Jay Dee Bakery Going Where Cheyenne Diner Went

I you were looking to grab a bit of the old Jay Dee Bakery before the Queens landmark is no more, you're too late.

On Monday, diner saver Michael Perlman wrote to all and sundry that the longstanding Jay Dee Bakery, at 98-92 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills, had closed, and he was trying to save some of its elements, if he couldn't save the business itself. "The owner said he will give away any salvagable Art Deco features for free, if an individual, organization, or museum is interested. Rego-Forest Preservation Council is hoping that several features will live on elsewhere and showcased or creatively and adaptively reused, which has been done countrywide."

According to Perlman, the first to respond were the couple from Alabama who bought the Cheyenne, Perlman's most recent salvage project. "They would like to recreate all of Jay Dee's ornamental plasterwork," he wrote. "They said they will come with a heavy load flatbed truck. Jay Dee and the Cheyenne Diner will become the centerpiece of a small town they're developing with a historic feel. They are also considering moving parts of a historic theater facing demolition and reassembling them, or replicating a demolished theater."

So, a fake, teeny New York City grows in Alabama. In a word: weird. But at least someone cares about these things, even if New York and its mayor don't.

Moondance: Wyoming; Cheyenne: Alabama

The rest of the country once again benefits from our cruel discard for classic diners.

First, the Moondance Diner of Soho was shipped off to a new life in Wyoming. Now midtown's Cheyenne Diner, which was to have been moved to Red Hook, will go to Birmingham, Alabama. (Irony, no? Shouldn't the Cheyenne go to Wyoming?)

Boy Diner Saver Michael Perlman notifies us that he has found a new savior for the Cheyenne, which was recently abandoned by sometimes-say-die Boy Brooklyn Developer Mike O'Connell, who had planned by plant the Cheyenne in Red Hook, but then said it would be too expensive to move the hulking metal eatery.

Perlman has brokered a deal between Joel Owens of Birmingham, AL and property owner George Papas for "an undisclosed amount." Owens is the head of NAIC, an investment group, and seems excited. "This is a dream come true, especially in a state that has no historic freestanding diners," he said. (Is that right? Are there no old diners in Alabama?)

Maybe we should start being proactive in our diner saving. Let's get West Virginia on the phone and see if they'll receive the next classic diner our stupid City decides to discard.

Here We Go Again

The Cheyenne Diner is on death's door again!

After being shoved to the brink last spring in favor of a nine-story building, Queens-based preservationist Michael Perlman hooked Brooklyn developer Mike O'Connell (Greg's son) on the idea of transporting the diner to Red Hook, when it would begin its new life. Then summer passed. And autumn. And O'Connell began to gripe about the cost of carting the damn thing. It wouldn't fit over the Manhattan Bridge. And floating it down the East River was too expensive.

O'Connell has now abandoned the project, Perlman tells us in an emergency e-mail. The Cheyenne is again for sale at a "reasonable but negotiable price."

Perlman has already received notification from potential buyers from NY, MI, AL, & UT. While the Cheyenne can potentially land a good home out of state, many patrons are praying that a NY-based buyer will contact the Committee at unlockthevault@hotmail.com, so it can ideally remain closer to its roots than the Moondance Diner in WY. All information will then be relayed to Mike O’Connell and George Papas. Rigging costs will vary upon where the diner is transported to and the route. The diner can be transported in 2 sections. According to PropertyShark.com, the Cheyenne Diner's building dimensions are 15 ft x 96 ft (2,000 sq ft), Lot dimensions 19.75 ft x 100 ft (1,975 sq ft).

Sigh. Making people truly care is hard work.

Cheyenne Diner to Float on Down to Red Hook?

There is news on the Cheyenne Diner, the midtown diner that, eight months ago, was said to be relocating to Red Hook, and yet still sits on 33rd Street and Ninth. From Chelsea Now:

Preservationists cheered when Cheyenne property owner George Papas negotiated last April to sell the 68-year-old diner to Michael O’Connell, a Red Hook construction manager who agreed to restore the restaurant intact as part of the deal to bring it to the Brooklyn waterfront. But plans to move the more-than-100-foot-long structure in two parts dissolved after it proved too large to travel across the Manhattan Bridge, leaving a final option of floating it by barge through the New York Harbor to its destination in Red Hook.

The alternative is a daunting one: The job entails transporting the diner to a pier on the Hudson River, loading it onto a barge via crane, towing the barge with a tugboat, and using another crane to lift it back onto land.

“We’re going to see what the financial feasibility is of moving it that way,” O’Connell told Chelsea Now this week, noting that the job was put out to bid a few weeks back, with no responses so far. “If not, we’ll just scrap the whole idea of moving it.”

Doesn't sound promising to me. "Financial feasibility" is developer-speak for "I don't want to spend a lot of money."

And It's Still There

So what's going on with the Cheyenne Diner?

Six months after the flurry of news that the midtown Manhattan diner would be closing for good, and then the second news cycle about how it was being saved by Mike O'Connell, son of Red Hook developer of note, Greg O'Connell, and would be moved out to Red Hook, the big silver thing still sits there like doorstop. And winter's setting in.

The defunct diner still looks as it did. Not much has changed inside or out, aside from a couple parasitic attachments by neighboring eateries, including one from the Skylight Diner, the landlord that kicked the Cheyenne owners out in the first place, and one from Ming's, a neighborhood Chinese place that seems to think Cheyenne's glass-brick wall is a perfect place for their take-out menus. I would hereby like to encourage people not to visit Skylight or Ming's. Do unto others, boys, do unto others.

Some Stuff That's Interesting, and About Food

There's new news about the Cheyenne Diner. Seasonal and organic menus? Movie screen?

Good old Village French food standby 26 Seats has DOH problems.

Marion's of the Bowery stops pretending it's not in trouble and closed for good, after being run off and on by founder Marion Magy and her son since 1950.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

Somebody finally got the bottom (sort of) of the mystery behind Carroll Gardens' Vermont Market and Pharmacy.
This gal can't forget Bay Ridge was once Viking territory. I've met Victoria Hofmo, actually. Her focus on this issue is unwavering.

A remembrance of Cheyenne Diner in the Times, by an author who doesn't seem to know that the diner is not gone forever, but moving to Red Hook.

Delusional lame duck and Cheeze-it eater Bloomberg won't shut up about national politics, and still has lousy taste in food.

This is why builders use such crappy bricks these days. The old kind cost too much!

Recalling the New York high-life scene of old, via Lucius Beebe's epic 1960 grazing tour.

Cloud support.

Another mainstay of the old Midtown has closed.

Every politician, it seems, is in the pocket of the developers.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

Plans for the Cheyenne Diner's relocation to Red Hook are coming together.

The MTA sucks, as usual.

AMNY's Ten Ugliest Buildings in NYC. I've could have come up with a list of 100 in under 10 minutes.

A developer of South Street Seaport wants to make one of AMNY's future lists.

An old library in Bed-Stuy reopened after a $2 million renovation.

A Talk With Michael Perlman, Diner-Saver

When I first heard the name Michael Perlman, in connection to the saving and relocation of the Moondance Diner, I thought, "Oh, some crusty old preservationist has come to the rescue. Good." I picture a grizzled old Villager with a beard, wire-rim glasses and sandals, smoking cigarillos. When I heard Perlman's name again, in connection to the relocation of the Cheyenne diner to Red Hook, I thought, "Gee, this guys gets around. And he gets things done!" Soon I found out he was a boychik of 25 from Queens! What gives? I usually don't do interview on this blog, but I had to find out the story behind Gotham's littlest preservationist. I shot him a few questions, and he sent me back following long, but very earnest and sincere answers.

Lost City: Are you a native New Yorker? If not, when did you move here?
Michael Perlman: I am a native New Yorker. I grew up in Forest Hills, NY, and proudly reside there to this day. Several generations of my family have as well, so I intend to further that legacy.

LC: How did you get so interested in diners? What is it about New York's freestanding diners that you find so worth saving?
MP: Historic freestanding diners are becoming an "endangered species" today at an alarming rate, but to our advantage, they were factory-built and pre-assembled, and therefore manufactured to move. Diners are among the "ultimate public institutions" which harbor countless memories and bridge the generations. They brought together individuals of various occupations in a cozy and striking ambiance. Diners are places where memories come alive, and traditionally, patrons from various classes would casually sit side by side, and converse freely on just about any topic. Being that freestanding railway car-inspired diners shaped NYC communities, and initiate bold flavor, their loss is often most heartfelt. They are a preservation priority.

LC: How did you find the buyer for the Moondance?
MP: I formed the Committee To Save The Moondance Diner in Feb 2007. I convinced Extell Development who owned the land, to reconsider their position on demolishing it for a condo. I figured, "Why not pick it up and move it?" I encouraged them to donate it to the RI-based American Diner Museum, in exchange for a tax write-off. ADM sold it to a couple in Wyoming by posting it on their website with my help.

LC: How did you realize the Red Hook move for the Cheyenne?
MP: In the tale end of March, AM-NY informed me that Manhattan's Cheyenne Diner was closing on April 6th, and would likely be jackhammered into oblivion for a condo. That was when I immediately stepped right up, formed the small but determined "Committee To Save The Cheyenne Diner," and submitted a proposal to property owner George Papas. Thankfully, he seemed enthusiastic about meeting with me, and responded to my written proposal the very same day. After devising a figure of $7,900 with Papas, and generating press coverage, prospective buyers numbered 24 within a record-breaking two weeks. Most contacted me via e-mail, and a few by phone. They came from as far as Indiana, Cheyenne WY, Ohio, CT, NJ, & Upstate NY. Most parties of interest came from the five boroughs. [Red Hook developer] Mike O'Connell was the winner, since it was basically a first-come, first-serve basis. They agreed upon $5,000, considering the rigging costs, cost for securing permits, and lot acquisitions, and restoration that excitingly awaits. I am informing the 23 parties that lost out, about the remaining few classic freestanding diners that are in jeopardy (in NYC and one in Paramus, NJ).

LC: You're pretty young for a preservationist. What drives you?
MP: In summer 2005, I was passing by the Trylon Theater at 98-81 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills, and it was heartbreaking to see contractors taking jackhammers to its mosaic tile ticket booth which memorialized the Trylon monument. The entrance pavilion's mosaic and terrazzo floor also depicted the Trylon monument, but has since been cemented over. The Art Deco theater was built during the 1939 World's Fair (which took place nearby in Flushing Meadows), and the Trylon and Perisphere were the signature monuments. This fueled my preservation efforts, and also awakened the dormant preservationist in many community residents, amongst other supporters. Now I Chair Rego-Forest Preservation Council (est. 2006), which advocates for Individual Landmarks and Historic Districts in Rego Park & Forest Hills.

LC: What's your next mission?
MP: My next mission is preserving the historic Ridgewood Theatre (55-27 Myrtle Ave, Queens, NY) shuttered in March, marking the end of its consistent nearly 92-year run as a first-run theater. It is considered by theater historians to be the longest continuously operating neighborhood theater citywide, and potentially throughout the U.S. The theater was purchased last year by real estate agent Tony Montalbano of Montalbano Realty Corp. In March, when the theater was closed without notice, a vinyl banner went up around the marquee, stating "Retail space available in Ridgewood Theatre." Even though the owner is advertising retail for the two ground floor theaters, and considering the reopening of the upper floors' screens for showing films, many locals would favor adaptive & creative reuse of the ground floor, involving the performing arts. Otherwise, portions of the interior may be gutted without respect to its history, and the facade may be altered rather than restored, if worse comes to worse. A typical retail establishment can open almost anywhere, and considering the theater's history, it deserves much better! I am trying to find a historically-sensitive performing arts-related tenant or two for the owner, and if anyone is interested or knows of a potential investor, I encourage them to contact me ASAP.

I am also dedicating much of my time towards surveying Forest Hills & Rego Park for potential Individual Landmarks & Historic Districts, since we have a history dating back to 1906, but the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission only designated 2 sites in Forest Hills, and has been turning a blind eye.

Cheyenne Diner Saved by...the Son of a Developer

I guess the only thing that can save development from itself is...development itself.

Just the other day, the west side's Cheyenne Diner was set to go down to dust, the victim of a rival diner who owned the structure and wanted to erect a nine-story building there. Would no one save the 68-year-old Cheyenne?!!

Yes, it turns out, someone would. Mike O'Connell, son of Red Hook developer of note, Greg O'Connell, who owns about a million things in South Brooklyn. The scion, head of O’C Construction, purchased the diner for $5,000 will now work on securing permits to transport it to its new home in sunny Red Hook. The Cheyenne will be refurbished and returned to its former glory by a diner specialist. All this was brokered by preservationist Michael Perlman, who formed the Committee To Save The Cheyenne Diner, and seems to spend his life preserving New York diners. Gotta hand it to him. He gets things done.

Cheyenne to Follow Moondance Out of Town?

The same folks who found the Moondance Diner a new home in Wyoming are trying to similarly relocate the Cheyenne Diner at 9th and 33rd, which closed its doors for the last time on April 6, the victim of a rent dispute.

Read a press release:

Preservationist Michael Perlman of Queens, who founded the Committee To Save The Moondance Diner in spring 2007, along with fellow Preservationist Kyle Supley of Brooklyn, are now campaigning to spare the Cheyenne Diner from oblivion, after sparing the Moondance last summer. Michael Perlman of the Committee To Save The Cheyenne Diner further discussed the proposal with property owner George Papas (owner of nearby Skylight Diner, 402 W 34th St, & developer for Cheyenne property) on Sun, Apr 6th, and effectively convinced him to work together. It will be a win-win scenario for all parties when Papas sells the Cheyenne Diner, and it is relocated.

Perlman has already received notification from potential buyers from Indiana & Ohio. While the Cheyenne can potentially land a good home out of state, many patrons are praying that a NY-based buyer will contact the Committee at unlockthevault@hotmail.com, so it can ideally remain closer to its roots than the Moondance Diner in WY.

Nice intentions here, of course. However, the Moondance story didn't end so well. After being carted out to Barge, Wyoming, the old diner collapsed under the weight of a bunch of ice and snow on its roof.