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Earlier this month, Lost City observed the removal of the iconic sign for the Upper West Side's P&G Cafe; despite outcry from the regulars, the 66-year-old watering hole had been denied a lease renewal by the landlord. So fourth-generation owner Steve Chahalis relocated to a bigger space a few blocks away, and took the sign down when he left. But because it was a city landmark, many wondered whether it was even legal to remove the sign. Today a spokeswoman for the Landmarks Preservation Commission tells City Room that "a warning letter was sent to the owner explaining that a permit was required." But Chahalis's lawyer says they never received any letter, and now the sign is no longer functional because the fragile electrical connections and metal underpinning "were rotted out from decades of water on the exterior." Chahalis says he'll try to incorporate some "surviving neon-tubing remnants" into a new sign, but the old one's disappearance makes the city's Landmarks Commission look pretty toothless.
Landmark P&G Cafe Sign Removed and Broken
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That building is going pretty upscale—Salumeria Rossi and Jacques Torres are there. But I find it funny that the adult video store is still kickin' it in the building just to the north.
I was waiting for this to happen. Lame lame lame.
fucking landlord scumbags.
That really adds to the conversation. . .
i'm no friend of landlords but a walk a block in their shoes before you pass judgement:
you own a property where you're getting, say, $20K a month in rent. someone comes along and offers you $80K. over the course of a five year lease, that's $3.6 million in found money (assuming no escalations year over year).
what do you do?
nostalgia is one thing but how many of you out there are altruistic and community-minded enough to turn down that cash?
I understand that thinking, but my worry is that lots of landlords had been pushing out tenants in hopes of higher rents last year, only to have empty storefronts with the economic downturn. There used to be a health food store on Broadway between 75th and 76th Street, but it's now been empty for months, maybe almost a year.
in an odd way, the fact that these stores are staying vacant could mean that the landlords are optimistic about the economy turning around sooner vs. later. surely some prospective tenant has come along and made them an offer (presumably, a very low one) and they chose to not get involved with a long lease that would turn out to be submarket in a year or so.
You said it about those short-term leases. No landlord is going to offer anything long term in this economy but that also means that they could surely let an existing tennant remain on a year to year basis while they await those better times. If this mess drags on, expect more landlords to suck it up and just relent to the five and ten year deals at attractive rents. In any event, leaving a property vacant is retarded.
"..but the old one's disappearance makes the city's Landmarks Commission look pretty toothless."
You mean like the Geneva Convention, the International War Crimes Tribunal, the U.S. Constitution & the Bill of Rights?
Sorry, but not surprised to hear this news about the sign. Somewhere, Jeremiah Moss is weeping.
Let's hope the Hi Life doesn't move or close...
the sign is no longer functional because the fragile electrical connections and metal underpinning "were rotted out from decades of water on the exterior."
So maybe taking it down was a good thing?
Also, it's neon, not a lost art from a bygone age. We can make more, ya know. Just rebuild the sign. Sheesh.
That place was a dump, and I love old things and landmarks to stay in place, but frankly, I don't care about this. Like RevWaldo says, it's a neon sign. They can make more. It was rotten. What's the point in fetishizing rotting old junk that can totally be replaced? Maybe make the people who hung out inside into landmarks.