Greatest Real Estate Finds

cany10011 · April 30

On 3/11/2026 at 8:07 PM, Luv2play said:

How old are you? I stayed in a b&b on Jane St down near the Hudson in 1997. The host was a retired actor and playwright in NYC. The street was very nice, old brownstones and the people held a street party for my host that weekend as he was turning 75.

Perhaps 50 years earlier it was dicey but so was the whole lower west side before the gays moved in. North of there the meat packing district was rough but became gentrified later.

I went back two times, once in 2001 after 9/11 and in 2019. Both times the place was as nice as I remembered it in 1997. In the first visit I went out to dinner with the b&b host with my sister. The last visit he was no longer alive. So I just walked the street reliving the memories.

I'm in my 50s and remember moving to NYC in 1995. Jane St is not far from the triangle around 14th and 9th Ave sex clubs - J's Hangout and Manhole, which were quite dicey in the late 1990s. My neighbor owns a restaurant near there now. Those were the days were you had to unbuckle your belt while making your way downstairs... Totally dodgy yet exhilarating at the same time. Even far west chelsea where I live now was super dicey.

Edited April 30 by cany10011

MikeBiDude · April 30

Four Hundred Million dollar estate listed here in SoCal, allegedly the most expensive listing in US.

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/400m-bel-air-megamansion-now-priciest-home-listed-in-the-u-s/

Luv2play · April 30

2 hours ago, cany10011 said:

I'm in my 50s and remember moving to NYC in 1995. Jane St is not far from the triangle around 14th and 9th Ave sex clubs - J's Hangout and Manhole, which were quite dicey in the late 1990s. My neighbor owns a restaurant near there now. Those were the days were you had to unbuckle your belt while making your way downstairs... Totally dodgy yet exhilarating at the same time. Even far west chelsea where I live now was super dicey.

Where was the Mineshaft? I seem to remember it being somewhere between the West Village and west Chelsea.

CuriousByNature · April 30

1 hour ago, MikeBiDude said:

Four Hundred Million dollar estate listed here in SoCal, allegedly the most expensive listing in US.

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/400m-bel-air-megamansion-now-priciest-home-listed-in-the-u-s/

Is that a Koons sculpure at the end of the reflecting pools?

BSR · April 30

1 hour ago, Luv2play said:

Where was the Mineshaft? I seem to remember it being somewhere between the West Village and west Chelsea.

Yup, pretty much nailed it: 835 Washington Street, corner of Little West 12th

Luv2play · April 30

4 hours ago, BSR said:

Yup, pretty much nailed it: 835 Washington Street, corner of Little West 12th

Well I was a great walker in those days. I could walk 50 or 60 blocks easily in a couple of hours. I ranged over much of lower and mid Manhattan in the 80s and 90s on my various visits.
I recall standing outside the door of the Mineshaft late one evening and after about 20 ministers deciding not to go in.
Might have saved my life.

+ *Charlie* · April 30

1 hour ago, Luv2play said:

Well I was a great walker in those days. I could walk 50 or 60 blocks easily in a couple of hours. I ranged over much of lower and mid Manhattan in the 80s and 90s on my various visits.
I recall standing outside the door of the Mineshaft late one evening and after about 20 ministers deciding not to go in.
Might have saved my life.

The Mineshaft was one of my favorite bars when I lived in NYC in the last century. I never thought there was anything scary about it.

Luv2play · May 1

23 minutes ago, Charlie said:

The Mineshaft was one of my favorite bars when I lived in NYC in the last century. I never thought there was anything scary about it.

It was probably all in my mind. There were other bars I frequented that didn’t bother me at all, in fact I revelled in them. The one on Christopher St. Ramrod I think where you went downstairs and the guy at the bar would intone every half hour or so “Gentlemen, mind your wallets please”. Just a reminder as our jeans slipped down our legs to grant greater access.

samhexum · May 6

On 4/27/2026 at 12:38 PM, samhexum said:

THE GATES OF HELL:

New York City storefronts that still drop solid metal gates at closing time are officially on the clock. The Department of Buildings took to X on Feb. 25, 2026 to remind property owners that roll-down security grilles on buildings classified as Business (Group B) or Mercantile (Group M) must meet a visibility standard by July 1, 2026.

The Gate Guy Preparing for a Very Busy Season

https://www.curbed.com/article/nyc-storefront-gate-manufacturer-roll-down-solid-law.html