Thank you Debra! It's rough being a small or medium size business in NYC, real estate is insane. And now tariffs... Keeping fingers and toes crossed numerous small businesses can remain open.
When we were first looking for a place in Manhattan the real estate agent told us, “New York will break your heart, because it’s always changing.” She was talking about buildings popping up and coming down, but it’s more than that: people and places we treasure change — and not usually for the better. Of course, there is the tradeoff: in her terrific illustrated book “Going Into Town,” Roz Chast advises her college-bound daughter to always keep her eyes open because the city rewards us by constantly serving something new to discover — even on blocks we know well.
Still, I feel you on this. Changes in character, quality, or just being there aren’t free of cost.
Yeah, change is what NY is all about for sure, Jef. I think Fran Leibowitz said something like "Go to Paris and it's the same as it was 10 years ago. Leave New York for a week and your liquor store is a nail salon." Still. When it's your grocery store and you like the people who work there, it stings.
As always, Debra, you express beautifully the way New Yorkers become attached to places and people we rely on daily and the sting of change. All the more painful at the moment.
Reading this was like a poem version of a eulogy for me. The photos made me yearn for that neighborhood spot that is a kind of extended family.
Thank you Debra! It's rough being a small or medium size business in NYC, real estate is insane. And now tariffs... Keeping fingers and toes crossed numerous small businesses can remain open.
So true, Nina. And as you well know, our small shops and restaurants are the very thing that makes New York New York.
We just said farewell to Absolute Bagels, the best on the UWS. Those goodbyes sting. But your story was a delight.
Ugh - those goodbyes are just the worst. I went back yesterday and more shelves were cleared. People are hugging the cashiers - it's so sad.
Aw, man!
I felt the same way about H&H Bagels.
When we were first looking for a place in Manhattan the real estate agent told us, “New York will break your heart, because it’s always changing.” She was talking about buildings popping up and coming down, but it’s more than that: people and places we treasure change — and not usually for the better. Of course, there is the tradeoff: in her terrific illustrated book “Going Into Town,” Roz Chast advises her college-bound daughter to always keep her eyes open because the city rewards us by constantly serving something new to discover — even on blocks we know well.
Still, I feel you on this. Changes in character, quality, or just being there aren’t free of cost.
Yeah, change is what NY is all about for sure, Jef. I think Fran Leibowitz said something like "Go to Paris and it's the same as it was 10 years ago. Leave New York for a week and your liquor store is a nail salon." Still. When it's your grocery store and you like the people who work there, it stings.
As always, Debra, you express beautifully the way New Yorkers become attached to places and people we rely on daily and the sting of change. All the more painful at the moment.
oh man, yes!! All the more painful right now indeed. We need all the familiarity and grace we can get.