Tag Archives: gentrification

Vanishing New York reports that the much-loved West Village diner Manatus will close tonight in the face of a rent increase to $50K per month. This is a sad day for the Village. Manatus has been in business since the mid-1980s, catering to the local LGBT clientele, and it is the last affordable, down-to-earth place to eat in that hyper-gentrified …

New York City’s Folsom Street East Fair is this Sunday and Jeremiah Moss reports that the owners of luxury condos nearby have petitioned the local community board to end the fair. Moss’ site Vanishing New York has a quote from a resident: Residents from several surrounding buildings have passed fliers asking our residents to write to the Community Board to …

The New York Times laments the old dirty dangerous South Beach. These days, it’s not just the models who have largely vanished — and with them the European playboys and nightlife fixers for whom they served as so much chum in the water. Clubland itself seems more predictable and strait-laced now that the Beach’s ever squabbling tribe of drag queens …

“It’s funny how we crave the authentic, the unspoiled, the genuine — the un-globalized and un-homogenized and un-gentrified — only to destroy them. And then, as if in remorse, attempt to create unthreatening Disney versions of the authentic, the unspoiled and the genuine. It’s funny how the rich, tired of grilled tuna or Chilean sea bass, weary of New York …

Five women and one man calling themselves the Cupcake Brigade donned matching pink dresses on Sunday to perform a mocking musical tribute to the perplexingly popular Magnolia Bakery in the West Village, where Sarah Jessica Sandinistas stand in long lines every day to buy the exact! same! cupcakes! from Sex And The City. They sang God Bless Magnolia (to the …

Over the weekend a small group of activists protested on the sidewalk outside the opening of the new John Varvatos boutique in the old CBGB’s space in the East Village. One protester said the issue isn’t just about CBGB’s, it’s “about Tonic closing, and Fez, Theater Club Nada and Charas…about Copacabana being forced from their space by the city using …

Rumors have been flying on the various NYC foodie blogs about the impending closure of Meatpacking District landmark 24-hour diner and beloved gay hangout, Florent. Owner Florent Morellet, the iconic “Queen of MePa” confirmed to the NY Observer this week that his lease is ending March 31st, quelling, a tiny bit, the panic of foodies who feared the closure may …