new york city


The Ghosts of Macy’s on 14th Street

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Macy’s wasn’t always on Herald Square. Starting in 1858, it was downtown, on 14th Street. It began as a dry goods store on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, way north of the city’s normal dry goods district down in present-day SoHo. Here, many modern shopping concepts were born. R.H. Macy, the owner, set… Read more »


Real estate karma

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Step 1: Raise rent on beloved neighborhood institution (such as Joe Jr.’s Diner) Step 2: Force closure of said tenant. Step 3: Suffer without rental income as a result of putting your greed ahead of your community. Step 4: Watch neighborhood decline. … The only step I love is number three. Here’s the same place… Read more »




The Knickerbocker Door

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Have you ever noticed the Knickerbocker Door? In Manhattan’s Times Square station, at the southern end of the S train’s Track 1 (which is nearest to the other train lines), is a lonely white door. Most people go right past it without seeing it. But if you look above it, you see a lintel sign,… Read more »


Street Seen

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I don’t know how clever it actually is, but someone planted a gallery-type card on some street furniture in Chelsea. It’s an old steam vent (I think). He over-valued. Typical.


Fedora, Rollerina, and why I am stuck in New York City

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It started when I stepped on my laptop. I learned that when you step on a laptop screen, it makes a satisfying crunching sound, but the satisfaction is extremely short-lived. That horrifying incident happened right after the Eurovision broadcast ended. I immediately phoned Apple to see if I could get it fixed quickly. My friends… Read more »