New York City is in constant flux. Businesses come and go, buildings are torn down, renovated, constructed. A lot of my work has become creating a record of those transformations. At times I have deliberately set out to put down in my sketchbooks places that I know, or anticipate, will soon be gone, which I've filed under the tag "Before It's Gone." And as I travel through the city, I often notice that something I've drawn in the past has disappeared or changed. So here is an update on those posts.
This 1922 building was originally a movie theater, turned into a gas station, and finally an auto repair shop run by the
Lee Brothers. They sold the property in 2018. When I passed by last week, it was surrounded by the plywood walls that indicate that demolition is imminent. It will be replaced by a four-story residential building.
The
Sunshine Cinema was demolished a few weeks ago. A big, ugly glass tower will go up in its place.
Zoltar is gone, at least from this location. Gem Spa, the store where he was located, is struggling. Last spring, it lost its tobacco and lottery license after an employee sold cigarettes to an underage customer, which cost them 80% of their income, and they are in debt and being sued for back rent. It doesn't sound hopeful for the Gem Spa, but the Zoltar machine survives. It was relocated to a pizza shop in Bushwick. I recently discovered another one at a crab shack in Red Hook.
13th St Rep, however, is still hanging in there. I found out today that it's featured in a new film,
Before You Know It, that used it as a main location.
Kensington Stables is also still there. I was pretty sure that this Brooklyn stable had reached the end of its rope, but it was purchased by a horse-loving businessman. It has been re-named Prospect Park Stables, its original name from 1917, and the new owner is restoring riding paths in the park and planning renovations and expansion. I'm a little skeptical of the plans to incorporate a "coffee and tea spot" to this building, but I'm very happy there's still a horse stable smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn.
The old
Kosciuszko Bridge was demolished, and a new second span just opened. The new bridges look cool, especially when they're lit up at night, but time will tell if traffic is actually any better.
For several years, I worked for a summer theater festival at
The Wild Project on East 3rd St., across from
the Miracle Garden. This bike and scooter were chained to the fence, in the exact same location, year after year. Until this summer! First, the wheels were stolen off the scooter, and then it disappeared. Then the bike was flagged for removal by the Sanitation Dept., and soon after it was gone.
This strange
snail ride was replaced by a kangaroo, I think, and more recently by a horse. This past weekend, the horse ride was out of order, so maybe it will change again. There are other coin-operated rides on this block (every few weeks, by four-year old twins will do a circuit of all of them). They will periodically change from one animal or off-model cartoon character to another. I wonder if there is any sort of schedule or plan for rotating them in and out.
