Rumblings & Bumblings: Eighty-Sixing Thompson
Tuesday, October 31, 2006, by Joshua
If it's Tuesday, and there's development, there'll be Rumblings & Bumblings. The questions below were submitted by actual readers. If you've got an answer, another question, or a sweet, sweet digital photograph, send us a line at tips@curbed.com. Answers sanitized for your protection Thursday.
1) Greenwich Village: A reader writes, "What is going on with this landlord who owns on Thompson St. He has kicked out (the lease ended and he wouldn't renew at a reasonable rate) the pharmacy on the corner of Bleeker and Ben and Jerry's is gone next store...rumors are that a bank is going in there..its a big space. AND I heard from the little gift store up the street on Thompson towards Houston that all those little stores..the massage place, the psychic, the gift store, another old indian store all the way to the corner of Houston are all out the end of December...when their leases are up..like 5 or 6 stores that have been there forever. Who is this landlord and what is he doing closing all these village businesses....argh...? Any info???? The gift store lady told me he would not negotiate with any of them, he just wants them all out."
2) Park Slope: "anyone know who finally bought the old produce market space in the north slope on 7th ave between berkeley and union? big 'sold' signs came up over the weekend after eons on the market."
3) UWS/Harlem: Finally, a twin bill at the movies: a) A reader asks, "What is happening with the shuttered Metro Twin, on Bwy at about 99th st?" b) Another reader asks, "I saw today that a sign saying 'Movie Palace' was added into the window of the old Claremont Theater as 135th & Broadway. This place used to a movie theater and then was a furniture store for many years. Is it being restored to its old purpose (or is this a movie set??)"
Greenwhich? Perhaps today a better mistake would be Greenwitch! ("I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog, too!"
So, naturally, I make a mistake! Add a closing paren, please.
I've been curious about that Park Slope spot, too. I'm hoping they raze what's there and build some kick-ass apartments or condos, but with my luck it'll probably be another outpost of the ever-expanding Methodist Hospital or something equally awful...
are you kidding "kick ass condos"? Go back to akron asshole.
I was also wondering about the spot that used to be the Park Slope Produce stand (where I shopped frequently). I would assume that nonkickass but still expensive condos are a likely bet despite the rash of building going on along 4th ave. and elsewhere nearby. I mean, the building that's there now doesn't meet NYC's minimum height requirements; nothing only 1 story tall can be allowed to exist any more.
Akron? Here's my question. Since it's always assumed that all the people in favor of development on this site are from Ohio, and there's alot of pro-development people on this website - so is there anyone left in Ohio? Or have they all moved to NYC in order to comment on Curbed all day?
Well I am one native New Yorker who is pro-development. Though for now it has priced me out of the kind of apartment I would want to buy, I also remember what NY used to be like in the '80s before development came. I miss some of the look and feel of the old neighborhoods, but the truth is that I like that there are kids in the parks, even if they are watched by nannies and are in McLaren strollers.
I have a question for all the anti-development so-called natives... If you are all such native to NY then how come you forget that there are 4 other boroughs? You want neighborhood feel and low rents, they are still there, you just have to cross a bridge or a tunnel.
As to the Metro Theater, I always thought it was closed due to the construction of Ariel East. I was surprised when it wasn't torn down (bought) for that development and figured maybe the air rights were sold and it was closed during the time the crane was up. But the crane is down and now most of the work on Ariel is facade and internal, so I am not sure. (East still seems to be having problems with the windows not fitting. West is not having the same problems.)
Oh Heavens Forbid a Hospital should expand and offer more medical services, no no, we need more condo's that most NY'ers can't afford. What an asshole #4
The Metro Theater will be back; but not sure when. I do know that when the Ariel bought the air rights surrounding the property, part of the deal was that they couldn't tear down the Metro. The rumor is that they will even help to restore the Metro to it's faded Art Deco glory (since that certainly will make the Ariel more attractive to buyers) but I have not heard a timetable. But rest assured: it's not going anywhere.
The Metro went out of business last December because none of us UWSers were going to see movies there even though we liked the idea of it being there. I don't think there are any plans to re-open it, but the reason it's still there and not a part of the Ariel East is that it's landmarked (at least the facade)...Whatever, as long as I can still rent DVDs at Movie Place...oh shit.
Some of us were UWS dwellers were happy to see The Metro open. Unfortunately the renovation wasn't the greatest. In the larger theater the rows were so close together that you couldn't sit comfortably (had to sit sideways) and the bathrooms were pretty lousy. I would love to see it reopen with a better renovation.
Some of us were UWS dwellers were happy to see The Metro open. Unfortunately the renovation wasn't the greatest. In the larger theater the rows were so close together that you couldn't sit comfortably (had to sit sideways) and the bathrooms were pretty lousy. I would love to see it reopen with a better renovation.
Fred, Methodist Hospital is a horrible health care provider and an even worse neighbor. They suck.
Anon, The only people left in Ohio are living in brand new vinyl houses built in corn fields and they want to teach Genesis in gradeschool science class. The rest have wisely moved here because Brooklyn is a little bit better than Cleveland.
The landlord not renewing those leases on Bleeker and Thompson must be a serious A-Hole! The pharmacy was the best around and the workers were real people unlike the robots at CVS across the street and the new Duane Read down the block.
Nothing stays the same forever, but it really does suck. I imagine it has something to do with the building going condo. Maybe he's selling the commercial storefronts too and they're more valuable vacant.
Anyone else know the real scoop?
Like it or not, there is nothing more New York than development, and anyone who claims otherwise is the one who got here five minutes ago. Preservation, reclamation, statis--while not without significant value and worth in many cases fighting for, these concepts are ultimately antithetical to the historic evolution of the city. My family has lived and worked in Brooklyn and Manhattan for 200 years, and while it frustrates me as someone with deep historical interests to know that not one of our ancestral dwellings remains, I am also aware that, like a romance, seeking to change the nature of the beloved will almost surely dissipate much of what appealed to you in the first place.
Hi, in response to the question on the 135th St Claremont Theater: Yes, it is a movie set, there was a crew filming this monrning, which unfortunately means it will probaly return to being some kind of boring retail site after they have finished.
Excellent! I am glad to see the homogenization of New York maintaining its stride. Someday soon, my dearies, someday very soon everyone will wake up to realize that New York Officially Sucks, and they will all leave in The Great Greyhound Exodus.
Then we will burn down all the extraneous bank branches and Duane Reades, and re-establish this town on her usurped throne as the Queen of Crime, Debauchery and Perversion.
Actually it is the 'out of towners' who move here, from their sprawled-out suburbs who are generally the most vocal against development - I believe it us native NYers who arent in NYC as some sort of political statment/rebellion against mommy, who understand that NY got to be NY throught DEVELOPMENT and that the city is always (and must always) grow and change. Sure historical preservation is good sometimes, but so is new housing, new offices and new stores.
number 8 and number 20, you've got to be kidding me.
I am a native new yorker, who's against this unbridled development. The condos and banks will spread to the outer boroughs as well. It will destroy all and price out the middle class and the poor further away from everything.
Danny Blanco is the new owner of the Ben ans Jerry's bulding on thompson and bleecker.... he is a real ass!
Just bought 2 units at 184 Thompson street. couldn't resist the modern decor and the neighborhood is unbeatable. I find the landlords in all fairness to be quite reasonable.
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