shot," he said. "I think it'll be good, because I could fix it up the way I want it... although this is nice over here. But the landlord is jerking me around."

New Ferry From Brooklyn to Governor's Island Starts June 6!

The new ferry between Brooklyn and Governor's Island, which has been discussed since last January, will finally become a reality this Saturday, June 6.

A member of State Senator Daniel Squadron sent out the following letter:

I am writing to share some exciting news- this summer there will finally be free ferry service between Brooklyn and Governor's Island!

This ferry is something that Senator Squadron has long requested to better connect the Brooklyn Waterfront with the rest of New York Harbor, and we hope that you will be able to celebrate with him at the ferry's innaugural launch this Saturday, June 6 at 11:00 am, at Fulton Ferry Landing.

The ferry will leave Fulton Ferry Landing every hour, every Saturday when there is programming scheduled for Governor's Island. It will stop at Governor's Island and Battery Park in Manhattan. Please visit www.govisland.com for a full schedule...

...and please join Senator Squadron and other community members to celebrate the first launch this Saturday at 11:00!

As a friend of mine said: Finally, an idea that makes sense. No longer will Brooklynites have to truck into Manhattan and walk to the hard-to-reach Governor's Island ferry building in lower Manhattan.

Times Square Now Home to Displaced Couch Potatoes

The new traffic-free Times Square now looks like someone's back patio during a particularly dull family reunion.

I strolled through last night, the first time I had been in the area since Bloomberg's plan to make large swaths of Times Square pedestrian friendly took effect. I expected to see people milling about Broadway, enjoying the novel freedom of car-free city streets. Instead, I was stopped dead by the unsightly picture of hundreds of slothful tourists sitting around in plaid, plastic lawn chairs. You know, the kind you'll find in any backyard in the Midwest during the warm months of the year. And the loungers didn't look like they were going anywhere. They were there to stay.

I am not against the new Times Square. And I don't mind those stylish cafe chairs and tables you find in Bryant Park (in green) and Duffy Square (in red). But lawn chairs? Whose idea was this? They're ugly in any context. But they're horrifyingly incongruous at the supposedly cosmopolitan Crossroads of the World. Everyone sits there in haphazard rows facing the Jumbotron, like they were home in Toledo watching their wide-screen TV. They turn the City That Never Sleeps into The City That Ever Sits.

This just seems like another example of how Bloomberg basically misunderstands the basic nature of New York. He thinks we're some kind of suburb or bland resort. He has horrible taste.


But it gets worse. In the area, which is apparently called "The Times Square Lounge" (ugh!), there are other chair prototypes for those willing to give them a try. Let's take a look.


There are these ridiculous plastic orange accordions, which look like they belong in a Chuck E. Cheese.


This item is called a Chaise-Lawn. Ha ha. It is very popular with our stouter tourists and induces slumber. The man pictured above climbed into it, and kept loudly groaning "Ahhhhhhh" and "Ohhhhhhh" with weary pleasure. I doubt he left it until early this morning.


I remember an old episode of "The Odd Couple" where Felix bought some new, tres moderne, utterly ludicrous furniture. A chair shaped like a large hand was one of the items. 30 years later, here it is again, as stupid as ever.

Are we to understand that, if these "chairs" prove popular with tourists, more will be carted in? Oh, God, no. Please take them all away. The lawn chairs, too. Keep Times Square open to pedestrians. But keep them moving! No loitering, please.

Whose Arch Is That?

Some construction workers digging up the sidewalk in front of 28 W. 40th Street, just south of Bryant Park, have uncovered some curious brickwork.

A sharp-eyed reader was strolling by and took the above photo, which clearly shows an ancient brick archway. Not what you usually find when you did up the sidewalk. I have no idea what the significance of the find is. Maybe nothing. Maybe just an old arched ceiling of some bygone basement. But, being so close to the New York Public Library and Bryant Park, it could be more than that. Things that have occupied the Library-Park area over the last 200 years: A potter's field; a huge distributing reservoir serving the Croton Aqueduct; the famous Crystal Palace exhibition of the 1850s.

Carroll Gardens Gets Its Due

One of the better pieces of news in recent weeks has been that Carroll Gardens is on its way to get the downsizing rezoning its been asking for for years. In the early 2000's, the brownstone Brooklyn neighborhood became an easy target for avaricious developers, because it lacked the zoning protections and large historic districts enjoyed by nearby nabes like Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill and Park Slope. Community flouting slobs like Billy Stein, Robert Scarano and the Clarett Group were throwing up any sort of crap they pleased.

Amanda Burden and the Department of City Planning kept telling residents it would take years and years to address the matter. But the wheel of CG's many activist community groups (God bless 'em) never stopped squeaking, and, lo and behold, the Department of City Planning recently announced the beginning of the public review period (known as ULURP) for a more Carroll Gardens rezoning. Thrown into the bargain is the area west of the BQE surrounding Columbia Street. The new rules will instate certain height and density limitations for future building in the area.

The good news brought with it one of the best laughs I've had in days. Said Burden, “Today we are fulfilling that promise as well as furthering Mayor Bloomberg’s strategy to protect the city’s low-scale neighborhoods by bringing zoning protections to these unique areas."

I think she was actually serious.

246 Years of New York History: Gone

Who said Memorial Day was the unofficial beginning of summer? There's nothing summery about the destruction that's taken place in this city since last weekend. First the 83-year-old Arnold Hatters. Then the 74-year-old Manny's. Now Joseph Patelson Music House.

The revered independent music store has been on its last legs since announcing it dire straits last April. A call today, however, said the 89-year-old business could close "any day now." Said a clerk, "I thought we would close Monday. I thought we would close last Friday." There's not much left to sell. Stuff for horns and woodwinds, mainly. The violin music is long gone, as are more of the vocal stuff.

Comment of the day, from Dennis: "Just last week I bought hundreds of dollars worth of sheet music for pennies at the closing of Patelson's behind Carnegie Hall. If NYC didn't have its tall buildings and crowded streets it would be as boring and generic as anywhere else in the country where bank branches and chain stores rule."

246 years of New York history wiped out in one week. Pretty impressive. Pretty depressing.

Manny's Long Death Scene Comes to an End

Last weekend was blacker than I knew.

Arnold Hatters threw in the top hat after 83 years. And, on Sunday, after much press coverage, Manny's music store on 48th Street gave up the ghost.

Not much left to say about this one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable store. Read all about its great history and sad fate here and here and here and here.

It will become another Sam Ash store.

Oh, the New York Times finally covered the story. On June 1. The day after the place closed. Thanks a lot, Grey Lady. Too little, too late.

More Discoveries on 14th Street

Old 14th Street got everyone all excited last month when a piece of old signage for Dapper Dan's Imperial Clothes was revealed to the public eye after many years hiding behind a piece of new signage.

Now, 14th has done is again. Just a few doors down from Dapper Dan's is this new/old storefront that used to belong to "Lynn's." Not as spectacular, but not bad. Thanks to the watchful reader who sent in the picture.

Hey, why don't we just tear down every sign and awning in town and see what we find? Bet it'd be better than what we got now.

Mayor Bloomberg Orders Lunch

(Inside Mayor Bloomberg's office. Jill Hazelbaker enters.)


Jill Hazelbaker: Hey, boss.
Michael Bloomberg: (Correcting) "Your honor"
Hazelbaker: Right. You Honor. We're ordering lunch. What do you want?
Bloomberg: Talk to the Campaign.
Hazelbaker: What?
Bloomberg: Talk to the Campaign.
Hazelbaker: I just want to know what you want to eat.
Bloomberg: I know that. I thought I was clear. Talk to the Campaign.
Hazelbaker: But I'm the Campaign, Mike.
Bloomberg: "Your..."
Hazelbaker: ...Your Honor.
Bloomberg: So talk to yourself.
Hazelbaker: Ask myself what you want for lunch?
Bloomberg: That's right. What am I paying you for?
Hazelbaker: All right. Well, speaking on your behalf, I'm ordering a Subway tuna hero, some Cheeze-its and a Pepsi.
Bloomberg: Well, is that what I want?
Hazelbaker: I think so.
Bloomberg: Good, then.
(Pause)
Hazelbaker: Well, is it?
Bloomberg: Talk to the Campaign. I'm trying to run a City here. Don't people realize we've just been attacked by terrorists. It's imperative there be a steady hand at the wheel.
Hazelbaker: No, that was Giuliani's rationale for trying for a third term.
Bloomberg: Right. That was disgraceful. What's mine, again?
Hazelbaker: The economic crisis.
Bloomberg: Right. I've got a City to run. Don't people realize we're in the middle of an economic crisis?
Hazelbaker: I think they do.
Bloomberg: Do they?
Hazelbaker: Definitely.
Bloomberg: Cause, you know, personally I'm not really feeling it.
Hazelbaker: Well, there's the money.
Bloomberg: My money you mean.
Hazelbaker: Yes. It's hard to feel it when you've got all that money. But it's out there. Promise.
Bloomberg: That Obama. Gotta hand it to him. Only $400,000 a year. I don't know how he does it.
Hazelbaker: Your Honor, while we wait for the lunch, maybe we can go over the new rules for the press.
Bloomberg: The what?
Hazelbaker: The reporters.
Bloomberg: Oh, they're a disgrace!
Hazelbaker: Your Honor. We decided we weren't going to use that word anymore. It's gotten you into trouble.
Bloomberg: I don't understand. Didn't I buy all the papers last fall when they endorsed me for a third term? The ingratitude. How do people expect me to be a philanthropist and give them money if they don't understand that I've bought them afterwards?
Hazelbaker: So, we've already established that reporters can only ask about the Campaign during Campaign appearance, and can only ask about the City during Mayoral appearances.
Bloomberg: How did we work it so they can tell the different Me's?
Hazelbaker: At Campaign events you'll wear a Mets cap, at City events you'll wear a Yankees cap.
Bloomberg: When do I wear a Knicks cap?
Hazelbaker: At Knicks games.
Bloomberg: Riiiiight.
Hazelbaker: But it hasn't worked out so well, this arrangement. They keep asking whatever questions they want.
Bloomberg: Yeah, why do they do that?
Hazelbaker: Freedom of the Press.
Bloomberg: Get Quinn on that. See if we can overturn it.
Hazelbaker: It's, um...
Bloomberg: It's clear what's needed. More rules. This City thrives when I make rules that no one's allowed to question. Like the smoking ban. Or the traffic ban in Times Square. Or congestion pricing.
Hazelbaker: Uh huuuhh....
Bloomberg: OK. So. On Thursdays, they can ask me about my legacy as Mayor.
Hazelbaker: Thursdays.
Bloomberg: When I'm wearing a blue shirt, they can ask me about campaign spending.
Hazelbaker: You wear a blue shirt most days.
Bloomberg: Red shirt.
Hazelbaker: You never wear a red shirt.
Bloomberg: Definitely a red shirt. When I'm standing on one leg, I've opened the floor to questions about the economy. On my right leg, I'll talk about Swine Flu. If I'm wearing an ascot, I'll take questions on the Republican Party. But only if they say "Mother, May I?"
Hazelbaker: When can people ask about the third term thing.
Bloomberg: Whenever I'm not looking irritable.
Hazelbaker: But...
Bloomberg: Moving on. Say, what's that in your hand?
Hazelbaker: This?
Bloomberg: Yes.
Hazelbaker: A plastic bag.
Bloomberg: OK--give me a nickel.
Hazelbaker: That law didn't pass, Your Honor.
Bloomberg: You know the rules. Give me a nickel.

Mayor Bloomberg Will Tell You What You Can Ask Him, and When You Can Ask It

My God, how much longer are we going to put up with the high-handed, imperious, prickly, fickle "fuck you" behavior of our increasingly unhinged Mayor.

Bloomberg read reporters the Riot Act today, still trying to stem the tide of bad press following his "You're a disgrace" gaffe of last Friday. He has some new rules.

From now on, he will tell reporters what they can ask.

And he will tell they when they can ask those questions.

There will be a time for State of the City questions. There will a time for State of the Campaign questions. Reporters will abide by the guidelines.

"Mayor Bloomberg will receive you now."

City Room has been excellent in its tracking of the growing Madness of King Bloomberg. Read this:

In the past, the mayor has frequently refused to take campaign questions at campaign events, leaving reporters who wanted to inquire about his third term bid no alternative but to post the questions at City Hall events.

But on Monday, at a campaign event in Midtown Manhattan, at which he announced the endorsement of Representative Gary L. Ackerman, a Democrat who represents parts of Queens and Long Island, the mayor seemed to announce a new policy of taking such questions at campaign events — with strict rules governing what may be asked.

Mr. Bloomberg said he would answer campaign questions only at campaign events, and questions about city government at official city events.

“You can’t have it both ways,” the mayor said. “You can’t want me to be mayor and govern in a nonpartisan way trying to do what’s right for the city, rather than for my election, and then confuse the two.

Reporters immediately protested, asking the mayor how he can separate the two spheres, given that he is a sitting mayor seeking re-election.

The mayor conceded it would be challenging, but nevertheless stuck by his new policy.

“You are right: You can’t separate the campaign from what you do as mayor, because I am going to run on a record,” he said.

“It’s a question of where you take the questions, and whether you — and if you are going to try to keep the two separate, you should try. You can’t do it perfectly. You are one human being. I will try to do that.”

What does this sound like? Does it sound like Democracy? Does it sound like New York?

Get this straight: On any occasion where the Mayor makes a public appearance, journalists can ask Hizzoner any question they choose, on any subject, in any way they choose. That is their job. It is also their duty, their right and their privilege. The Mayor has the right not to answer (though he's a lousy public servant if he does), but he has no right to tell the reporters what they can or can't do.

Arnold Hatters When It Was Knox Hats

I dug a bit deeper and found these images of the newly deceased Arnold Hatters during its time as Knox Hats at 40th and Eighth. It was a helluva store.

Take Off Your Hats: Arnold Hatters Closes

Getting the week off to a gloomy start is JVNY's absolutely abysmal news that Arnold Hatters, one of the oldest and last remaining haberdasheries left in the city, has closed its doors for good, after 83 years.

Arnold Hatters was a personal favorite of mine among the old-time businesses in New York, partly because I am a hat-wearer myself and frequent such places at JJ Hat Center and Worth & Worth on a fairly steady basis. I've spoken to Arnold Rubin, and his sons Mark and Paul Rubin, on many occasions. All very nice, salt-of-the-earth people.

In retrospect, the shop's fate was sealed when they were forced to move from their longtime perch on Eighth Avenue across from Port Authority. The block was seized for the New York Times' new tower, and the Rubins were sent packing. They landed in a far-less-visible storefront further down Eighth, near 37th. The Rubins were philosophical about the hand of cards dealt them, but were also fairly vocal about their anger against the Paper of Record. As Mark told JVNY: "I'm positive if I was still in the old location, I'd be weathering this economy. Instead, with three kids and a mortgage, I'm writing the first resume of my life."

The economy also, of course, played a big role in the store's demise. Not only were people not buying hats, but the theatre was experiencing a downturn. You see, Arnold Hatters stayed in business all these years because it was near the Theatre District and was the first choice of costume designers. Costumers would go there for fedoras ("Guys and Dolls"), straw boaters ("The Music Man"), top hats (anything by Gershwin), Trilbies, derbies—all those hats people wore in the past but don't any longer. But business hasn't been so great on Broadway since last fall. A lot of shows closes in January, and others that were due on Broadway were canceled.

Some history. Arnold Hatters was always a family business. It was founded in 1926 by Mark Rubin's great uncle, Irving Garten. He opened his first store in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and soon after opened additional stores in Manhattan. Garten got out of the business when Prohibition ended, and he learned he could make more money selling booze than hat. He gave the hat business to his brother-in-law Sidney Jacobson. Sidney opened more stores, eventually moving the whole business to Midtown. There was once a store right on the corner of 42nd and Seventh Avenue.

Arnold Rubin didn't intend to sell hats all his life. He went into ship repair and worked for the Navy. But in the early '70s, he went to work for Uncle Sidney. The Eighth Avenue store opened in 1960. In 1990, it, too, almost disappeared when Sidney decided to throw in the towel. But Arnold gathered some loans and credit and reopened the Eighth Avenue store.

For most of its life, the store had a sign over it that said, not Arnold Hatters, but Knox Hats. Explanation: Uncle Sidney had a deal with Knox Hats, once a hat manufacturing concern, to stock a certain percentage of hats from the company. In exchange, Knox paid part of the rent. The arrangement was common at one time, resulting in Stetson stores, Dobbs stores, etc. The Rubins never changed the sign over the years, because they didn't want to confuse customers.

For a pictorial stroll through the old store, look here. I've looked all over the damn web for a picture of the old store near Port Authority, but can't find one. I used to have a bunch of old type photographs of it, but nothing digital.

Here's a picture of Mark and Arnold Rubin taken when they were still at the old store:

Two Interpretations on "Disgraceful" By Mayor Bloomberg

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has strong ideas on what is "disgraceful" or "a disgrace." But they don't necessarily jibe from one year to the next.

His words from Nov. 22, 2005, shortly after he was reelected:

“The public wants term limits and while there may be — it may be that the City Council has a right to override them, deliberately saying to the public ‘we don’t care what you think’ is, I would use the word 'disgraceful.'"

Fast-forward nearly four years, to May 28, 2009. Bloomberg calls reporter Azi Paybarah "a disgrace" for asking him if, in the light of the "improved" economy, he should readjust his rationale for running for a third term.

Seems to be that, to Mike, "disgraceful" is a relative term. Except when applied to people who disagree with him—they're always disgraceful.

(Thanks to Queens Crap for the image.)