21 Classic NYC Spots That Closed Forever In 2014
New York, I love you, but you’re bringing me down. This post is going to be a bummer unless you really like luxury condos and frozen yogurt.
1. 5Pointz, 45–46 Davis Street in Long Island City
One of the world’s great graffiti meccas was demolished and will be replaced with two apartment towers.
2. Roseland Ballroom, 239 West 52nd Street in Midtown
Name a famous musician, and the odds are very good that they performed at this massive Midtown venue at some point. The building has been demolished, and will be used for a 50-story mixed-use development.
3. Kim’s Video & Music, 124 1st Ave in East Village
Kim’s was once a thriving chain that catered to the discerning tastes of New York’s coolest music nerds and film junkies, but its final outpost closed this summer. It didn’t go under because business was bad, but rather that the rent was raised by the landlord.
4. Pearl Paint, 308 Canal Street in Chinatown
This massive art supply store was shut down in the spring, and the owner of the building is looking to turn it into luxury condos.
5. Gray’s Papaya, 402 Sixth Avenue and 8th Street in Greenwich Village
This iconic hot dog spot served Greenwich Village for 28 years before it was forced to close after a massive rent hike was imposed by the owner of the building. Now there’s only one Gray’s Papaya left in all of New York City, on Broadway and 72nd Street.
6. Subway Inn, 143 E 60th Street on the Upper East Side
This dive bar served the Upper East Side since 1937 until this December, but the business still exists and has moved to a building nearby on Second Avenue.
7. Cafe Edison, 228 West 47th Street in Midtown
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This Times Square institution shut down in December after the Edison Hotel declined to renew its lease. The eatery, famous for its borscht and blintzes, was a regular haunt of producers, stagehands, and performers on Broadway.
8. Death by Audio, 48 S 2nd Street in Williamsburg
The venue closed and the building will soon become office space for Vice.
9. Glasslands, 289 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg
This music venue is shutting down after New Year’s Eve, and the word is that the space will soon become office space for Vice. Do you see a pattern?
10. 285 Kent, 285 Kent Street in Williamsburg
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The beloved DIY underground music venue shut down permanently in January of 2014.
11. Galapagos Art Space, 16 Main Street in DUMBO
This was actually the second Galapagos space, the original was in Williamsburg on North Sixth Street. The venue is departing New York entirely to move to Detroit in 2015.
12. Rizzolli Bookstore, 31 West 57th Street on the Upper West Side
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One of the city’s most beautiful and iconic book stores was destroyed to make room for a “seven-star hotel.” The business still exists, and has moved to the St. James Building on Broadway near 26th Street.
13. Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, 163 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village
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The specialist bookstore was shut down after Slotnick lost the lease from her landlord in November. She hopes to reopen the store in a new space.
14. Shakespeare & Co. Book Sellers, 716 Broadway in NoHo
This book store, which specialized in textbooks, served NYU for 30 years before shutting down in September. It’s a Footlocker now. Speakespeare & Co once had four stores in the city, but only the Upper East Side location serving Hunter College remains.
15. Barnes & Noble Flagship, 105 Fifth Avenue and 18th Street in Flatiron
Look, there are plenty of other Barnes & Nobles out there, including the one around the corner in Union Square, but this was the original store that opened in 1932 and now it’s gone.
16. Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg
This facility, which was a fixture of the Williamsburg waterfront, was demolished in October to make room for multiple mixed-used towers.
17. Hair Box Barber Shop on 203 Spring Street in SoHo
This spot was an old school barber shop for over 100 years and now it’s… wow, you’ll never believe this… a frozen yogurt shop.
18. Yaffa Cafe, 97 St Marks Place in the East Village
Yaffa Cafe served the East Village for 32 years before getting shut down this October after its backyard space was deemed illegal by the DOB after complaints from neighbors.
19. Bowlmor Lanes, 110 University Place in the East Village
This 76-year-old bowling alley closed its doors forever in July. The building is being turned into – you guessed it! – luxury condos.
20. Milady’s, 160 Prince Street in SoHo
This dive bar was open for 81 years until it shut down in January of 2014.
21. Famous Oyster Bar, 842 7th Avenue in Midtown
Famous Oyster Bar was a midtown fixture for 55 years until the daughter of the restaurant’s landlord took over and priced them out of the space.
vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com
correction
An earlier version of this post stated that Death by Audio received a payout from their landlord, but representatives of the venue have told BuzzFeed that did not actually happen.
Contributions
- Rio Day 5: Katie Ledecky led the US women's swimming relay team to gold, and Australian high school swimmer Kyle Chalmers won gold in the 100m 🏊
- A man scaled the Trump Tower in Manhattan on Wednesday using suction cups before police pulled him off the building.
- Baltimore police have routinely violated civil rights and targeted black residents, a Justice Department report says.
