NYC-The Big Cup is DEAD?!

[+ Tom Isern]

Does anybody have the final word on Coliseum Books? It seems another small local business is being bullied into oblivion by the big chains. I'm still missing McHale's on 46th and 8th and Guido's on 9th Avenue.

[uwsman2]

Colisseum is dead by the end of this year, Tom, or so the newspapers say. Few indy book places left in the Apple, but there is one book store on 3rd Avenue a block north of Astor Place you might want to check out...

[JT Brooklyn]

Since the Originial Post in 2005..

There have been more than a few Small Biz Closings. By this time next year, I am sure there will have been even more.

 

New York is constantly changing, that's what makes it New York.

 

Being a Born and Bred New Yorker, rather than a Transplant,I Definitely go with "The Essence of Life is Change" attitude.

 

Unfortunately, there are those who think, IF Nothing changes, neither will they grow old! It doesn't work that way! LOL :P

[+ purplekow]

RE: "Higher Grounds Cafe"

 

Rick

 

Very disappointed in your musical choice of Donnie and Marie when it is obvious the better choice for this musical ode to the variety of tastes people can have is the Theme from Green Acres

 

East Village is the place for me;

Grungy guys with my black coffee;

Big Arms, and shoulders hips which are so wide;

Keep the west just give me the lower east side;

 

Chelsea dear is where I rather stay;

This is where the guys are really gay;

Buffed and strutting thier stuff what a view;

Keep that East Side I'll hook up on Eighth Avenue

 

Da Da Da Da Da

Cruising cars

Da Da DA DA Da

Cruising bars

 

Da Da Da Da Da

Fresh meat

Da Da Da Da Da

20th Street

Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da

 

Don't Bring your wife

To enjoy city life

 

Manhattan you are there

 

 

Can just picture Derek in the Long John's but don't want to imagine you in Lisa's gown and pearls

[Rick Munroe]

RE: "Higher Grounds Cafe"

 

>Can just picture Derek in the Long John's but don't want to

>imagine you in Lisa's gown and pearls

 

I look hot in a pink negligee, though.

 

http://www.gollymisterdouglas.com/contact/mr_douglas_and_lisa_on_the_phone_pole.jpg

[Rick Munroe]

>New York is constantly changing, that's what makes it New

>York.

 

Hmmm...well, I'm also a native New Yorker and I always thought that what made New York New York was its diverse and distinctive neighborhoods. These days you can't really tell the difference...it's all just one big mall for college kids. Yes, I agree that change is good but not homogenization, don't you think?

[+ purplekow]

As long as economies of scale dominate markets and ultimately force out the small business which cannot successfully compete and foster the entrance of mega-corporations, you can expect Mom and Pop operations to be wiped out and with them, the charm, character and dedication to service those kind of places usually provided. Let's face it, most people in the US want it cheap. They want it when they want it. The want great service but rarely are willing to pay the extra dollar that might allow that to flourish. Book stores, Coffee shops, the corner candy store, individual pharmacies, privately owned one store supermarkets are headed the way of the passenger pigeon and the dodo. So it is no wonder that standing in one section of NY is getting to be pretty much like standing anywhere else.

Just say NO to large chain businesses.

[+ Tom Isern]

I agree, Rick. I've taken to calling Manhattan a "strip mall for the rich with a bridge, tunnel and subway system." Diversity? There's less and less of that every day.

[Guest manreadyokc]

Rick, I was afraid you had abandoned the stretch Diesel's . . . I'm so relieved!

[+ purplekow]

Rick I knew you had highly charged sexual powers but now men are relieved by the mere thought of you in tight jeans. I must be an extraordinary experience having this kind of super power.

[Rick Munroe]

>Rick, I was afraid you had abandoned the stretch Diesel's . .

>. I'm so relieved!

 

lol But I did abandon them; I am strictly a Rufskins man now. They only cover half my ass. :9

[Rick Munroe]

>Rick I knew you had highly charged sexual powers but now men

>are relieved by the mere thought of you in tight jeans.

 

Well, it's my pleasure to provide relief and release to the men of America (and Canada, and Europe, and...). }(

[Guest zipperzone]

>>Rick, I was afraid you had abandoned the stretch Diesel's .

>.

>>. I'm so relieved!

>

>lol But I did abandon them; I am strictly a Rufskins man now.

> They only cover half my ass. :9

 

Which half? The left half or the right half? Or are you talking about plumbers butt here? Either way you must look great!

[BgMstr4u]

I agree with the sentiments above, but want to add a slightly divergent voice, as one who moved to NYC 5 years ago and lives in a traditionally underserved neighborhood.

 

The unique little bookstores and coffee shops and pharmacies and so forth are great, if you live in a neighborhood that has them. The Village, Chelsea, Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint, Astoria, more recently Hell's Kitchen, all fall into this category. East Harlem, where I (and several hundred thousands of others) live doesn't. The only bank within decent walking distance of where I live is a Carver Bank that just opened in a new building 6 blocks north. The other new business in that building, a gym, seems to have folded. Carver is local (Harlem, black money) but also has a checkered history. There is a Puerto Rican based bank, Banco de Ponce, 4 blocks east. Also fairly dicey in the stability department. There is a small independent pharmacy 3 blocks south, but charm and service are not their mottoes. Three inch glass and dusty shelves with stuff no one will buy is more like it. A more recent addition on our corner is nicer, and we're hoping it will survive. Coffee shops? Restaurants? Please. There's a fairly new Dunkin Donuts, and it's the best thing to open here since I moved in. There are a few restaurants, but their opening hours are a mystery, their windows are always obscured, and when you go in, you get the distinct feeling that you forgot to send in your membership application. Book stores -- except for a few Spanish language places with equal space given to Opus Dei Catholicism and Santeria, nada. We had a hardware store near us that closed when the police got interested in more than the advertised merchandise. The one on Third Avenue has almost nothing and charges twice or three times what the new Home Depot (Hallejuah!) in midtown does. Over on Third Avenue there are a lot of discount stores with occasional bargains, but the best of them are -- NYC chains! Our supermarket, a low-end Pioneer, has the worst selection of food I have ever seen in an American supermarket, but at least the prices are decent. The corner bodegas routinely charge 50% more for most items. And so, I and most of the people here who need to shop, have to go elsewhere in the City and we do. We find what we need, but at the price of inconvenience and time spent.

 

Bottom line -- I'd be thrilled, and so would a lot of other people of all ethnic persuasions and all economic levels, to see some chains move in. I know this because I go to community organizing meetings and listen. The people up here have money to spend, but the economic life is left to the ethnic entrepreneurs (Korean grocers were terrific, Jewish Middle Easterners are the current lot). A big chain supermarket -- bring it on! A real pharmacy, a la Duane Reade? YES!! A Starbucks? You bet!!! And a Barnes and Noble? The second coming!!!!

[Rick Munroe]

>Which half? The left half or the right half? Or are you

>talking about plumbers butt here? Either way you must look

>great!

 

Aw, thanks. We're talking plumber's, but it's more "gay porn plumber" than Dan Ackroyd. :o I'm definitely going to wear them in our next photo session, which will have an "urban" theme (we've already done beaches, mountains, forests and hot tubs) so you'll see. But here are the 2 latest pairs I just ordered online:

 

http://www.rufskin.com/images_product/chuck_blk_bck_ed_3.jpg http://www.rufskin.com/images_product/vincent__distbck_josh_.jpg

[+ purplekow]

East Harlem is a neighborhood I spent about 2 years in when I was in my 20's. As I pass through there now and again, I haven't seen much change. No signs of gentrification there yet. Few run down brownstones being redone by people with the idea of making a ton of money once the neighborhood flips. You won't find Supermarkets and other Chains moving in until the brownstones have been redone, the small shops and restaurants opened and middle to upper middle class commerce thriving and a low crime rate. That is when they strike, taking over when small businesses can no longer handle the rent and a solid customer base is assured. So, if you wait long enough, you can see the whole birth and demise of a unique neighborhood, but I don't see any sign of it now. By that time the change happens, one of the attractive aspects of that neighborhood, affordable rents for a decent amount of space, may be long gone.

[+ purplekow]

Rick, When is delivery expected on those pants, I want to make a date for the next day.

[Guest zipperzone]

>The unique little bookstores and coffee shops and pharmacies

>and so forth are great, if you live in a neighborhood that has

>them. The Village, Chelsea, Brooklyn Heights, Greenpoint,

>Astoria, more recently Hell's Kitchen, all fall into this

>category. East Harlem, where I (and several hundred thousands

>of others) live doesn't.

 

If I may be so blunt - why don't you move?

[Guest zipperzone]

>Aw, thanks. We're talking plumber's, but it's more "gay porn

>plumber" than Dan Ackroyd. :o I'm definitely going to wear

>them in our next photo session, which will have an "urban"

>theme (we've already done beaches, mountains, forests and hot

>tubs) so you'll see. But here are the 2 latest pairs I just

>ordered online:

 

Hot shit - do you actually see guys walking around NYC wearing these?

[Rick Munroe]

>Rick, When is delivery expected on those pants, I want to

>make a date for the next day.

 

LOL They're custom-made (that is, they start manufacturing when you order them) so it will take a few weeks. I'll report back as soon as the FedEx guy arrives.

[Rick Munroe]

>Hot shit - do you actually see guys walking around NYC wearing

>these?

 

I think I'm the only one! Actually, they're more for night time...going to a leather bar or Black Party or something like that. I wore them to the Black and Blue festival in Montreal earlier this month and they were a real finger magnet (that is, everywhere we went, I kept getting guys shoving their hands down my pants in the back...they seem to be an "open invitation"). For daytime, I'm usually in Levi's Offenders (named because they are extremely low-rise, but not crack-exposing like the Rufskins) or True Religion Joey's, which are really butt-hugging.

 

I love jeans talk almost as much as I love politics talk.