The Loesaida in New York Mag, c. 1984
Someone scanned a 1984 New York article on the LES. Fun fact: The piece is by Craig Unger, who ended up writing the kickass House of Bush, House of Saud. Anyway, it’s a freakin TIMEWARP:
Skydell’s enthusiasm was indeed mysterious. The sixteen-story building he wanted to buy, on Avenue B facing Tompkins Square Park, was surrounded by burned-out buildings that crawled with pushers and junkies. It was boarded up, ripped out, and flooded…Early in the seventies, the city had put up the Christodora up for auction and nobody bid.Includes:
1. Vintage pics of the Life Cafe in the pre-Rent days.
2. “Major retailers such as Conran’s on Astor Place and Tower Records, on 4th Street and Broadway, have opened for the new gentry.”
3. Neighborhohood hotspots like St. Marks Bookstore (at the OG location), Gem Spa, McSorley’s and Moishe’s Bakery…
4. “The Indian-restaurant block, 6th Street between First and Second Avenues-A solid line of small, cheap Indian restaurants.”
5. OMG! “On First Avenue and 1st Street, an 850-square-foot loft rents for $1,200.”
6. There used to be an Italian-Ukranian restaurant.
7. “Last week’s performance at 8BC was called “Lesbian Vampires from Sodom.”
Well, the more things change…
