Spring comes to the block.

When I was in college I walked past a group of trees in full pink bloom and thought to myself—I should really take a picture of that. But I didn’t.

Two days later I walked past that same group of trees and they had already transitioned into their full summer green. I thought I had more time left to take a picture, but I didn’t.

I’m going to resist the urge here to go into a full-scale discourse on the momentariness of Spring and life; the metaphor is a little too on the nose for my liking. All I’ll say is that the fact that you don’t know how many more times you’ll get to see a tree in full pink bloom—is it 5 more times? 20? 40?—doesn’t mean it’s infinite.

So delete a few of the screenshots you’re never really going to look at again, free up some space on your phone, and take a picture of the pink tree. Start a block association. Post it to your website. Ramble about it on the home page. That tree will be green before you know it.

Winston will teach you how to pose.

Either I am coming into my own as a dog photographer or Winston is coming into his own as a male model. Or maybe Winston was just born this way—I haven’t known him long enough to tell. Whatever the recipe, last night Winston turned an elevator bank in 507 West Chelsea into his own personal catwalk/dogwalk and hit me with poses that I honestly haven’t seen since Kim Kardashian last tried to shut down the internet. Have you ever caught yourself in a mirror or a picture at a bad angle and thought—good lord, I don’t actually look like that do I? My friends, Winston can’t relate. He doesn’t have a bad angle.

I forgot to ask his owner, Charlotte, what kind of dog he is. Some type of little collie maybe? Let me know in the comments. In the meantime we’ll try to keep making steady progress for Winston on the dog park or community garden.

Did you guys know there’s an hourly-rate hotel on 10th Avenue & 14th Street?

I was walking with a friend around Chelsea a few weeks ago, and she pointed out to me a squat little brick building on the west side of 10th Avenue and 14th Street that seemed extremely out of place. It is called the Liberty Inn, and I’ll let a New York Times article from 2011 take it away:

Inside the lobby, the concierge sits behind a pane of bulletproof glass. A vending machine displays boxes of condoms and bottles of lubricant beside packs of Oreos and Skittles. Every so often, luggageless couples inquire about a room.

This is the Liberty Inn, the last of the meatpacking district’s hourly-rate hotels; in 2008, New York magazine called it “unabashedly the place to go for some afternoon delight.” Robert Boyd, who has managed the establishment since 1977, prefers the term “romance hotel.”

“We take in your everyday business and travel clientele,” he said. “But we focus on couples looking for a romantic moment, if you will.”

Liberty Inn Focuses on Romantic Moments, by the Hour - The New York Times (nytimes.com). At first I was surprised that a place like this still exists around here. But at second I wasn’t the least bit surprised—when it comes right down to it, humans are gonna human. And you might as well make it convenient for them, right along the West Side Highway.

I like New York Burger Co. on the southeast side of 23rd and 10th.

Those who know me best know that when it comes to food, I am a quantity guy and not a quality guy. It’s the opposite when it comes to people, which is why this whole block association is a little out of character, but I digress.

What I mean by that is that I would rather go to a restaurant that gives a ton of pretty good food rather than one that gives a little bit of amazing food. (And so that in turns means the following: (i) I am often looking at the menu simply to try to figure out which entree will give me the most food; (ii) I do not care about how the food is presented; (iii) I may order something again after the entree comes out; (iv) I may turn you down on principle if you try to invite me to tapas or sushi).

But enough about me, and onto New York Burger Co. at 23rd Street and 10th Avenue. I am a regular at this place. That is because they nail both quality and quantity, i.e., they give you a lot of food; it is very good; and as a bonus, it comes out very fast.

Also, they cook their burgers on an actual grill rack, which makes you feel or at least taste like you’re at an outdoor cookout. I would strongly suggest the cheeseburger and grilled chicken sandwich (pictured) as well as the chili. They also have some type of happy hour from like 6-9pm where they give you two of those little Montauk beer cans for $8. It is perfect for taking yourself or someone you’re just moderately into out on a date.

Bonus: this place stayed open for us during much of the pandemic. Can’t forget that.

If you’re considering re-signing your lease, you should ask your landlord for the same deal they’re giving new tenants.

I just decided to re-sign my lease for another year, and so the show goes on. I want to share with you a quick tip that I picked up from a block resident named Lauren (Ed. note—this is the same Lauren who made an off-handed comment that caused me to set fire to the bylaws): If you’re renting, you should ask your landlord for the same deal they’re offering new tenants. That is because it’s a tenant’s market in NYC right now, and both new and existing tenants should be able to benefit from it.

To illustrate, 507 West Chelsea currently has a studio listed for $3,025/month on its website (see Apartment 7J). But the same studio is being offered for an effective or “net” rent of $2,268/month on StreetEasy. In other words, the landlord is currently knocking off a whole three months of rent for new tenants who are shopping for apartments on StreetEasy.

So if you’re sitting in the apartment neighboring 7J right now, don’t just sign whatever is put in front of you. You have a little leverage.

An article about Manhattan changing forever that I didn’t appreciate.

One of the reasons why I decided to form this block association in the first place was because of a nauseating uncertainty about all manner of things, including whether the pandemic has changed the city forever. Well I’m here to tell you today that the New York Times has answered my nightmares and posited that, yes, Manhattan may never be the same. From the article:

In recent weeks, major corporations, including Ford in Michigan and Target in Minnesota, have said they are giving up significant office space because of their changing workplace practices, while Salesforce, whose headquarters occupies the tallest building in San Francisco, said only a small fraction of its employees will be in the office full time.

But no city in the United States, and perhaps the world, must reckon with this transformation more than New York, and in particular Manhattan, an island whose economy has been sustained, from the corner hot dog vendor to Broadway theaters, by more than 1.6 million commuters every day.

Remote Work Is Here to Stay. Manhattan May Never Be the Same. So the basic idea is that because daily commuters are keeping the city’s economic ecosystem alive, and because they’re just going to Zoom it in from Westchester or Long Island or wherever from now on, the rest of us won’t ever be able to go to a coffee shop again. Ok.

That brings to mind an E.B. White quote about the three New Yorks:

There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something.

…Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but the settlers give it passion.

Who couldn’t use a little less tidal restlessness anyway?

I’ve mangled this quote before and I’ll mangle it again: the eulogy of New York has been written many times before, and it’s always been wrong.

Allie and Andrew want to adopt a baby (and you can help).

Thus far this block association has concerned itself with matters that don’t quite approach critical importance such as what smoothie you should get at the fancy bodega on 28th and 10th (PB & Blues), unhelpful advice you can give to your friends after spacing out during a heart-to-heart (it is what it is), the sartorial choices of a bilingual Dalmatian (a lot of light coats), and whether Batman lives at 529 West 29th Street (the investigation continues).

This post is a little different. Last weekend I met Allie and Andrew, who live up on 30th Street. Allie and Andrew want to adopt a baby. They have a website about it here: https://andrewallieadopt.com/.

Allie is a middle school math teacher; Andrew is an infectious disease doctor. Allie is from the West Coast; Andrew is from the heartland. They met at some type of dance club in Seattle where people like Andrew eschew dating apps and work up the courage to ask people like Allie to dance. Allie says yes. To botch a Walt Whitman quote: they were together; I forget the rest.

Allie strikes me as the type of person who would move heaven and earth for her kid. She is the mom who would hang on your every word, thought, or emotion; talk to every one of your doctors, coaches, or teachers; drive you to every game, practice, or recital; and stay up with you all night because you’ve blown something completely out of proportion and there is only one person in the world who is going to make you feel better about it.

Andrew strikes me as the type of person who quietly re-balances the earth on its axis. He is the dad who spends hours teaching you how to golf or ski or throw a baseball; builds a tree fort because you climbed a tree and fell out of it three months ago; and reteaches himself calculus because you’re really struggling with the homework right now.

If those examples strike you as a little too real, what I’m trying to say is that Allie and Andrew remind me just enough of my own parents for me put whatever weight this block association has into getting their story out.

That is where you come in. There are as many as 36 families looking to adopt for every infant placed for adoption. So the word really needs to spread as far and wide as possible to increase their chances, particularly to doctors, social workers, church leaders, community organizers, and really anyone else you can think of who may be connected to parents looking to place their baby for adoption.

You can help now just by clicking on their website and sharing it among your networks and on social media. You can also meet them if you don’t want to take my word on any of the above—they live right next door.

Posts you missed this week:

• Does Dr. Dre circa 1999 live at Avalon West Chelsea? Circumstantial evidence that Dr. Dre circa 1999 lives at Avalon West Chelsea. — High Line 28 Block Association

• A great local newsletter from Chelsea resident Eric Marcus: Check out this weekly newsletter from Chelsea resident Eric Marcus. — High Line 28 Block Association

Check out this weekly newsletter from Chelsea resident Eric Marcus.

My friends, one thing I have learned since starting this block association two months ago is that there is an entire local community out there that can all be yours for the low low price of a little bit of effort. Allow me to be an intermediary between you and that community today by introducing you to Eric Marcus, a Chelsea resident who started a very informative local newsletter in March 2020. His latest newsletter, which was distributed last Tuesday, is pasted in full below. You can subscribe to it by emailing him: eric@ericmarcus.com.

Unbeknownst to me before I started subscribing to Eric’s newsletter, the NY Daily News reported on it last year: Chelsea man's newsletter connects neighbors amid coronavirus - New York Daily News (nydailynews.com). Pretty cool. Eric also has a Wikipedia, which is how you know he’s made it: Eric Marcus - Wikipedia.

* * *

Neighborhood News

— March 23, 2021, Vol. 2, #2 —

300 West 20th Street Block Association

Chairs bloom at the Whitney

• Con Ed Steel Plates Cause Noise Nuisance

— Richard, who lives at the corner of 20th Street and 9th Avenue, just wrote to let me know that "noisier steel plates are in place at our intersection.” He didn’t need to tell me because the noise is driving me NUTS! Richard has filed a 311 complaint. You can file a complaint, too. If you do, here’s the case number that you should reference: 311-05760458

• Worthwild Restaurant Reopens!

— After hibernating for the past several months, Worthwild, one of my favorite local restaurants, reopens tomorrow, Wednesday, March 24. Congratulations to Ray (standing in photo below from last September), his partners, and his crew. Welcome back!

• Filthy Neighbor Award Goes To…

— On the 300 block of West 20th Street one house is often a mess with overflowing garbage cans and refuse that spills out onto the street. And we have the owners of 335 West 20th Street (and the building’s occupants) to thank for that. So this week’s “Filthy Neighbor” award goes to the owners and occupants of 335 West 20th Street. Congratulations! (Their sidewalk, which is a trip hazard, needs to be fixed, too, but that’s for another day’s complaints.

• New High Line 28 Block Association

— Brian, from way uptown on 28th Street (Northwest Chelsea?), wrote to let us know about a new block association: "I live on 28th Street & 10th Avenue, and I recently started a block association for residents of 28th & 29th Streets between 10th & 11th Avenues. It is called High Line 28 Block Association, and our website is here: High Line 28 Block Association. I also put a newsletter out periodically—you can see our latest one here: Proposal to turn the property at 29th Street & 10th Avenue into a community garden or dog park."

• On Grafitti Patrol

— Several neighbors have asked how much of a time commitment it is to adopt one of the green USPS relay mailboxes, most of which are covered with graffiti. Here’s what you can expect: 60-90 minutes to scrape and paint the first time—usually two coats required. After that, touch-ups every month or two take 15 minutes or less, including cleanup. I look after three mailboxes on the 300 block of West 20th Street and only two required touch-ups this past Sunday morning. I’ve included before and after photos below of one mailbox and my equipment. Total elapsed time: 15 minutes. I’ve also been asked if it’s legal. I haven’t been arrested yet!

• Ever Been to 13th Avenue?

— There’s a new plaque on the railing in Hudson River Park just south of the new Little Island Park, which shows the history of our waterfront. Have a close look at the image below to see the original shoreline (midway between 9th and 10th Avenues) and 19th century landfill (later removed) that added a 13th Avenue that ran from West 11th Street to West 23rd Street. Who knew?

• Spring On the High Line

— The purple crocuses have joined the white snow drops to announce that spring has arrived on the High Line.

• Appetite Killer?

— There’s a new pizza place on the northeast corner of 14th Street and 9th Avenue called Death By Pizza I don’t usually associate pizza with death, but perhaps it’s pizza to die for (I haven’t tried it yet).

• Vaccine Day at Hudson Guild

— Here’s the story behind the recent vaccination events at the Hudson Guild as reported in the Chelsea Community News.

-Walgreens staff with NY State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried (at far right) who sponsored the events
-Photo credit: Matthew Tighe

• For Only $25 Million…

— For only $25 million, you can live on the 300 block of West 20th Street in a fully renovated landmark townhouse. Really nice house (really nice!), although the price seems a little aspirational. But there’s a lot of crazy money around, so who knows? Click here for the listing. Click here for an article about the house in The Real Deal. If you decide to buy it, perhaps you can host a meeting of the Block Association?

• Troubled Rooftop Intruder

— Last week I heard from a neighbor on the block who encountered an intruder on the roof of her building (see photos below). Here’s what she reported about a man who entered the building next door (buzzed in or broke in): “He got on their roof, got locked out, and then somehow managed to climb onto our adjacent roof and was trapped there for several hours until a construction worker from the school knocked on our door to tell us someone was up there. I didn’t believe him because I thought that only we could access our roof. He apparently called for help and that’s when the construction worker came to our door.

"Thank goodness my sons and dog accompanied me to check. The man said he was visiting next door and got locked out. I wasn’t thinking clearly and didn’t want the situation to escalate, so I escorted him through our house and out the front door. He was wearing a blanket that he had taken from our roof, but returned it later—draped it over our gate with an AMC gift card. I probably should have called the police, but he was polite so I didn’t.”

Since the intrusion, the man in the gold-colored sneakers has been spotted hanging out on the corner of 8th Avenue and 20th Street.

• Village Preservation is Hiring

Village Preservation (formerly the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation) is hiring an East Village and Special Projects Director. For a complete description of the job and the required experience, click here.

• New Mini-Grocery Opens on 24th Street

— The R&L Grocery, a postage-stamp-size convenience store has opened on 24th Street in London Terrace just west of 9th Avenue. In the photo below, notice the campaign poster in the window for Erik Bottcher, my favorite candidate for City Council.

• Corner From Hell

— At long last the Department of Transportation (or perhaps it was Department of Environmental Protection?) re-set the drain cover on the northeast corner of 9th Avenue and 18th Street. The old drain cover had sunk so far into the ground that it threatened to swallow up (or at least trip) anyone who had the misfortune to step off the curb and into oblivion. But why (why!) didn’t anyone think to bring a steam roller or other device to compress the blacktop so it didn’t replace one trip hazard for another? And then there’s the garbage in the street next to the overflowing trash can, which has become a fixture on this corner. Does anyone hold the Department of Sanitation to account for this filthy corner and so many others? Is anyone home at City Hall? And, you might ask, why do I ask stupid questions?

_____________

© Eric Marcus 2021

Circumstantial evidence that Dr. Dre circa 1999 lives at Avalon West Chelsea.

Spotted outside Avalon West Chelsea: Rolls Royce from the 1990s (I’m pretty sure this is called a Rolls Royce Silver Spur). This looks like the type of car Dr. Dre would bounce in a music video you’d watch on Total Request Live back when Carson Daly was a thing. Here’s the video for Still D.R.E. if you don’t remember what I’m talking about—the cars bounce at 16 seconds in and the beat drops at 21 seconds in: Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg - Still D.R.E. (Official Video) - YouTube.

I take the semi-regular presence of this sweet city ride on our block as circumstantial evidence that Dr. Dre lives at Avalon West Chelsea. On that note, I’ve talked to a few people from Avalon West Chelsea in connection with this block association, and one repeat point of conversation is the drag racers racing around on 11th Avenue or the West Side Highway—apparently the noise is enough to shake your windows. To the drag racers I present a separate dated rap song: Drive Slow - YouTube.

Dog of the day: Jackson the Portuguese Water Dog.

Spotted in the bodega on 30th and 11th: Jackson the Portuguese Water Dog. At least I think he’s a Portuguese Water Dog—I forgot to ask his owners, Becca and Zach, exactly what he is. Let me know in the comments if I’m wrong.

Jackson was marginally better at picture day than our last dog of the day (Dog of the day: Bosco the Mini Australian Shepherd. — High Line 28 Block Association), which makes me think he is already well-acquainted with paparazzi. Indeed I was the second random person to approach him in the space of about 30 seconds.

The bodega has a strict mask-wearing requirement, and I gather that Jackson is doing his best to abide by it by carrying things around in his mouth. Stay strong, Jackson—I have faith that we are at the beginning of the end of this whole affair.