As the neighborhood started to change around me, I thought the NYU crowd coming in would still want

Recently, we've been hearing about a flood of losses on Ludlow. Places that came up in the 1990s--early gentrifiers certainly, but before the hyper-gentrification of the Bloomberg era--are dropping like flies. The Pink Pony closed , then we got the news about Motor City , the Living Room is leaving, and we know Max Fish is on borrowed time. Many people are asking, "What's left?" And answering, "The Hat."
"They are not closing pet air travel rates yet! They are trying to stay open! The rent has been steadily going up and they have a lease for a few more years, but in 2012 we took a nose dive. We have been losing our regular customers steadily, due to them not being able to pay the rents on the LES and being forced out . It just keeps going down.
Most Mexican restaurants on the LES are very chic now with a smorgasbord of a million kinds of tequila and fancy appetizers. El Sombrero was famous for their frozen large pints of margaritas that packed a wallop. They are still $8. A big burrito with rice and beans, heavy with cheese is still $9. It was cheap and you could get wasted quick. We waitresses were never told to sell anything and we never hurried anybody out, even if people were lined up and waiting outside. Everybody was relaxed. The waitresses would dance with the customers at any given moment (to the annoyance of some tables waiting for their orders). Working class, artists, gang bangers, and their families mixed together. Writers would write there. Actors pet air travel rates and directors met and worked on their plays. I put everybody's posters pet air travel rates on the windows and walls. I gave out cards to my shows and got asked into shows all the time.
As the neighborhood started to change around me, I thought the NYU crowd coming in would still want good cheap food. But the character of these new people coming in was weird. They didn't come in curious or wanting to find a place to call their own. They didn't try to fit into the neighborhood. They were rude and obnoxious. They would not leave a tip, and I can't tell you how many times we had to run down the block after them for trying to run out on a check. This had never happened before. Then even they started to disappear. (I guess after we would catch a lot of them, they weren't coming back.) They are probably finding places were you can down a $2 shot and not have to tip the waitress. The others want those chic places. El Sombrero doesn't fit either one. It was a working class/poor neighborhood place. I think that's the sad fact, we don't fit in any more."
As we're all asking pet air travel rates " why Ludlow Street's last bastions of Bohemia are closing ," and finding the answer in skyrocketing rents and a vanished culture of artists and outsiders, The Hat remains--but likely not for long. So go get some burritos and knock back a few of those powerful margaritas. Put some salsa on the jukebox, pet air travel rates dance with the waitresses, and tip them well .
Haven t been to the The Hat in about a year or so. First time I remember going was about 20 years ago and loving it. I don t get it. Back then I was in my mid-20s and I was grateful and pleased that a place like The Hat existed. Young people in New York today? They have their heads so far up their asses it s unbelievable. It s like they re already middle-aged before becoming middle-aged. Remember all those clueless obnoxious white kids in the pre-counter pet air travel rates culture beach films of the early 60s? That s exactly what these kids are like now. Meanwhile, I ll see you at The Hat. Let these spoiled a-hole children have their snooty overpriced faux luxury lifestyle. Glad I m not them.
That second pic fits with its preceding emphasis. I guess I m not alone in those sentiments. Nowadays, people go to Caracas, La Palapa, Yuca Bar... to get their authentic Latino or Mexican cuisine. Rude and obnoxious is the new real and alive.
It is sad, I recall when the area was part of the bargain district, now the area is rife with small, overpriced boutiques. pet air travel rates There s even one boutique that only sells 5 articles of clothing, literally 5 dresses on a rack. Working class, and Bohemian no more...I do enjoy Piano s though, I cannot lie.
From the bargain district, to a cool bohemian hangout now Ludlow is becoming engulfed in Bloomberg s Luxury city. I can t lie though, Piano s at Ludlow and Rivington is easily one of my favorite hang outs...
And I guess that s it in a nutshell. Something I have been trying to understand myself since NYC is a city in constant flux. Why is it different now? It s the replacements. In New York we re used to the old being done away with, but I don t think ever before has the new that replaces the old been so horrific.
If you do a cash mob, be sure to do it on a Sunday or Monday evening so people can enjoy the greatness that is Regina Bartkoff in her role as waitress. Today in NYC, a waitress in the same place for 30 years is about as common as a sabertooth tiger. Her presence is part of what makes that place so wonderful.
You almost gave me a heart attack, Jeremiah! I was just talking about The Hat last nigh, saying it s one of the very few old places left that I enjoy. I made the mistake of having one or twelve of those margaritas on a Monday night once...can t remember anything pet air travel rates about the rest of that week except that I was happy. Long live The Hat!
About 2 years ago, I was living in the neighborhood and walking around with a friend. I ve eaten from the San Loco across pet air travel rates the street, but wanted to go the local route of The Hat. My friend and I were seated and given menus, chips/salsa and water by the waitress and then abandoned for about 15 minutes. There were 4 other customers in the place. The salsa was more watery and very bland. When we couldn t find the waitress to try and order, pet air travel rates we got up to leave. At that point, one of the bus boys must ve called to her because she came running after us. She stopped us just outside the door and said we didn t pay. Apparently, the chips and salsa which we hadn t ordered and assumed were complimentary, were actually for pay. Needless pet air travel rates to say, we went across the street to San Loco and I never went back to The Hat.
Brendan, you re half wrong. While Brooklyn itself as a city is not a brand, with various neighborhoods like Gerritsen Beach and Bay Ridge that aren t part of Brooklyn pet air travel rates s cultural cache, pet air travel rates it s utterly indisputable that the Northern parts of Brooklyn have been transformed into a worldwide brand. The Barclays Center and the Nets cemented this brand name recognition completely. I m curious to hear your assertion as to why you don t find this to be true.
I d like to think this blog/jeremiad by Moss is a valuable counter weight against inexorable development, but in reality it s more like a selfish and impotent kvetch. Affordable, artistic and trangressive habitats can t be curated like a museum or mummified pet air travel rates in amber to sate someone pet air travel rates s memories -- real or imagined -- about a neighborhood and its past. Such places pet air travel rates evolve out of poverty, neglect (often high crime) and or high concentration of immigrants/ethnicity pet air travel rates to insulate it from corporate endeavors/tentacles. For you to bemoan every dying watch shop or 99cent pizza joint is the giveaway here. The New York you believe you are pining for evaporated a decade or so ago. How about visiting neighborhoods in Queens and Staten Island and reporting on these thriving untouched metropolis; how about visiting upon the living not the dead? Probably because endless moaning and mourning and nostalgia gets more pages hits. name it: Jeremiah s Manhattan pet air travel rates mom and pop shop necrophilic longing.
i always said that J should pet air travel rates visit the outer boroughs. he may find some interesting things. most of my manhattan pet air travel rates friends live in brookyn. pet air travel rates what is queens like? we never hear about it? whats up in the bronx? staten island? someone mentioned (anon 9:05am) that the newer kids on the LES are like pre counter culture 1950s beach movies. did it occur to you that the better people are NOT THERE?? (on the les). they are someplace else? you are just not cool enough to know that place? btw, i lived through the counter pet air travel rates culture. guess what? there were very few interesting people or cool people in the world. yes the LES had them for sure, but @ that time, this was the places to go. not now. in general this counter culture has been romanticized, as some giantic pet air travel rates movement. in reality the majority of kids who went to woodstock concert were just straight boring people. they are now really uptight obnoxious baby boomers. same w/most communes, pet air travel rates ashrams. in general there were not more cool people pet air travel rates in the 60s than now, trust me on that one. now since there is so many college kids, you are going to get so many more UN cool people. also i prefer pre hippy culture. jazz, beat poetry, chic fashions. back to the present, things shift, things change. downtown may be turning into a college town. i ask again after 4 yrs, FIND THE NEW PLACES!! n.y.c. or anywhere u.s.a
J once in a while you do feature an aspect of new york that is still here. we like that, as we dont want to always be depressed. ok, i get manhattan is vanishing that is the main point! (yes n/brooklyn is vanishing too). heres a suggestion: i know you dont have alot of time for different pet air travel rates blogs. pet air travel rates (as grumbler was neglected). but it may be interesting very cool to explore pet air travel rates the outer edges of the boroughs. report on some old business which have hung on. since its mostly ethnic: arab, indian, asian, russian, jamaician, i have a feeling that the music/ art can be amazing. (like the south bronx in the 70s 80s). the music from flatbush avenue is incredible, i hear things via youtube. pet air travel rates also the gay clubs must be really out there. gay muslims anyone? arabic house? theres a gay scene w/hasidics in brooklyn. i myself would be doing this but i am not there. ( new new york ). my feeling is the wave of the future is not all white, its eastern african latino. since most of the LES is full of frat boy creeps, well.......its not happening. i love the vanishing new york blog. but a good counter blog needs to be done. just sayi