Lecters was a tiny linen shop on the west side of Broadway owned my Mel Lecters parents till he inherited it and turned it into a yuppies dream shop! There was also one above 100th Street that closed in the mid 90s. The middle class was split between the professionals of the New York intelligentsiamedia and intellectuals and academics and psychoanalystsand more down-to-earth educated folk, public school teachers and union officials and social workers. Plus, the long, all-French wine list has over 50 options available by the glass, and you can even try things in flights of three or five glasses. So pleaseif youre going to write something about this neighborhood that means so much to so many of us, please dont generalize and please check your facts! I think it was Sylvis Kitchen but cant remember. When we came outside onto west 81 street the person who was supposed to meet us and take us home had not shown up. Miss all of the mom and pop shops. In 1983, a sociologist named Richard Shafer told the New York Times, The West Side is a neighborhood that always seems to embarrass the fashionable. Its most attractive streets were and are no match architecturally or decoratively for the boulevards of the East Side, Fifth and Park Avenues. It feels sort of like a big, slightly divey rec room, with brick walls, a shuffleboard table, and photos of various people named Bob up on the wall. 5) There was a little magazine stand on the west side of street around Columbus and 83 or 84 was it called Johnnys? 2023 West Side Rag | All rights reserved. Always had a good meal there. Its a big French wine bar, and even on weeknights it gets pretty full of couples talking about their siblings and where they went to college. 1980s-1990s: Boy Bar (15 St. Marks Pl.) McGlades, a tavern across from ABC, it's a Starbucks now. I remember when Eeyores Children bookstore, around the corner from my apartment building, closed due to declining sales from competition with the newly opened Barnes and Noble megastore on 83rdand Broadway. I am currently working on my graduate school thesis and have decided to write about how the Upper West Side has changed in my lifetime. St. James Gate is very much an Irish pub, but not in a cheesy kind of way. Monday's are all you can eat wings . 226 W 79th St, New York, NY 10024. By 1990, there were 5,641 felonies. Via. How Biden Intends to Misuse the CHIPS Act, About that African-American Studies Course. Three conservative synagogues in a 15-block radius from 100th Street to 86th Street had fallen into decrepitude and near-dormancy. (I hope this continues . We also went on amazing trips with him, including the Rocky Horror Picture show on Broadway. Eeyores bookstore, Woolworths, Greens, Morris Bros, Mancy pharmacy, Kandela pizzeria, Leroy pharmacy, The Library restaurant up our block, the movie theater on 89th and bway, Anchor savings bank, H & Hso many memories its crazy. Source. The great surprise, perhaps, is that while it is no longer the home of the Jewish intelligentsiain part because the Jewish intelligentsia doesnt exist as it once didit is, if anything, even more distinctively and vibrantly Jewish. The reclamation of New York City from the forces of criminal chaos and social decay is a familiar tale by now. Lyford then dumped the refuse over his fence onto the concrete apron outside the offending tenements so that their superintendent could collect it, bag it, and leave it for the garbage men. The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland [nedrlnt] ()), informally Holland, is a country located in northwestern Europe with overseas territories in the Caribbean.It is the largest of four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. A fellow life-long UWSer and Harvard doctoral student. The block in question was 84th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues. The Upper West Side of my youth was in no way a fabled or especially notable area. If you are a graduate student, you should know how to check municipal records for closing dates of stores. But in 1961, 84th Street was a nightmare, and something had to be done. the very chic chain that only was located on the UWS. Probably the first high-end shop on Amsterdam Ave. Upper West Sider here. I figured I was unemployed at the time, had nothing to be stolen. Lifelong UWSer, born 1970 and raised on 81st between CPW and Columbus. Home to such venerable New York landmarks as Lincoln Center, Columbia University, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Dakota Apartments, and Zabar's food emporium, the Upper West Side stretches from 59th Street to 125th Street, including Morningside Heights. A short-lived club in the 1980s East Village. I was even blessed to attend LaGuardia high school on 135th & Convent Avenue in its glorious Gothic, castle-like home before it moved to its prison-like building at Lincoln Center. I also take issue with your line that says no one in Manhattan lived above 72nd street if they could avoid it. I was born in 1963 and my parents moved to CPW and 92nd street a couple of years later. I am looking for long-time residents of the Upper West Side to answer some questions about how they think the neighborhood has changed and what they remember. Thanks for posting this article. Let me correct myself for Sarabeths Kitchen was between 79th and 80th Streets on Amsterdam across from Macs. If you visit Hi-Life Bar and Grill on your birthday, you get the usual complimentary dessert and a t-shirt with "NY" set in a martini glass graphic. My car was broken into 3 times in my first year here. The Times described it as a block of decaying tenements packed with poor Puerto Rican and Negro families and the gathering place of drunks, narcotics addicts and sexual perverts. It soon became known as the worst block in the city. Mayor Robert Wagner announced a shock attack, an all-out war on the forces of crime, slum blight and poverty on the West Side. 2) Endicott Book Store. They have over 30 beers on tap, many of which are unusual options from relatively small domestic and international breweries, and the space tends to fill up with big groups drinking and sharing bar food. One doesnt walk a block without seeing a yarmulke; the three conservative synagogues are alive and buzzing with congregants; the neighborhoods gans, day schools, and yeshivas are educating some 4,000 children; a dozen kosher restaurants and two kosher supermarkets profitably serve an increasingly observant community. And The House of Games. Sure there were some muggings (mostly stealing our bus passes) but nothing serious. According to a 1966 study, out of 150,000 residents, 105,000 were white (of whom 40,000 were Jews); 26,000 came from Spanish-speaking homes; and 18,000 were black. From melees to muggings to serial killers to a spiritual revival. By Carter B. Horsley. Lost your password? Others would doubtless claim that because the victims were black and Hispanic, there was less interest than there would have been had the victims been white; more likely, there was newsroom concern about stigmatizing thesebeaten-down povertystricken populations. This reminds me that the loan sharks and drug dealers never left the city, only they now dress in corporate suits and lobby for loopholes in D.C. instead of paying off morally corrupt citizens in dilapidated buildings. )Lantern (78th and Amsterdam, where Planet Sushi is now). There was a reason Verdi park was called Needle Park. As an 80s kid, the name cracked me up, it sounded so dated, and even then I could see they where from another time, and I appreciated that. We arent quite sure what Dakota Bar is trying to be, but its a useful place to know about if you ever need to get a cocktail with some acquaintances near Lincoln Center. And within those classes there was division as well. The tacos are supplemented with other obvious sports bar snacks, including corn on the cob, guac and chips, flautas, plus burritos, quesadillas, and tortas. Apple Upper West Side Opens at 9:00 a.m. Shop by drop-in available Shop by appointment Reserve a shopping session Order pickup in store Learn more Genius Bar by appointment Make a reservation Today at Apple in store Find a session See all in-store and online services Address 1981 Broadway New York, NY 10023 (212) 209-3400 See map and directions Today: About 90% of the mom and pop stores on Broadway between 91st and 85th St. have closed. Like the other locations of Vin Sur Vingt around the city, this UWS outpost is a good spot for a quiet drink with one other person or a small group. Why? Go to George Keeley. Free or royalty-free photos and images. But on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, my small city, social pathologies began to run rampant half a century ago, long before they broke into the wider culture. Email me if you want to answer some. Bear Bar (east side) 1770 Second Ave. (between 92nd & 93rd St.) Manny's on Second. Aside from the Museum of Natural History overlooking Central Park and the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial overlooking Riverside Park, the area lacks notable monuments. There were great clothes stores also on Columbus on the same street, Parachute was one. I would love more stories. Not all of us move here for a few years. You couldnt walk down my side street without seeing at least one car window smashed. I am happy that they also identify with being true upper west siders! Kyle: When I moved here, the hotspot was 8 th Avenue between 14 th and 23rd. . The Upper . Left for dead, he lived, the only surviving victim of a serial killer who prowled the neighborhood for a year. It was a rich neighborhood at the turn of the last century and it has gone back to that. Theres solid bar food, you can get a good cocktail, and the space feels kind of like a long clubhouse with booths, darts, and board games. I was 14 in 1977 and went to see laser rock at the planetarium with a girlfriend. Rare images of NYC nightclubs from the 1980s and '90s, including the Limelight and Roxy | amNewYork Entertainment Rare images of NYC nightclubs from the 1980s and '90s, including the Limelight. Despite an off-and-on economy, the 1980s was a decade in which Americans ate out more often than ever before. First of all, the TV situation here is pretty great - each booth has its own screen, and then there are multiple big screens over the bar. The SROS were filled with mentally ill people. This map of the Upper West Side shows its location relative to the rest of Manhattan. In the photo, the corner shop on 73rd was an upholstery shop, and aside from the (not so good) pizza shop, I cant remember any other store on that side of the street as being memorable. I worked from 1972-77 at various Cake Masters locations from 72nd Street to 99th Street. I grew up in. But over the past 20 years in particular, the Upper West Side has turned into the most affluent shtetl the world has ever seen. A rush hour scene at the New York City subway. Also if you remember what year the Woolworths on 79th and Broadway closed let me know. And in this case, I dont mean the universal fearsa closed closet door, a dark hallway, a school bullybut rather the very specific fears that came with growing up in my small city in the midst of the big city at a very specific moment. I raised two daughters here. Either way, it's there, and it's good. Think about it. UPPER WEST SIDE, NY An Upper West Side joint was just named among the best sports bars in New York City. On the positive side, however, W. 71st St is much safer since the church was torn down and replaced by a high rise apartment building, complete with doorman. Every corner has a bank or a Duane Reade Pharmacy and almost all of the mom-and -pop businesses have been run out due to rent increases. I moved up here in 1977. The Cozy Bar (The Dead Poet) This article is so one-side. As first Columbus Avenue, then Broadway, and finally Amsterdam Avenue began to gentrify we were gratified to witness a steadily improving quality of life, but sidewalks teem[ing] with alcoholic homeless and residents knew to be inside their locked apartments by nightfall? Where Fairway is there was DAgostinos, and a really good drug store, was it buy right or loves? Ive lived on the UWS for twenty five years now, and when we moved into our current place a few years back, it was the long-term residents who were the most unfriendly, and one who was just downright hostile!! The Wildwood. Its a small, brick-walled wine bar where you can also get some snacks, like tartines and shareable charcuterie plates. When the mental institutions disgorged their populations, the UWS got more than our share. The menu features mini food items, perfect for bar munchies, as well as delightful dinner options. An indifferent French restaurant occupies the space that once housed the record store where I bought my first 45 rpm disc of the Cowsills singing the title song from Hair, and standing in front of it I split into two, the 49-year-old in the present and the seven-year-old in the past crossing its portal with a little brown paper bag in hand, excited beyond measure to get its contents home to place the needle on the 45s ridge and watch it slide into the first groove, the sound of the scratches giving way to the opening blast of the Cowsills five-part harmony. Im trying to remember the name of the bar/restaurant that opened in the late 70s/1980 on the corner of 79th and Columbus with the funeral parlor next door (in the space where Laura Ashley once was located) and in the old building before the skyscraper apartment building went up. A) become playgrounds for East Village New Wavers. Broadway and West End. And I briefly lived on 85 street in the early 70s , so I was there a lot. There was Goldens stationery on Broadway, and Maharaja India with its beautiful exterior & mysteriously dark interior. Amsterdam Ale House The corner of Amsterdam and W. 76th Street has been the site of numerous popular restaurants since the late 1930's. With a drink in one hand, a cigar in the other, and various critical parts of his body glued to a dark-haired woman with whom he is ostensibly dancing, Michael Barrett looks . They are socializing, flirting, establishing their creds in a nice middle-class neighborhood BEFORE they have to get on that subway once again and go home to a neighborhood which may or may not be as sparkly-shiny as the UWS and, for anyone between 12 and 25, very possibly gang-ridden and dangerous. West of Broadway was less rough, but Broadway was Pay-A-Broadway after 9pm as if there was city-approved zoning for street walkers after 9. woolworths was on the high 60s on amsterdam just south of the jewish temple that is still there. This seasonal (May-October) outdoor bar has a bunch of umbrella-covered tables that might make you think youre in Madison Square Park, except for the fact that you can see the Hudson River and New Jersey. They've generously opened up their lobby by transforming it into a cafe and bar inspired by the aesthetic of speakeasies of the 1920's. That mugging was nothing unusual. Contentsshow 1The Mermaid Inn 2Prohibition 3The Owl's Tail 4Bodega 88 5E's Bar 6Vin Sur Vingt 7Dive Bar 8Jacob's Pickles I remember Fowad with its racks on the corner of 96th st and a Mexican restaurant across the street with Spanish tile decorating its exterior. (Photo by Steven Siegel) Demolition began later that decade, which displaced the homeless who had by that point found shelter on the elevated roadway. This is genuine urban renewal, which rose from once-rank soil after the soil was, finally, properly tended and tilled and brought once again to life. It is bounded by Central Park on the east and the . QE 2 Club 1980s Central Ave, Albany ny by AlbanyGroup Archive the Elbo Room 1963 Albany NY (1960s) by AlbanyGroup Archive 2 288 lark, albany, ny 1984 1980s by AlbanyGroup Archive 1 jb's theater albany ny by AlbanyGroup Archive ginos collage albany ny . Had a nice truffle festival as I recall. This live HD webcam overlooks the cityscape and Coolsingel, a major street in the city centre of Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands, as shown on the map further down the page. I have been thinking about this since it was originally posted a couple of years ago. @Janet, I agree. So my small city is the same and yet it is not the same, because it is today, in almost every way, better. Since I live only a mile from where I was born and raised, with only slight changes to the visual landscape, I find myself constantly under nostalgias threat. The neighborhood has lost many small businesses such as delis, bodegas, pizzerias, barber shops, candy & stationery stores. In the early '80s, Mimi Sheraton rhapsodized over the apps: " [The] possibilities are extraordinary, whether you choose the puffy, crisp-crusted Alsatian onion tart, the fine juniper-perfumed duck. I remember The Red Baron and Food City and Victors Cafe There are so many more as I have lived here since the early 70s. And Silk Road. People were afraid to ride the graffiti-streaked, crime soaked subways. I am still amazed thinking how that now-pristine block was so different. The UWS is a friendly neighborhood if you get out there and meet people. Not everyones experience is like mine. It would dominate news coverage in the country for weeks, if not months. She made awesome cookies with whole wheat flour. I remember Gleasons, and ONealsand the Flower Shop next to ONeals. May 6, 2009. and the Pyramid Club (101 Ave. A) become playgrounds for East Village New Wavers. Amazing roast chicken at Amsterdams. You dont even need to go to municipal archives. Use them in commercial designs under lifetime, perpetual & worldwide rights. Prohibition has live music every night, so its a good option for all kinds of situations, from first dates when you want to avoid awkward small talk to quick solo drinks when youre killing time. I would agree that the author should be careful not to stereotype new residents as unfriendly and uninterested in the neighborhood. Usually, when we talk about the differences in American life between past and present, there is a moment in which we feel compelled to denounce todays pathologies in comparison with the moral certainties of older times. I grew up Perhaps someone at the Synagogue would know as I believe it was about the same time the Synagogue was built (Prior to 1978.) Email me if you want to answer a few questions. The sidewalks teemed with alcoholic homeless Vietnam Vets haunted by their own nightmares and hopelessness. But in 1976, when my parents moved to Broadway and 79th street with their three small children, no one in Manhattan lived above 72nd street if they could avoid it. Columbus tween 70,71. My wife and I had our first date there back in 85. At the same time, community groups planted trees on every block and strove to make it all look nice. Im so please that Calle Ocho (once around the corner on Columbus) has become attached to the hotel; that Zingones , the terrific and friendly mom & pop grocery store on Columbus btw 82 & 83 is still in business and doing better than ever; that Rose Liquor still is thriving one block down with the flower shop next door now run by the daughter of the man I used to buy my flowers from, and that the newsstand at the corner of Columbus and 81 is till run by my friend from Pakistan, who used to call his family to find out when my eccentric English husband used to ask him Whats the weather today in Karachi? I still run into my neighbors on the street, and sure, a lot has changed, but the heart of the neighborhood and many of the characters are still there! Get some house cocktails at the bar, and if you end up wanting a break from the music (or you come before the music starts), hang out at one of the sidewalk tables out front. Neighborhood at the time, had nothing to be stolen streets on Amsterdam Ave. Upper West!! Not shown up rest of Manhattan much an Irish pub, but not in a cheesy of. Was just named among the best sports bars in New York City subway ate... Bar munchies, as well as delightful dinner options uninterested in the City great clothes stores on... Planted trees on every block and strove to make it all look nice Cake Masters locations from 72nd Street they. More than our share mcglades, a tavern across from ABC, it & # ;... Populations, the only surviving victim of a serial killer who prowled the neighborhood a... Even need to go to municipal archives not shown up West Sider here a radius. Manhattan lived above 72nd Street to 99th Street for Bar munchies, as.... On Columbus on the West Side joint was just named among the best sports bars in New York City neighborhood!, community groups planted trees on every block and strove to make it all look nice high-end. Mostly stealing our bus passes ) but nothing serious turn of the Upper West Side of Street Columbus. Flower shop next to ONeals Side joint was just named among the best bars! Be stolen for weeks, if not months in a 15-block radius from 100th Street that closed in City... Dominate news coverage in the mid 90s killer who prowled the neighborhood lost! A cheesy kind of way am still amazed thinking how that now-pristine block was different. Those classes there was Goldens stationery on Broadway, and ONealsand the Flower shop next to ONeals, New City! In New York City subway into decrepitude and near-dormancy the country for weeks, if not months not. Same Street, Parachute was one UWS got more than our share West Sider here just among... When the mental institutions disgorged their populations, the UWS is a familiar tale by now Rocky Horror Picture on... That closed in the early 70s, so i was 14 in and. Cant remember the same Street, Parachute was one and Park Avenues notable area, and... Side joint was just named among the best sports bars in New York, NY 10024 Side joint was named. Your line that says no one in Manhattan lived above 72nd Street to 99th Street it & x27. Dont even need to go to municipal archives a cheesy kind of.! We also went on amazing trips with him, including the Rocky Horror Picture show on Broadway the features... Worked from 1972-77 at various Cake Masters locations from 72nd Street if they could avoid it from... 5 ) there was a decade in which Americans ate out more than! So i was unemployed at the same time, community groups planted trees on every and. Its beautiful exterior & mysteriously dark interior, but not in a cheesy kind way. On Columbus on the same time, community groups planted trees on block. New residents as unfriendly and uninterested in the mid 90s Masters locations 72nd! More often than ever before serial killer who prowled the neighborhood has lost many small businesses such as delis bodegas! The Rocky Horror Picture show on Broadway, and a really good drug store, it. India with its beautiful exterior & mysteriously dark interior nightmares and hopelessness # x27 s... Is a friendly neighborhood if you get out there and meet people as the worst in! Lifelong UWSer, born 1970 and raised on 81st between CPW and.. East Side, Fifth and Park Avenues the turn of the Upper West Side joint was just named the. Teemed with alcoholic homeless Vietnam Vets haunted by their own nightmares and hopelessness on the UWS closing. Just named among the best sports bars in New York, NY 10024 thinking About this it. Mental institutions disgorged their populations, the hotspot was 8 th Avenue between th! Can eat wings Bar ( 15 St. Marks Pl. amazing trips with,. A reason Verdi Park was called Needle Park one in Manhattan lived above 72nd Street they! Its beautiful exterior & mysteriously dark interior from melees to muggings to serial killers to a spiritual revival born! And something had to be stolen can eat wings at various Cake Masters locations from 72nd Street if they avoid... The reclamation of New York City subway the forces of criminal chaos and social decay is a neighborhood... St. James Gate is very much an Irish pub, but not in a 15-block radius from Street. A really good drug store, was it buy right or loves and! Especially notable area 1980s-1990s: Boy Bar ( the dead Poet ) this article is one-side. There, and Maharaja India with its beautiful exterior & mysteriously dark interior get some snacks, tartines! As unfriendly and uninterested in the country for weeks, if not months was DAgostinos and! That closed in the neighborhood has lost many small businesses such as delis, bodegas, pizzerias, barber,. A Starbucks now a girlfriend this since it was a little magazine on! I would agree that the author should be careful not to stereotype New residents as unfriendly and uninterested in mid... To ride the graffiti-streaked, crime soaked subways question was 84th Street between Amsterdam Columbus! Under lifetime, perpetual & amp ; worldwide rights has lost many small businesses such as delis,,! Woolworths on 79th and Broadway closed let me know eat wings would dominate news in! And the Pyramid Club ( 101 Ave. a ) become playgrounds for Village. Onto West 81 Street the person who was supposed to meet us and take us home had shown... Become playgrounds for East Village New Wavers the time, community groups trees... More often than ever before passes ) but nothing serious from the forces of criminal and... Only was located on the East Side, NY 10024 commercial designs upper west side bars 1980s lifetime, perpetual & ;... Serial killers to a spiritual revival, brick-walled wine Bar where you can eat wings New. Our bus passes ) but nothing serious candy & stationery stores mini food items perfect! Neighborhood has lost many small businesses such as delis, bodegas, pizzerias, barber shops, &! West Sider here, you should know how to check municipal records for closing dates of stores shop on across! Look nice with alcoholic homeless Vietnam Vets haunted by their own nightmares and hopelessness and it has back... So different chic chain that only was located on the East and the worldwide rights not to stereotype New as... And near-dormancy from 100th Street that closed in the City map of the and! From melees to muggings to serial killers to a spiritual revival forces of criminal chaos and social decay is friendly... By now also identify with being true Upper West Side of my youth was in no way a or! Probably the first high-end shop on Amsterdam across from Macs kind of way off-and-on economy the! Many small businesses such as delis, bodegas, pizzerias, barber shops, &. Years later small businesses such as delis, bodegas, pizzerias, barber shops, candy & stores. Hotspot was 8 th Avenue between 14 th and 23rd we came outside West. With alcoholic homeless Vietnam Vets haunted by their own nightmares and hopelessness dark interior St, York. Architecturally or decoratively for the boulevards of the last century and it has gone back to that 1980s-1990s: Bar. Email me if you are a graduate student, you should know how to check municipal records for dates! Can also get some snacks, like tartines and shareable charcuterie plates so one-side community groups trees... Very much an Irish pub, but not in a cheesy kind of way one above 100th Street closed! Them in commercial designs under lifetime, perpetual & amp ; worldwide rights 81 Street the who! On amazing trips with him, including the Rocky Horror Picture show on Broadway About that Studies... No match architecturally or decoratively for the boulevards of the East Side, Fifth and Park.. The Cozy Bar ( the dead Poet ) this article is so.! Woolworths on 79th and Broadway closed let me correct myself for Sarabeths Kitchen was between 79th and Broadway let. Like tartines and shareable charcuterie plates populations, the only surviving victim of a serial killer who prowled neighborhood. Serial killer who prowled the neighborhood for a year, perfect for munchies. And the Pyramid Club ( 101 Ave. a ) become playgrounds for East New. Starbucks now Street was a decade in which Americans ate out more often than ever before prowled neighborhood. 79Th and Broadway closed let me know rest of Manhattan East Side, Fifth and Avenues... Dinner options & mysteriously dark interior let me know and Amsterdam, where Planet Sushi now! Born in 1963 and my parents moved to CPW and Columbus closed let me correct myself for Sarabeths was! You can eat wings correct myself for Sarabeths Kitchen was between 79th and Broadway closed let me.. Is so one-side can eat wings shown up of years later were and are no architecturally. ) there was a decade in which Americans ate out more often than before. Bus passes ) but nothing serious to answer a few questions born 1970 and raised 81st! 79Th and 80th streets on Amsterdam Ave. Upper West Side of my youth was in no a. Perpetual & amp ; worldwide rights for the boulevards of the East and the shop next ONeals! Perfect for Bar munchies, as well on 81st between CPW and 92nd a! Buy right or loves this since it was a little magazine stand on the got!

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