The City on the Edge of Forever

At the beginning of the year, New York City was New York City. Its Lurch-like woke mayor presided—and smugly intoned before the camera—but he was largely invisible to me. That is because—for health and wellness reasons—I paid minimal attention to him and local politics in general. What I did observe, however, was life going on, largely as before, with the Big Apple reasonably safe and its services largely efficient. The city’s parks were kept clean and many upgraded. The streets, too, were frequently scrubbed, trashcans always emptied, and the sanitation department separately picked up organic waste. Some subway lines were way past their primes, but the Number 1 train typically made good time.

Granted, the city has been changing through the years—and not for the better—becoming increasingly expensive for starters. Unable to afford the exorbitant rents and comply with an ever-intrusive bureaucracy, mom-and-pop businesses have slowly but surely vanished. It's not a working and middle-class town anymore—more a tale of two cities. But that not-especially pretty picture seems almost nostalgic now—like the good old days. What these past several months—with a pandemic, protests, and rioting—have wrought is absolutely astounding with potentially debilitating long-term consequences.

Vacant storefronts are omnipresent and there are destined to be a whole lot more of them in the near future. Violent crime is a daily occurrence, with the perpetrators clearly emboldened by a demoralized and diminished police department understandably holding back. The police unit dedicated to getting guns off the streets has been disbanded. I just saw a news story where African-American council members pleaded with their vociferous progressive brethren to knock it off with the defunding police blather.  Still, the mayor regularly reassures the citizenry that the city is coming back and coming back strong, although there’s scant evidence that this is the case. Turn on the local news or take a walk on the wild side—like I did this past weekend—and you be the judge.

Vacant stores and more graffiti...now that's the ticket for a better tomorrow...

Happy to see that the Good Stuff Diner lives, but its next-door neighbor has not been so fortunate.

During the bona fide good old days, the 1970s—from my perspective at least—there was a popular restaurant chain called Beefsteak Charlie's. It was in the vanguard of the all-you-can-eat salad bar and also offered unlimited beer, wine, or sangria. What could possibly go wrong with that offer did go wrong with that offer. 

Pandemic plus Manhattan Rents equals For Lease.

 Prime retail space available? It depends on what the meaning of "Prime" is.

Definitely on the move...

Not only have restaurants and eateries fallen by the wayside. Shoegasm is no more.

Capital idea: Let's open a restaurant in New York City now. Business plan in the making.

Hopefully, the third time's the charm.

Happily, Taco Mahal lives for another day with outdoor dining in front of a former business not as lucky.

Mona Lisa, Mona Lisa, men have masked you.

And you, too.

Some people have seen images of G-O-D in old public phone booths. I have seen D-O-G.

There are some hearty survivors hoping to stay afloat with outdoor street dining. Let's pray they can in this city on the brink and not get hit by a wayward bus.

I noticed that many of these outdoor dining areas were pretty packed with hipsters on Saturday morning. 

It isn't just MAGA motorcyclists, rednecks, and Karens who flout pandemic dictums.

There's no such thing as a free lunch or mask, in this instance, when there is nobody in the station booth.

Only the winds of time will tell what will become of New York City. Subway ridership is down eighty percent. The man impersonating a mayor has filled three Upper West Side hotels, which once upon a time catered to international tourists, with homeless, substance abusers, and sex offenders, too. It's a sad, complex, and growing problem. Still, that $3,000/month studio apartment in the vicinity just might not look like a bargain anymore. To be continued...

(Photos from the personal collection of Nicholas Nigro)