Which Classic New York Spots Are in Danger of Vanishing?


(Picture via Jeremiah Moss’ flickr)
You know the story: Every week, another New York institution closes, say a dive bar that’s been in Times Square since before the days of illegal Elmos or a diner that still serves egg creams the same way that they did in 1946. New York City’s landscape is always shifting, which means that neighborhood stalwarts are always shuttering. It’s a little heartbreaking. Just this year, we said goodbye to Cafe Yaffa, Edison Cafe, and the Subway Inn. Jeremiah Moss, the blogger who chronicles the ghosts of New York past on Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York, made a list of institutions that New Yorkers worry about vanishing.
“Any place that is old, that is authentic to New York, that has any personality, it seems like these places have a target on their back,” Moss told the New York Post. And man, it definitely feels like it sometimes. Moss took the paper on a tour of some of his favorite spots, the ones he fears may be next on the chopping block. Those include Jimmy’s Corner, El Quijote, and Streit’s Matzos. Then, Moss put out another call for people to post places that they feared might soon shutter, and the list expanded exponentially. An excerpt:
Vincent’s
Russo’s Pasta
Rafetto’s
Alleva
DiRobertis’ Pasticceria
Di Palo
Ottomanelli’s Butcher Shop
Isle of Capri
Ferdinando’s FoccacceriaGem Spa
Jim’s Shoe Repair
Trash and Vaudeville
Desco Vacuum Cleaners
Moe’s Meat Market art gallery
Ugh, please no one take away Trash and Vaudeville. Where else are we going to get pants printed with Debbie Harry’s face? Personally, I would be devastated if Tom’s Diner, Di Fara Pizza, or Nathan’s in Coney Island ever shuttered. What are some other Brooklyn institutions that you worry about?