New Yorkers are nothing if not fiercely loyal to their city.
This piece was difficult to write, not because there wasn’t enough material, but because there was too much.
Once you begin listing off the places that are now gone, it just doesn't stop.
Well, bravo-- you left me no choice but to compile this: 19 places (in no particular order) New Yorkers miss like crazy now that they're gone.
1. Yaffa Café
Easily the most mentioned place in the comments underneath the first part of the series, Yaffa Café closed down for good last year. It’s ending wasn’t without controversy.
The New York Department of Buildings shut it down, citing zoning violations and lack of proper fire exits. But why now, after letting Yaffa skate for 32 years? Because of neighbor complaints.
Speaking as a veteran of “The Industry,” I can assure you this happens all the time.
[anad]
2. Religious Sex
It was not at all for the faint of heart, and it certainly wasn’t cheap, but Religious Sex was an East Village institution. If you were into goth, fetish wear, or just feeling a little risqué, this store had the wardrobe for you.
It was worth it to visit R.S. on the weekends before prom season just to see the lethally sexy staff politely walk the bridge and tunnel crowd through their dress selections.
3. Shakespeare and Co.
NYC just lost this mainstay last year. You saw it in When Harry Met Sally. This charming bookstore was eventually driven out of business by a combination of factors, not the least of which was the Barnes and Noble that set up right next to it.
This is coincidentally the plot of another Meg Ryan New York romance movie, You’ve Got Mail, except that in real life there was no happy ending.
4. McHale’s
The thing about one of the greatest hamburgers you’ve ever had in your life is you don’t know when you’re first going to taste it, but you’ll never forget where you got it. McHale’s used to make some awesome burgers.
McHale’s had amazing support when news leaked about its closing over 8 years ago, but it didn’t help. Even though the owner, Jimmy McHale, has said it would re-open somewhere else, the Hell’s Kitchen hub is gone forever. A condo tower stands there now.
5. The Love Stores (Always Love)
Their green signs used to dot New York City everywhere, providing New Yorkers’ every convenience requirements. Seinfeld even referenced them, they were so identified with Manhattan in the 90s.
Now? There’s one store left. Struggling to hang on in the Upper West Side.
6. O’Flaherty’s
Yet another Hell’s Kitchen casualty, O’Flaherty’s was still in a class all its own. In a rough and tumble neighborhood, it was an oasis of peace, even with its cheap beer. Somebody usually started playing music around 10pm no matter when you were there. It had an amazing array of taps, stout Irish fare, and was a place for camaraderie, not conflict.
7. Red Rock West Saloon
If you saw the movie Coyote Ugly then you’ve seen Red Rock West. Nowhere else in NYC was there such a shrine to America’s Trailer Park Culture, and this isn’t said as a slam. Some nights are made for The Devil Went Down to Georgia and watching people stomp-dance on the bar.
Red Rock West provided a visceral release that has rarely been equaled in New York or anywhere else.
8. SoHoZat
If you didn’t want to read the same old same old, SoHoZat was where you went. Underground comics including R. Crumb and American Splendour, zines, and international periodicals were amongst the sundries available. They were priced out rent-wise and shuttered in 1992.
9. Kim’s Video & Music
There were a few outlets, but the one everyone thinks of is the store in St Mark’s Place that shut down in 2009. That hard to find movie, that obscure album you just couldn’t track down, could be found at Kim’s. In its heyday, it was a place to see and be seen in and of itself.
10. Mother
![[via fathersebastiaan.com]](/2015/01/10885179_10155340651835001_1520949466667679538_n.jpg)
On Hudson and 14th Street, back in the day, vampires would gather, along with goths, freaks, fetishwear fashionistas, and cyber-sluts. It was a grungy, dark, underground bar frequented by those considered weird by “normal” people. It featured live music, burlesque, magic and illusions, and it was always awesome.
The club hosted legendary parties that not everyone knew about, and was a pioneer of what is now the Meatpacking District nightlife scene. Mother’s spirit lives on in the promotional group mothernyc. Just on the off-chance you want something different and dangerous in your nightlife.
,11. Children of Paradise
A tiny store tucked into Bleecker Street, Children of Paradise sold old toys. That’s it. Although this isn’t a big deal today, back in the 90s, hardly anywhere else had old Mego superhero or Star Trek dolls, let alone Major Matt Mason or some of the other genuine antiques that were worth serious bank then, let alone today.
It was already on its last legs by the time I found it in 1993, and it only lasted a few more years after that.
[anad]
12. Back Fence
Allen Ginsburg, of all people, named this bar. Over its 62-year West Village tenure, it morphed from a Beat Poet’s bar to where you went for drinks and live music. Like anywhere else in NYC it seems, Back Fence hosted innumerable celebrities. It finally shut down in 2013 due to a combination of rising costs and, unfortunately, health code violations.
13. The Subway Inn
The business itself is still technically around, but its original Upper East Side location has been shuttered.
The owners claim the space will look exactly the same as the original dive bar on 60th St. and will keep the name. Although it will now be two blocks from the subway, and won’t be the same place at all. They never are.
14. Dick’s Bar
Closed for years now, Dick’s was unique in that if you didn’t know it was a gay bar, then you wouldn’t catch on right away because it really didn’t matter if you were gay or not. The place was all about simplicity, and looked like any other New York dive bar. Dick’s had arguably the best pool table in the city. Definitely the second-best juke box.
15. The Swingline Staplers Sign
“Oh, it’s just a sign. Don’t be ridiculous! Who misses a sign?”
Whomever has ridden the Queens subway for years, that’s who. If you were coming back from work on the N or the 7, the Swingline Staplers Sign let you know you were in the home stretch. That’s a feeling that’s pretty tough to recreate. It’s been gone for 15 years now, but I still can’t help but look for it when the N train hits that particular curve.
16. The Old Yankee Stadium
This one hurts. Yeah, there’s a new one, and yeah, they were super careful to move the ghosts of the Classic Stadium to the new one, and yeah, the Yankees won a Championship in its inaugural year.
But Yankee Stadium is still where I saw my first live Major League Baseball game. That’s a religious experience. And there’s a tiny voice in the back of my brain that won’t stop saying that the ghosts expended all their power getting the Bronx Bombers their last title in 2009.
17. 5 Pointz
It may have just been a warehouse on Jackson Avenue in Queens, but 5 Pointz was really more than that. It was an oasis for artistic expression, and what was painted there reflected the soul of New York City.
18. Bowlmor Lanes (Union Square)
There are other locations still open, but this one was the original. Bowlmor had been open for 76 years, and everyone who was anyone has enjoyed themselves there.
With the loss of this icon and the upcoming departure of The Union Square Cafe, that area of New York will never be the same again.
19. Max Fish
You wouldn’t think a place getting shout-outs from MTV would ever close. But that’s just what happened to this Lower East Side icon last July.
PSYCHE! It’s since re-opened. Come on, this list needed to end on a high note.
Max Fish used to attract Hollywood A-Listers with its amazing drinks, art galleries, and best jukebox in the city. Get down there and check it out!
![[via EXAMPLE]](/2015/01/NYC.OverYears-600x457.png)
Even for those who don’t live in this city, the changing face of Gotham resonates with the rest of the world. Without Jeremiah Moss and his Vanishing New York site, many of these posts, here and elsewhere, would be much more difficult to compile. We tip our hats to Jeremiah, the visionary pioneer of this topic.
If you enjoyed this article, check out 14 Places New Yorkers Will Miss Like Crazy… Once They’re Gone!