Forgotten New York is in Association with the Greater Astoria Historical Society, a non-profit organization supported by the Long Island City community.
I did a story on FNY the other day about the changes befalling Manhattan’s largest Belgian-blocked surface, the huge plaza where Greenwich, Gansevoort, Little West 12th Streets and 9th Avenue all meet — a changing of the guard, so to speak, of Manhattan street patterns — and, as is my wont I touched upon the fate [...]
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Street Lamps Tagged with: Manhattan Meatpacking
Two separate Manhattan street grid systems come together at a 4-street intersection in the West Village, where Greenwich Street, Gansevoort Street, Little West 12th Street and 9th Avenue all meet. Here, Greenwich Street finishes a northbound run from Battery Place and Ninth Avenue begins a climb up the West Side all the way to Cathedral [...]
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Tagged with: Manhattan Meatpacking
Continued from Part 1 Though its exterior has been renovated in recent years, heavy on the aluminum siding, Grace Church (now known as Church At The Rock) on East 92nd Street just south of Avenue J, is a Canarsie touchstone and a beloved local landmark. The Methodist Protestant Church of Canarsie, since renamed Grace, was founded [...]
Categorized in: Neighborhoods Tagged with: Brooklyn Canarsie
I know that some cynics might think that I’m being facetious with that title card, but Canarsie and your webmaster are old pals. I was a frequent visitor to this southeastern Brooklyn neighborhood between 1974, when I first rode a bicycle from Bay Ridge, until 1993 when I moved to fab Flushing and my jaunts became [...]
Categorized in: Neighborhoods Tagged with: Brooklyn Canarsie
In September 2007 FNY, on the Lullaby of Broadway Slice, chronicled the impending demolition and restoration of the Broadway (Flushing) Long Island Rail Road station. Between 1993 (preceding that actually) and 2007, the MTA had allowed the station to become a horror show of crumbling platforms and fences as well as urine-soaked waiting sheds. Things got so bad [...]
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Subways & Trains Tagged with: Flushing Queens
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Subways & Trains Trolleys Tagged with: Kew Gardens Park Slope
Forgotten Fans gather at two Type C 1910-vintage lamps flanking entrance of 1 Hanover Square downtown Well, your webmaster is never gonna get rich writing about lampposts, taking pictures of lampposts, or leading lamppost tours. This was the most sparsely attended ForgottenTour since Tour #4 in St. George, Staten Island, November 1999 — 3 people were on that one, [...]
Categorized in: Neighborhoods Street Lamps Tours Tagged with: Financial District Manhattan
I conceived of Forgotten NY in 1998 out of the floating images of rusted lampposts, hidden alleys, bricked streets, ancient business signs, NYC neighborhoods that the guidebooks don’t acknowledge such as Georgetown, Eastchester, Throgs Neck, Winfield and Eltingville, as well as the ghost ads advertising long-deceased businesses that can still be found on walls all over [...]
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Tagged with: Frank Jump
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Signs Tagged with: Bay Ridge Brooklyn
CONTINUED FROM PART 1 Turns out my educated guess was right…here’s a 1949 Hagstrom Staten Island showing Drumgoole Boulevard, with Ramona Blvd. in parentheses. I couldn’t come to any other conclusion; it couldn’t have been any other road. The identity of this building set back from Center Street near Arthur Kill Road is no [...]
Categorized in: You'd Never Believe You're in NYC Tagged with: Richmondtown Staten Island
Categorized in: You'd Never Believe You're in NYC Tagged with: Richmondtown Staten Island
St. George, Staten Island is an oasis of urbanity in a borough that, until about 25 years ago, was largely rural and has today transformed into teh worst aspects of suburb-anity, or perhaps suburb-inanity or even siburb-insanity, with its main drags like Hylan Boulevard, Forest Avenue and Richmond Avenue having become a concrete strip full of [...]
Categorized in: Forgotten Slices Tagged with: St. George Staten Island
