But on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, my small city, social pathologies began to run rampant half a century ago, long before they broke into the wider culture. However, the Upper West Side has a higher percentage of housing that falls between $500 and $6000 per month, while the Upper East Side has more housing above $9000. It all started at Goddard Riverside and then onto West Side Montessori. I bought an expensive ($90) hoodie, which lasted about 20 years. At 254 West 54th Street, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager converted a former opera house into the most notorious nightclub of the disco era. Well, Mike Miller, Id like to inform you that starting a sentence with a preposition (as Historian did) and splitting infinitives (as you did when you said to never start) are both accepted by some of the widely used style manuals. Those were the days. I was born in 1965 and moved away in 1977 (returned later). (There werent many rich people on the Upper West Side then, a situation much altered today.) Zabars was open until midnight. I worked from 1972-77 at various Cake Masters locations from 72nd Street to 99th Street. Everybody got mugged. At least when talking about fairly genteel nabes as we are here. Yes, Jeannine, there have been major changes in the neighborhood mostly for the better but, alas, I truly miss some of the stores that have fallen by the wayside. In order to reduce traffic congestion in . Social workers divided the block into three play sectors, with adults playing volleyball, teenagers playing inside at a youth center, and younger children the east end. Six months later, the Times declared that the problem had been managed: Worst Is Over on West 84th Street. The solution was depopulation and destruction: The Department of Real Estate reported that 709 families had moved or been relocated from buildings due to give way for new schools. Only then it was called slum clearance and urban renewal. The Dead Poet is really just a solid neighborhood bar. I lived on W 73rd b/ Columbus & CPW from 1974-1987 and saw SO many changes the gentrification got to be too much, so I moved up to 108th Street. It was hardly an area to avoid. A little more than a decade later, my sisters shared an apartment in a midrise next door to what had been Lyfords brownstone. By Carter B. Horsley. There was a really cool restaurant on NW corner of 94th st, whose name escapes me but the name was carved out of the building itself. Around 1973. Funny that someone else just posted. Just be aware that the whole place might smell like truffles, since they serve various truffle- and non-truffle-related snacks. I think it and she was gone by 1975 or 76. These days, double-decker tourist buses travel the streets of the Upper West Side, and I cant imagine what narration the guides offer besides pointing out various spots at which the various incarnations of the Law and Order television series have been filmed on location. They are socializing, flirting, establishing their creds in a nice middle-class neighborhood BEFORE they have to get on that subway once again and go home to a neighborhood which may or may not be as sparkly-shiny as the UWS and, for anyone between 12 and 25, very possibly gang-ridden and dangerous. Explore the scintillating March 2023 issue of Commentary. Ive ben on 76th since 1978. I remember Charivari well. People were afraid to ride the graffiti-streaked, crime soaked subways. The big open room is filled with tables, and the service is about as friendly as we imagine it would be in a neighborhood pub in Ireland. Email me if youd like to answer some more questions about life on the UWS. Es Bar is one of our go-to spots in the neighborhood, because they do so many things right. But murder, like cancer, was rarely preventable. Charlie Chop-off was never caught. It is the principal city of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical . You can see the dots on the map of Manhattan, and the peak is still in the 1980s in terms of the most bars. Also, there are many Duane Reades and banks, but the claim that almost every mom-and-pop business has been shuttered is simply false. Here is a nice trip down memory lane of the 1980's! the very chic chain that only was located on the UWS. All the small stores have had to vacate once their leases were up and the rents were jacked up to unaffordable rents. How Biden Intends to Misuse the CHIPS Act, About that African-American Studies Course. I also take issue with your line that says no one in Manhattan lived above 72nd street if they could avoid it. I was born in 1963 and my parents moved to CPW and 92nd street a couple of years later. Perhaps someone at the Synagogue would know as I believe it was about the same time the Synagogue was built (Prior to 1978.) Its hard to keep up now, tho! The Wildwood. Get the latest in beer, wine, and cocktail culture sent straight to your inbox. Eventually the projects were built, but by this point the displaced residents of West 84th and others like them had been moved like chess pieces around the New York City board to other neighborhoods, worsening them. The Upper West Side has plenty of drinking options. Now its a zoo. Have a romantic date at the Arthouse Bar. There were prostitutes and drug dealers on the street. Isnt the least bit fancy, but it also doesnt smell bad, and they even have some books you can read while you drink. pulled from my face, and my sneakers removed outside the side exit to the Olympia movie theater on 107th between Broadway and Amsterdam, my parents called the police and two mammoth cops showed up and drove me around the neighborhood looking for my two assailants by checking out sneakers. And the biggest, most heartbreaking loss la fortuna, hangout of John and yoko. You can get food here until 2am, so keep this place in mind for drinks and a bite after a show at the Beacon Theatre a block away. Upper West Side march protest, circa 1980. So a volleyball net was erected. Meanwhile, the working poor found themselves menaced and increasingly overwhelmed by the burgeoning welfare underclass. The Gin Mill is owned by the same people as Jakes Dilemma, which is less than a block away, and it feels very similar. She opened a restaurant on Madison Ave and 84th a few years later.It might still be there. Based on the Canadian movie of the same name, this bar and grill has great food specials, a full bar, and laidback vibe. I have been unable to confirm the closing date in my research. Not many of those in Kansas. Upper West Side seen from Top of the Rock. Vinnys! Also, bagels at H & H! Bars/clubs 1980's Show more . This seasonal (May-October) outdoor bar has a bunch of umbrella-covered tables that might make you think youre in Madison Square Park, except for the fact that you can see the Hudson River and New Jersey. I now live on the upper east side, but will always remain true to my rootsthe West side is the best side! But in 1961, 84th Street was a nightmare, and something had to be done. Retroclubnyc is New York City and Manhattan's best club to celebrate a birthday party, bachelor party, bachelorette party, anniversary party, or engagement party! They have a bunch of beers on tap that you definitely wont find on the shelves at Whole Foods, and the dark space works well for a low-key drink with a couple friends. I remember Mindys and the Japanese store and Francess Hats and the Chinese Restaurant and Jays Stationary and Cake Masters and Eclairs and the Chess Room and the pet store between Columbus and Broadway on 72nd street. . And Silk Road. In the photo, the corner shop on 73rd was an upholstery shop, and aside from the (not so good) pizza shop, I cant remember any other store on that side of the street as being memorable. Was the place called Amsterdam. Hey, Scooter Stan, they are often a pain in the neck. Fancy. I was also hailed from second story windows in Times Square by topless prostitutes. A Manhattan townhouse complete with a 33-foot lap pool has hit the market for $17.5 million. Not how it was for me, my friends, and their families. From our award-winning Vine Burger to our Cobb Salad, Roasted Cornish Hen, Seafood and Steaks, Madison & Vine satisfies the cravings of the city's most discerning diners. Bodega 88 Night Clubs Bars Brew Pubs (19) 8.6 Website (212) 799-1602 573 Columbus Ave New York, NY 10024 CLOSED NOW 2. Bear Bar (east side) 1770 Second Ave. (between 92nd & 93rd St.) Manny's on Second. On the first morning after I arrived I saw a man murdered in broad daylight in the Village. 210 W 94th St, New . It was a rich neighborhood at the turn of the last century and it has gone back to that. Youre on the Upper West Side, and you want to drink beer. I am still amazed thinking how that now-pristine block was so different. The great surprise, perhaps, is that while it is no longer the home of the Jewish intelligentsiain part because the Jewish intelligentsia doesnt exist as it once didit is, if anything, even more distinctively and vibrantly Jewish. Apologies for coming to this conversation rather late but felt compelled to share my experience of the UWS. As Lyford wrote in 1966, a twenty-block site of a multimillion-dollar urban renewal program laying between Eighty-seventh and Ninety-seventh streets and bounded by Central Park on the eastand Amsterdam Avenue on the west was the fulcrum of this massive slum-clearance plan, involving the loss of 6,344 households. The UWS is a friendly neighborhood if you get out there and meet people. East of Broadway was a tough old neighborhood. Great projecthope it went well or is going well. Home to such venerable New York landmarks as Lincoln Center, Columbia University, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Dakota Apartments, and Zabar's food emporium, the Upper West Side stretches from 59th Street to 125th Street, including Morningside Heights. For me, this building represented a huge part of not only the neighborhood history, but of my own personal history as well. The reclamation of New York City from the forces of criminal chaos and social decay is a familiar tale by now. You want to watch sports with some friends, and maybe share a couple pitchers of beer - ideally something other than Hoegaarden or Goose Island. On the spot across the street from a friends building, I freeze with the sensation of having, right there, been jumped nearly 40 years earlier by four kids as I got off the city bus from school. DSNY 'Snow Alert' Runs From Monday at 4PM to Tuesday at 9AM; Here's What it Means Dog Slips From Collar and Runs 34 Blocks in Traffic; Wait Till You See Where She Ends Up Rare images of NYC nightclubs from the 1980s and '90s, including the Limelight and Roxy | amNewYork Entertainment Rare images of NYC nightclubs from the 1980s and '90s, including the Limelight. The owner was bought out by the Love Store chain, then the pharmacist went to work at a Duane Reade. The whole thing about the terrible 1970s (and even 1980s) is vastly over-rated. I think its just human nature. . And it was where I chose to live when I moved to Manhattan from Canarsie in 1972. There was also one above 100th Street that closed in the mid 90s. I would love more stories. We dont mean this as an insult to the land above 59th Street, but The Owls Tail is the sort of place you expect to find downtown. I miss them! If you want anecdotes, thats one thing; Im happy to provide them. Its a little spot decorated like a living room in a very nice apartment, and they serve top-notch cocktails. Italian $$$$ Upper West Side. I moved onto W. 71st Street, from W. 113th St. in 1968, so I could walk to the NY State Theatre, where I was a singer with the NYC Opera. And the bakery that was on 72nd between Bway and West End. I live on W 71 myself. Arts & Entertainment. In Lyfords celebrated 1966 account of the Upper West Sides decline, The Airtight Cage, he writes of the airmail that landed in the backyard of his brownstone on 92nd between Columbus and Central Park West from the windows of the row of tenements on 93rd street: My first introduction to airmail was a bag of rotten food that landed in my back yard a week after I bought the house.. . A rush hour scene at the New York City subway. Finding a place to grab a drink on the Upper West Side is not a difficult task, however, there are some bars worth visiting more than others especially if you're looking for a specific vibe or ambiance. November 24, 2013 | 1:16 PM - Updated on June 5, 2022 | 11:30 PM, Womens History: Augusta Stetson and the Church at 96th Street and Central Park West, WEST-PARK CHURCH LEADERS WIN VOTE, PLEDGE TO REVITALIZE BUILDING, WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN: COLD SHADOWS, ANCIENT OBELISKS, A MASSIVE MENORAH, & CHRISTOPHER WALKEN, A TRIO OF JUILLIARD PERFORMANCES ON MONDAY (SPONSORED). jeannine.j@gmail.com. It was a great neighborhoodbut you had to know which blocks you should avoid! I never felt unsafe in this neighborhood, however. The Arthouse Hotel is a bit of a hidden gem in the Upper West Side but not for long. (212) 861-2290. They have over 30 beers on tap, many of which are unusual options from relatively small domestic and international breweries, and the space tends to fill up with big groups drinking and sharing bar food. The tacos are supplemented with other obvious sports bar snacks, including corn on the cob, guac and chips, flautas, plus burritos, quesadillas, and tortas. Of course I have lived elsewhere, including the Adirondacks (for college), the Catskills (for work with Goddard-Riverside Community Center residential summer camps) and Dallas, TX for work. (I hope this continues . It did. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. There were great clothes stores also on Columbus on the same street, Parachute was one. West of Broadway was less rough, but Broadway was Pay-A-Broadway after 9pm as if there was city-approved zoning for street walkers after 9. woolworths was on the high 60s on amsterdam just south of the jewish temple that is still there. #20. I dont think the email in the article works. Today: About 90% of the mom and pop stores on Broadway between 91st and 85th St. have closed. There is not a day that goes by when I dont miss woolworths! Please. So they are finally free of their daily captors and, like all kids, act out without thinking of who or what is around. Maybe before you retired you might have offered a no-credit seminar on at-large behavior and minding ones own business. Long gone is the divine Eclair Bakery on W. 72nd St. and the Royale. Friday's location on the Upper East Side. My friends lived in the 90s on Columbus and we used to skateboard and hang out all the time. If you visit Hi-Life Bar and Grill on your birthday, you get the usual complimentary dessert and a t-shirt with "NY" set in a martini glass graphic. Every few years I will take my 20 block walk from my old apartment to 84th and Columbus. It went badly. Im so please that Calle Ocho (once around the corner on Columbus) has become attached to the hotel; that Zingones , the terrific and friendly mom & pop grocery store on Columbus btw 82 & 83 is still in business and doing better than ever; that Rose Liquor still is thriving one block down with the flower shop next door now run by the daughter of the man I used to buy my flowers from, and that the newsstand at the corner of Columbus and 81 is till run by my friend from Pakistan, who used to call his family to find out when my eccentric English husband used to ask him Whats the weather today in Karachi? I still run into my neighbors on the street, and sure, a lot has changed, but the heart of the neighborhood and many of the characters are still there! Police flooded the area. Is that what a Harvard education gets you these days? Mostly, its just a nice little bar with brick walls and a short menu of snacks, and its a good spot for a date or a low-key cocktail after work. Delicious, homey. UPPER WEST SIDE Upper West Siders have long known that if they want a good drink and a hopping nightlife scene free of college students and sports bars, they'd have to head below 59th. The Upper West Side of my youth was in no way a fabled or especially notable area. Yes, it was called Amsterdams and it had great chicken, pork, beef cooked on a wall-sized rotisserie. This is a consistently crowded restaurant on the Upper East Side that works for everything from date nights to fun group dinners, but the separate bar area up front is also useful when you're just looking for drinks. Despite an off-and-on economy, the 1980s was a decade in which Americans ate out more often than ever before. We arent quite sure what Dakota Bar is trying to be, but its a useful place to know about if you ever need to get a cocktail with some acquaintances near Lincoln Center. I loved that they were open 24 hrs. For the reclamation of the neighborhood proved to have a spiritual component as well. Fast forward to 2013. 4) Someone else mentioned it, but Ill second a nod to Teachers and Teachers, Too. I was mugged four times before I was 14. People have bidding wars over apartments that cost millions of dollars. Upper West Side Geography. I remember Marcys deli on Broadway, the barbershop next door with its old -fashioned spinning stripe pole. at least up until the 90s. Im pretty sure that Woolworths closed before 1990. Vin sur Vingt | Best Things to Do Upper West Side. A pair of cops who had been permanently assigned to the block because of previous incidents fired eight shots into the air in an effort to still the melee but were engulfed by the crowd.. The Upper West Side, or UWS as it is often abbreviated, is a large neighborhood or series of smaller adjacent neighborhoods in northern Manhattan, extending from 59 th Street northward to 110 th Street, with Central Park to the east and the Hudson River to the west. A mural on 8th St. at 1st Ave., along the side of what was once the St. Mark's Bar & Grill. 1470 First Ave. (between 76th & 77th St.) North East Bank. loved chariivari but those prices! I dont recognize the neighborhood at all. Not everyones experience is like mine. Shakespeare and Co. followed suit a few years later due to the same pressure from Barnes and Noble. (1982) Even 50 years ago, its leftism was a lived-in leftism, a legacy leftism, dull and humorless and orthodox, inherited from parents and grandparents and already growing threadbare around the elbows like an old tweed jacket whose patches were themselves worn out from use. Please enter your email address. On the positive side, however, W. 71st St is much safer since the church was torn down and replaced by a high rise apartment building, complete with doorman. Best Bars in Upper West Side, Manhattan, NY - The Dead Poet, Arthouse Bar, The Owl's Tail, Amsterdam Ale House, Dive 75, The Upside, Pekarna NYC, Dublin House, George Keeley, The Milling Room Twice a week I would go out back (after a few beer bottles whizzed past my head I wore my tin hat from World War II) and shovel up three or four days accumulation of chicken bones, pieces of rancid fowl, chop bones, half-empty cans of beans and other vegetables, eggshells, bags full of fat, condoms, and bloody bandages, which I at first mistakenly thought were battle dressings for the victims of fights I had been hearing. 2023 West Side Rag | All rights reserved. i graduated college in 1988 and came back to NYC, and i couldnt believe that my friends that went to work in investment banking all lived in a new building (the westmont) at 96th and columbus. Kyle: When I moved here, the hotspot was 8 th Avenue between 14 th and 23rd. Its a big French wine bar, and even on weeknights it gets pretty full of couples talking about their siblings and where they went to college. Sure there were some muggings (mostly stealing our bus passes) but nothing serious. View Website Earn 3X Points. We would remember it now as we remember the Son of Sam, and the Washington snipers, and the Hillside Strangler. As we mentioned, the UWS has no shortage of sports bars - but Blondies is our favorite. Get there early (around 9:00 p.m.) to experience it because it gets a bit crowded near the stage later in the evening. The building housed a playground on its roof, a respite for myself and many neighborhood kids. For example, claiming that people dont talk with their neighbors seems like little more than an assumption Im actually friends with several people in my building, to say nothing of those I merely talk with now and then. Pretty good ice cream place in the early 80s. Columbus tween 70,71. Apple Upper West Side Opens at 9:00 a.m. Shop by drop-in available Shop by appointment Reserve a shopping session Order pickup in store Learn more Genius Bar by appointment Make a reservation Today at Apple in store Find a session See all in-store and online services Address 1981 Broadway New York, NY 10023 (212) 209-3400 See map and directions My sister and I used to walk down the street and try to remember what was there before. Another one had South American clothes but the name has vanished from mind. Blondies Sports at 212 W. 79th St. earned a spot on Eater NY's recent list of the "15 . Despite the name, Dive 75 isnt actually that divey. By 1990, there were 5,641 felonies. Its a good spot to eat some bangers and mash, and its perfect for when you want to sit on a barstool and watch sports with a Guinness. 2) Endicott Book Store. Find next available. Dinner on the Upper East Side with a former president of the United States. Via (Photo credit: Steven Siegel) A man wearing a placard on Times Square, around 1980. 12 Lost Gay Bars of New York City Michael Ryan. If youre with a few friends near the northern end of the Upper West Side, and youre looking for a very normal bar where you can hang out for any length of time while you have some inexpensive drinks, go to Bobs Your Uncle. Yes there was plenty of crime in the 80s, and the neighborhood has gone through change (for the better). 1. Awesome to read all the comments and Tnx to all my neighbors for taking time to reminisce West 72nd here from early 70s to 2012 Forgot so many places but this jogged a great deal to share nostalgically with my family I miss Eclaires, La Fortuna and laser rock of the early 80s and the many times I saw John and Yoko walking in the park as a kid .. Or the 72nd st Kung fu magazine store on the 2nd Memories are all we ever truly have. That was true between broadway and central park west. Correction: Not the Endicott Hotel but the EXCELSIOR! They have an enormous scotch selection, a large number of snifters, and plenty of Irish and American whiskey as well. That's right, another Infatuation review for yet another location of The Smith. When I come to NYC now, I stay in the Endicott (on Columb and 81, around the corner from my old apartment). Lecters was a tiny linen shop on the west side of Broadway owned my Mel Lecters parents till he inherited it and turned it into a yuppies dream shop! )Lantern (78th and Amsterdam, where Planet Sushi is now). I lived on 82 btw Columbus and CPW from 1976-2011. Outside the Apthorp there were streetwalking prostitutes. West Side Story restaurant on 95th 7388 reviews. Jimmys penis had been cut off. Bring a date or meet some friends here, and if anyone gets hungry, get a few small plates like meat, cheese, and oysters. Upper East Side. Some memories: I am also looking for people who have recently moved here and what prompted their decision to move to the neighborhood. One could argue either side, and that inspired me to write about it. Lifelong UWSer, born 1970 and raised on 81st between CPW and Columbus. Don't worry though there is a bar in the front and back of the house in case it gets too crowded. There were loads of movie theaterstwo on one block between 96 & 97 street called Riverside and Riviera, and the Thalia, Symphony, Beacon (ALL local movie theaters), the Midtown, Loews 83rd street, the Edison, Nemo (both in the 100s) and of course, the New Yorker! It is the same one in which I grew up four decades ago, and its buildings and landmarks and topography are almost entirely unchanged. With a drink in one hand, a cigar in the other, and various critical parts of his body glued to a dark-haired woman with whom he is ostensibly dancing, Michael Barrett looks . if youre going to criticize Historian, maybe it would be for being snarky. I have lived on the UWS side (I rent) and I have no plans of moving to a big house in the burbs. What else. The SROS were filled with mentally ill people. If you want to pay college prices for that pitcher of Shock Top, come during Happy Hour (until 8pm every day). It is bounded by Central Park on the east and the . Retro what does it mean? The reason I love my neighborhood is I can walk up my street and say hello to my neighbors. Worth a read. My favorite dart bar in 1982. Theres also a stretch of Amsterdam Avenue full of college bars, where youll find things like beer pong and people tapping on multiple car windows asking if this is their Uber. Of course, I want to see my beloved neighborhood grow & flourish but why is there such a strong need to push out the very people, shops, & community that created the desirable neighborhood it became? Upper West Side Perfect For: First/Early in the Game Dates $$$$ 424 Amsterdam Avenue, New York Earn 3X Points Caledonia is, above all, a whiskey bar. We used to go to and from school on our own. I also went to IS 44 and was blessed with being part of the Lab School which was the vision of Mr. John Gatto. He struck on 104th and 103rd. Go on Mondays for live jazz. What sets it apart is the fact that there are so many hard-to-find beers on tap. My building was surrounded by SROs; one on 92nd btwn Riverside and West End, one directly across the street from us and one on 92nd btwn Broadway and Amsterdam. I live on 72nd and would guess off the top of my head that it contains around 50 small businesses just between Columbus & West End. And Big Nicks. This live HD webcam overlooks the cityscape and Coolsingel, a major street in the city centre of Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands, as shown on the map further down the page. Im trying to jog my memory about a pastry cafe that always had recorded opera music playing and photos of opera singers on the walls I believe it was below 74th and above 66th and between Columbus and CPW. Denver (/ d n v r /) is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Think about it. In the same way, standing on a Thursday evening in front of the building in which I was born and raised, I am suddenly in the hazy light of an early Sunday morning at the age of six and managing for the first time to right the bicycle from which the training wheels had lately been removed and then wobbling my way down the block and around the corner and around the second corner and then around the thirdand slamming the bike into a toddler who was wobbling his way forward in front of his building. I love all the varying opinions and experiences. Imagine such a thing today. The UWS was terrible then. Of course we remember Charivari. By Craig Horowitz. I can remember later that the same group opened another trendy bar call Columbus? There are so many more as I have lived here since the early 70s. Hanging out with kids from the projects as well as kids from riverside drive and Central Park westwas all one nice big mix. Because The Smith is always there when you need it to be. @Janet, I agree. The Upper West Side ( UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. I remember The Broadway Nut Shop, outside of which I shook hands with Bobby Kennedy while he was campaigning for Abe Beame in 1965, Steinbergs Dairy Restaurant, next to Irvings Candy store, the Pizza parlor and Serooties? I well remember the Woolworths on Amsterdam, but am at a loss to recall just when it was demolished. She shares some memories below, and asks for some of yours. Yorkville, Upper East Side Manhattan in the 1980's, all photos by Gary Lenhart. I dont know what UWS Janet and Denton lived on, but it was dirty, dangerous and scary. So pleaseif youre going to write something about this neighborhood that means so much to so many of us, please dont generalize and please check your facts! I well remember the Son of Sam, and something had to know which you... 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