December 20, 2007
With Pathmark in the Path of Condos, LES Locals Rally
It’s a common gripe that pretty much everything that gives New York its flavor is being steadily eviscerated and replaced with corporate chains and exclusive amenities for the affluent, but this week has been a doozy. In the past two days, for starters, we’ve seen closures announced for the following joints:
- The classic, blue collar Donuts Coffee Shop on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope.
- The beloved unassuming LES coffee & bar oasis that was Lotus Lounge.
- Two inimitable East Village dive bars, Sophie’s and Mona’s, that were as warm and inviting as they were willing to serve the underage.
And today the rumblings of discontent about the possible closure of the Lower East Side Pathmark are building to a roar. Now, while a Pathmark Supermarket isn’t exactly a charming home-grown New York institution, it is relied on by many on the LES, particularly the old-timers, because it’s the only (non-Asian) affordable supermarket in the area. Located on Cherry Street, the Pathmark seems to be standing in the way of some dope new luxury condos!
Local politicians and area residents are gathering outside the Pathmark at 11am this morning to protest the proposed $250 million sale, which Curbed notes could turn the site into the “world’s biggest flask”. (Wouldn't the world's biggest Irish Car Bomb be a more fitting design?)
It’s unclear whether the luxury condos would incorporate the Pathmark into their floor plan, so today’s rally is mainly pre-emptive, but let’s just say that the words “luxury” and “Pathmark” don’t exactly rhyme.
What local establishments have you recently seen go the way of the dodo?
Photo via bettybl's flickr.
|
when shopsons in the west village closed, it was a pretty big bummer (even though they kind of reopened on the les).
That Pathmark is one of the strangest sights in Manhattan. There you are walking through the densely packed urban fabric of the Lower East Side, and you turn a corner and bam...a suburnan-style Pathmark with a parking lot in front and everything.
Weird and incongruous...as for what happens to it, you'd think they could use that plot more efficiently than a one story building w/parking lot, but, oh yeah, I forgot. The only choice we have nowadays for new buildings is luxury condos.
This city continues to suck in new ways every day.
EastRiver: I believe you know where the exits are.
Sad news about the Donut Shop. Chris and the cashier were the nicest merchants in the area. I would take them and their acidic coffee anyday over the snide barista's or whatever who work at Gorilla.
The problem with that area is that you have a huge housing project on one side and then you have the Manhattan bridge on the other with the loud rumble of the subways every ten minutes.
Isn't there a Rent-a-Center nearby also - where you can rent a sofa and a Panasonic stereo with cassette deck...?
ie near the Pathmark...
I'm going to meet some good friends at the Doray Tavern.
The Rent-A-Center closed down. It's now an empty space.
I never understood the business model of rent-a-center. Who the fuck rents a microwave? Or a stereo? WTF?
EastRiver: I believe you know where the exits are.
Ooh. Really clever comeback. Actually, I'm not so much worried for myself but for the poorer people that shop there. Not everyone in Manhattan can shop at Whole Food. There will come a tipping point where the poor aren't going to commute from 100 miles away to be slaves to the elite in Manhattan. Would you like all of them to find the exits as well? Who will cook your food? Clean your office and apartment? Who will raise your kids?
What will the price be for a condo wedged between the FDR Drive and the Manhattan Bridge? And Chinese immigrants nearby? And projects?
poor people rent furniture, vcr's & microwaves. it's like "buying to own", but at like a 200% interest rate.
what are they going to do about the projects, senior citizen building with community center and all those new chinese immigrants which surround pathmark in all directions? and they go on for blocks.
did they close the blockbuster, too?
Sorry to hear about Sohpie's and Mona's.
1. It's not the only affordable supermarket in the neighborhood: there is a Fine Fare between Grand and East Broadway (on Clinton, I believe), and another one a bit further down Grand.
2. I used to shop at that Pathmark, but the people there were so rude that I had to stop. It isn't a bad grocery store, though.
I believe the Pathmark is open 24 hours... that fact, along with its convenient parking lot, apparently make it a popular destination for film production crews.
I hope that this luxury condos will have ample parking for all the Fresh Direct trucks coming through because that's the only way all the new rich condo people are going to be able to buy any food.
what is wrong with this city?!?!?!
R.I.P. Mona's and Sophie's.
~sigh~
There's a Pathmark on the ground floor of a new condo in Harlem on 145th Street. So this can be done-I would think a grocery store that close by would be a selling point for a condo.
I used to live a couple doors down from Sophie's in a Jacobson "No-Fee Rental" tenement. That place is (was) awesome. I need to go there for one last pint and say good-bye.
There was a guy who lived in a small trailer/RV parked right in front of Sophie's. He would basically hang out in the bar all day and practically owned the pool table. He was a HUGE asshole but also a really funny and entertaining character. I distinctly remember a time he was trying to convince some wasted broad to "spend some time" in his RV parked out front.
R.I.P. Sophie's!
I used to live a couple doors down from Sophie's in a Jacobson "No-Fee Rental" tenement. That place is (was) awesome. I need to go there for one last pint and say good-bye.
There was a guy who lived in a small trailer/RV parked right in front of Sophie's. He would basically hang out in the bar all day and practically owned the pool table. He was a HUGE asshole but also a really funny and entertaining character. I distinctly remember a time he was trying to convince some wasted broad to "spend some time" in his RV parked out front.
R.I.P. Sophie's!
#18 got it right. A nice compromise would be to arrange for a Pathmark/grocery store as part of the commercial ground floor space of these condos. There may be no room for a parking lot, but I suspect most shoppers there now arrive by non-personal auto means.
the pathmark already has an underground garage.
it's run by bums who redeem nickle deposit cans/bottles.
You don't want to be there when they bring in their bounty.