It was not Nathan Handwerker—a Jewish immigrant from Poland who went on to start Nathan's Famous—who brought the hot dog to Coney Island, but rather Charles Feltman (1841-1910), a German butcher who's credited with the idea of selling pork sausages on a warm bun, sometime around 1867. Feltman reportedly sold 3,684 sausages on a roll during his first year in business, pushing around a wagon to hungry beachgoers. The popular item ultimately sold for ten cents a pop and enabled Feltman to build a mini-empire with a hotel, beer gardens, restaurants, food stands, and amusements. All hot dog money. And Nathan Handwerker? He slept on the floor of Feltman's kitchen, which is all that remains of Feltman's legacy, and it's going to be demolished. more ›

They're really going through with this thing! After auctioning off everything that wasn't nailed down, and chasing away the vultures, crews are busy demolishing the old home of the Bronx Bombers, piece by piece. For the Yankee Stadium demolition completist, there is a whole website dedicated to the topic. But for the layperson and the casual destructoporn enthusiast, perhaps these recent aerial shots from WCBS's helicopter will suffice. Do these images make you nostalgic, or make you wish you were licensed to operate a wrecking ball? The sooner we get this thing down, the sooner the Bronx gets another park!
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After a long, bitter public battle, St. Vincent's hospital has won permission from the Landmarks Preservation Commission to raze the distinctive O’Toole Building in the West Village and build a 299-foot-tall medical tower. The hospital applied for, and was granted, a “hardship-status” exemption, which allows nonprofit landlords to demolish landmark buildings if they can prove that the building is preventing them from carrying out their charitable mission. Community groups, preservationists and local celebrities like Susan Sarandon have opposed the scope of the project, which also calls for a 235-foot-tall luxury condominium (in partnership with the Rudin Management Company). In a statement, hospital officials said they can now take "another step forward to building a 21st century, technologically advanced hospital for Manhattan’s West Side and Downtown." more ›

Just because Merrill Lynch reneged on leasing office space in a tower planned for where the down-at-heel Hotel Pennsylvania still stands, don't think the property owner won't demolish the 89-year-old hotel anyway. Vornado Realty Trust still hasn't publicly settled on plans for the property, but the Observer reports the company recently applied for a Certification of No Harassment from the city, a prerequisite for demolition. Vornado is debating whether to construct a giant office tower on the site, or a smaller office tower with retail, or just renovate the hotel. That third option would certainly cheer the dogs who stay there while competing in the annual Westminster Dog Show across the street at Madison Square Garden, not to mention passers-by who frequent the bathrooms in the lobby. more ›

Preservationists and Greenwich Village community members are reporting that their efforts to stop NYU from demolishing the historic Provincetown Playhouse have paid off – to a certain extent. Andrew Berman, Executive Director of The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, tells us that NYU plans to preserve the facade and structural walls of the theater, but he says many issues remain unaddressed. more ›

The historic – but not landmarked – Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village could be the next building to make way for NYU’s ongoing expansion, which will devour six million square feet of space in New York in the next 25 years, if all goes according to plan. The theater is widely regarded as the birthplace of 'Off Broadway.' more ›