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Another one bites the dust! - The Cornelia Street Café (NYC) is closing

[bold]"The restaurant has struggled in recent years, its fate becoming uncertain as rents continued to rise in West Village. In 2017, the New York Times reported its 40th anniversary, noting some of the uncertainty about the establishment’s future. According to the Times, the rent for the restaurant and its basement performance space at the time was $33,000 a month, which is 77 times what the rent was when it opened 40 years before — not even adjusting for inflation. [/bold]

"In the official press release, Hirsch described the closure as losing his oldest child. That mournful sentiment has been echoed on social media, where regulars, artists, and writers have lamented the cafe’s impending closure, including executive director of the Academy of American Poets Jen Benka and Time Out New York theater editor and critic Adam Feldman"

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by Anonymousreply 61December 14, 2018 10:54 PM

This makes me sad because I love this restaurant.

by Anonymousreply 1December 13, 2018 4:14 PM
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by Anonymousreply 2December 13, 2018 4:15 PM

What sad news.

by Anonymousreply 3December 13, 2018 4:17 PM

What type of business can afford to pay $33K a month for a space like this?

by Anonymousreply 4December 13, 2018 4:21 PM

Have any of you millenials been there? Or people who think nyc hasn't declined?

by Anonymousreply 5December 13, 2018 4:45 PM

It's a shame what happened to New York.

by Anonymousreply 6December 13, 2018 4:50 PM

[quote]According to the Times, the rent for the restaurant and its basement performance space at the time was $33,000 a month, which is 77 times what the rent was when it opened 40 years before — not even adjusting for inflation.

I hate shitty, lazy math. They're trying to make the rent increase sound as dramatic as possible, and then throw in the comment "not even adjusting for inflation". It should say BEFORE adjusting for inflation, because AFTER adjusting for inflation, the current rent is only about 8 times the original rent (assuming 3% inflation for simplicity).

by Anonymousreply 7December 13, 2018 5:10 PM

Good. More space open to put in a store.

by Anonymousreply 8December 13, 2018 5:19 PM

I hope it wasn't featured in Sex and the City because the Fraud are going to have a meltdown.

by Anonymousreply 9December 13, 2018 5:44 PM

New York. Done and done.

by Anonymousreply 10December 13, 2018 5:58 PM

The closing and vacancy rate in the West Village has gotten so insane - especially in the past year or two. EVERYTHING that I relied on when I moved here - delis, diners, laundry, supermarkets, Indian, Chinese, pizza - has closed. And literally more than half of those spaces are still vacant YEARS after they closed. I know the death of NYC is discussed ad nauseum on this site, but this is the most tangible evidence that it’s true. When the basic elements of living in a neighborhood disappear, the soul of the neighborhood dies. It is increasingly large empty apartments whose residents don’t use basic services. It’s left the West Village decimated.

The only saving grace is the gay bars. Strangely, as many gay bars are closing across the country, the Christopher St bars - and Julius - are still standing. Not sure how long that will last - but they are literally the only things remaining that are useful in the West Village. Places to drown your sorrows over the increasingly hypercapitalist and unaffordable city.

by Anonymousreply 11December 13, 2018 6:23 PM

Really sad. I had lots of nice meals there. And the jazz club was great too.

by Anonymousreply 12December 13, 2018 6:26 PM

[quote]It is increasingly large empty apartments whose residents don’t use basic services.

God I'm so jealous. I'm in Queens, and in my building the apartments around mine are THOROUGHLY used and lived in, every single day, day in and day out, children screaming, cabinets slamming, doors slamming, neighbors going in and out of their apartments 100 times a day. Nothing worse than people making good and thorough use of something they spent their well-deserved and hard-earned money on. UGH.

by Anonymousreply 13December 13, 2018 6:43 PM

Why didn't they do a GoFundMe?

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by Anonymousreply 14December 13, 2018 6:45 PM

33k a month?? That’s insane! It really is... I can’t even imagine in my mind the prices a restaurant would have to charge just to stay in business. I guess it’s why you’re paying $20 bucks for a martini.

by Anonymousreply 15December 13, 2018 6:48 PM

Duane Reade taking over the site.

by Anonymousreply 16December 13, 2018 6:50 PM

I'm friends with one of the former owners, who was also the head chef for years. He and his wife all but got out a few months ago. They now have a fab place in Jersey City called Latham House. Go if you have the chance - its really great.

Anyway, I'd been hearing about its impending closure for awhile for the reasons you are all mentioning: the rent is crazy fucking jacked. This is why on threads like "Why Are you Stuck in NYC" there are so many people (like myself) talking about how turbo-basic Manhattan is now. Because small, interesting, independently owned businesses like this are shuttering left and right, contributing to the funk and flavor drain that used to give this place life.

I'm numb to this all now pretty much. Yet this one does make me really sad.

by Anonymousreply 17December 13, 2018 6:52 PM

[quote]The only saving grace is the gay bars. Strangely, as many gay bars are closing across the country, the Christopher St bars - and Julius - are still standing.

No, they're going as well. Boots & Saddle folded. Several years ago Uncle Charlies closed. A few years ago the small leather bar on 8th around 19th or 20 (Rawhide?). Several others have closed which I can't remember. And they aren't being replaced with other gay bars.

I think the only ones actually left on Christopher Street are Pieces (near 6th Avenue) and the one close to Hudson, whose name I should remember because I walk past it everyday.

by Anonymousreply 18December 13, 2018 6:53 PM

The math isn't that shitty R7.

If I can extrapolate from the article, the rent in 1977 was approximately $430/month. Now it's $33,000.

According to an inflation calculator, $430 in 1977 is the equivalent of $1788 now. So the current rent is still more than 18 times the inflation-adjusted rent.

by Anonymousreply 19December 13, 2018 7:11 PM

True R18. But with the number and speed of the other closings, it surprises me that so many of the old gay bars survive -Pieces, Stonewall, Duplex, Monster, Hangar, Ty’s, Rockbar, Julius. And I’ve heard that Pieces is opening a new bar next to Stonewall (presumably out of fear that the NIMBYs who almost shut them down a few years ago will try again).

by Anonymousreply 20December 13, 2018 7:12 PM

[quote]Because small, interesting, independently owned businesses like this are shuttering left and right, contributing to the funk and flavor drain that used to give this place life.

Amen. It's heartbreaking. The Cornelia Street Cafe holds so many memories for my friends and me. Oh, well. Maybe they'll put in another CVS on that lovely small street.

by Anonymousreply 21December 13, 2018 7:34 PM

It'll turn into some shitty boutique dress shop.

by Anonymousreply 22December 13, 2018 7:37 PM

R18

Monster Bar Ty’s Marie’s Crisis

Still going strong

by Anonymousreply 23December 13, 2018 7:39 PM

Thanks r19, I fucked up the math in my example. Open mouth, insert foot.

by Anonymousreply 24December 13, 2018 7:39 PM

[quote]It'll turn into some shitty boutique dress shop.

This is what happens in London too.

Or some lady day spa thing.

In places where local shops are needed.

by Anonymousreply 25December 13, 2018 7:46 PM

"It'll turn into some shitty boutique dress shop."

No doubt with the idiot owners name:" Francesca's Closet"

by Anonymousreply 26December 13, 2018 7:47 PM

No worries [R19]

I’m an elder who lived in Manhattan as a young gay since the 70s.

Chelsea and the West Village were packed with gay bars. More bars in Hell’s Kitchen now.

by Anonymousreply 27December 13, 2018 7:48 PM

Do you think it's because foreign entities own the buildings and don't care about NYC culture? If there are empty spaces, the owners obviously don't need the money.

by Anonymousreply 28December 13, 2018 7:50 PM

[quote]Do you think it's because foreign entities own the buildings and don't care about NYC culture? If there are empty spaces, the owners obviously don't need the money.

I don't think it's just foreign entities. The landlord who owns my building is a "corporate" landlord. He owns half the Village and all he cares about is getting as much money as he possibly can out of everything he owns.

by Anonymousreply 29December 13, 2018 8:01 PM

Who cares, anyone moving to the west village knows what and where they want to eat. They are all super rich. I say close it all down and get a few corporations to make fake theme cafes straight of Disney and Hollywood design departments. Thats what people want, give it to them. They don't want old dives. They either want new and trendy or a simulation of "cafe" from rose tinted 50's, or 20's, or belle epoque.

by Anonymousreply 30December 13, 2018 8:08 PM

I think years ago - 70s/80s - people were surprised by how old and neighborhoody much of New York was. They thought it would be as it is now becoming.

The NYC I knew in the 70s & 80s was very Upper East Side. In the '70s even Madison Avenue in the East 60s & 70s was full of very old established shops and useful shops - then circa 1984, it became very Eurotrashy, lots of fancy boutiques from Paris & Rome opened...people were really angry.

by Anonymousreply 31December 13, 2018 8:23 PM

^^ point I'm making is, I remember all this starting a very long time ago.

by Anonymousreply 32December 13, 2018 8:27 PM

I'm "super rich" ... according to R30. Maybe I should buy a zoo.

by Anonymousreply 33December 13, 2018 8:29 PM

Interesting that it’s the same in London R25. I’m confused and shocked at the number of nail salons that have opened. Seems like it’s the only business opening now. How many people are getting their nails done - and what did they do before?

by Anonymousreply 34December 13, 2018 8:29 PM

Sweetie - you own or have rent control, otherwise you would be gone.

by Anonymousreply 35December 13, 2018 8:31 PM

Where is it located?

by Anonymousreply 36December 13, 2018 8:33 PM

[quote]Interesting that it’s the same in London [R25]. I’m confused and shocked at the number of nail salons that have opened. Seems like it’s the only business opening now. How many people are getting their nails done - and what did they do before?

What's NOT THE SAME in London is that we've also lost many of our neighborhood banks, whereas what I hear about NYC is that there are more and more banks opening.

by Anonymousreply 37December 13, 2018 8:35 PM

Nail salons are chinese money laundering fronts.

by Anonymousreply 38December 13, 2018 8:39 PM

R38 that’s interesting. I wonder how they make money tbh.

by Anonymousreply 39December 13, 2018 8:43 PM

R38 - that’s the only thing that makes sense. It seems nail salons are the only ones willing to pay the crazy rents. And they seem empty most weekdays until after 5. Even with slave labor, I don’t see why they are making money but every other restaurant and retailer can’t afford the rent.

by Anonymousreply 40December 13, 2018 9:00 PM

I wonder what Rich Russian Lady thinks of all this.

by Anonymousreply 41December 13, 2018 9:15 PM

I think it’s time for rent control for independent businesses. I know a bunch of theoretical economists will argue it’s “inefficient” or drives up rents overall. But seeing the effect of residential rent control/stabilization, I don’t believe it. The only remnants of the creative and gay soul of the West Village that remain are the old people in their rent controlled apartments. If a landlord bought a building based on its current rent roll - and he knew that he wasn’t allowed to increase rents more than x% a year - the only one who wins by not having rent control is the landlord. But the majority of NY-ers are not landlords - so why not help the masses and not the 1%.

If DeBlasio was the true progressive that he originally sold himself as, he would be pushing for this kind of thing to help the 95% - even if it’s at the expense of the super-rich who have overtaken NYC.

by Anonymousreply 42December 13, 2018 9:16 PM

R38, I also heard that real estate in the ever-expanding Chinatowns in Brooklyn and Queens (Brooklyn has three large ones now) are used to launder money. Chinese immigrants (and some Orthodox Jews) knock on the doors of the longtime Italian, Irish, Jewish, Puerto Rican owners offering nearly all cash on row houses owned by middle and working class families that now go for well over $800k. An offer of 1 million is not unheard of. Where and how these people who seem nearly just off the boat have all this cash is anyone's guess.

Give us your poor.....blah blah. I'm going to miss the Cornelia Street.

by Anonymousreply 43December 13, 2018 9:16 PM

[quote] EVERYTHING that I relied on when I moved here - delis, diners, laundry, supermarkets, Indian, Chinese, pizza - has closed

This is it r11. Professionals backstage on Broadway have said for many years now they can no longer dash out to get an emergency pair of scissors or button or a piece of fabric in the Times Square theater district.

by Anonymousreply 44December 13, 2018 10:04 PM

I hope they open a Baked by Melissa or a Pinkberry.

by Anonymousreply 45December 13, 2018 10:41 PM

R41 I haven't seen Rich Russian Lady in a long time. Maybe she got promoted to Vairst Letty?

by Anonymousreply 46December 14, 2018 3:39 AM

There's a Town Hall meeting on December 19th at Hunter College and that useless as swipe DeBlasio will be there. He keeps claiming he'll fix the rent and absentee owner problems but he's all talk. Go there and let him know how you feel. Or call into wnyc tomorrow (Friday) at 10am - he'll be on to answer questions

by Anonymousreply 47December 14, 2018 4:12 AM

[quote]literally more than half of those spaces are still vacant YEARS after they closed.

This is what I don’t understand. Why raise the rent so much that nobody can afford those spaces?

by Anonymousreply 48December 14, 2018 4:57 AM

Agree R48. There are large spaces on prime Bleecker that used to have an active customer base that have been For Lease over 5-6 years - basically through the entire boom and bust of Bleecker Street retail. I still have not heard a logical explanation for why that happens. Clearly retail is dying - but owners seem oblivious to the reality. I can only think they are making so much money on the residential unit rental increases that they are rolling in dough and don’t need it.

by Anonymousreply 49December 14, 2018 5:07 AM

The NYT is saying Bleecker's back on the UP!

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by Anonymousreply 50December 14, 2018 10:14 AM

Though this revival seems to be very frau- based.

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by Anonymousreply 51December 14, 2018 10:16 AM

Images like this won't get ME racing back to Bleecker Street.

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by Anonymousreply 52December 14, 2018 10:17 AM

INSPIRING!

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by Anonymousreply 53December 14, 2018 10:20 AM

This is happening all over the country; local shops and restaurants shuttering to be abandoned or taken over by BoA or Walgreens.

Why shouldn’t it happen in New York too?

by Anonymousreply 54December 14, 2018 10:23 AM

R48 landlords leave stores vacant, waiting for national chain stores that pay more and sign longer leases.

by Anonymousreply 55December 14, 2018 12:10 PM

R52 holy I know AND know all about that blonde girl. Talk about someone who slept her way to the top (and into tons of money). She’s from bumblefuck Nebraska and wa “dating” a majorly wealthy person at the time (that you all know and have talked about on here) to fund the business that made her who she is.

(That Margaux shoe (flats) store is actually cute - of all the things to hard on I wouldn’t pick that.)

by Anonymousreply 56December 14, 2018 12:34 PM

[quote]I think it’s time for rent control for independent businesses.

The problem with this is that you may end up with the opposite. Why give rent control to some designer olive oil store that will sit there for years and not be beneficial to the neighborhood. This is what happened to Bleecker Street and on a larger scale to the West Village. All the useful stores got priced out and now there are high end stores that have 1 customer per day and are of no use to the neighborhood (like Rag & Bone on Christopher. Do they ever have any customers). I think rent control should be designated to useful businesses like laundromats, grocery stores, etc.

At this time of year, I always miss the spice store that was on Bleecker, just off 7th Avenue. That woman had been there for years with her small store that sold spices and she was priced out.

by Anonymousreply 57December 14, 2018 2:22 PM

Good point R57 - at this point, the places like R52 and R53 are the “small independent” stores. As R56 indicated, they are just vanity products for some wealthy, out of touch trophy wives or trust funders.

A high end men’s store opened next door to me - they spent close to $1MM renovating the space to sell “hand picked” high end men’s fashion. Over 2 years, I think I saw maybe a dozen people in there. It was a gay guy in his 30s who worked in fashion - but he inherited a bunch of money from his grandmother and blew it all on this little store so he would no longer have to work in a soul crushing job in the fashion district. It closed and he lost it all.

It really is a result of the extreme concentration of wealth. Which is why places with some economic diversity - like Philly, Detroit, Houston and mid-tier cities - seem to have more interesting, diverse options.

But I hope that the economic reality of all the empty spaces in NYC results in price adjustments that allow more functional stores to come back. There are no more chains or banks left to rent these spaces - and if economic theory of supply/demand has any validity, it has to result in decreased prices. (Though lately, I’m beginning to question everything I learned as an economics major - hypercapitalism and excessive income inequality seems to have invalidated so much of what I learned)

by Anonymousreply 58December 14, 2018 5:40 PM

That economic theory of the invisible hand of the free market is not always applicable. Something like that was in economic courses I think.

I think mandatory unions and workers stake in the company is a good antidote to start with.

by Anonymousreply 59December 14, 2018 6:14 PM

Definitely time for some socialism. Hypercapitalism has to be stopped or countered. Unfortunately the US allows politicians to be bought so not hopefully for change here - but hopefully the UK, France, Holland or Germany can provide an example of how to curb capitalism’s excesses.

by Anonymousreply 60December 14, 2018 9:49 PM

R58 thanks for your post. I think you pegged NYC perfectly. Kudos—your analysis is why I keep coming back to DL.

by Anonymousreply 61December 14, 2018 10:54 PM
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