Last evening my friend from the Yucatan and I had pirogis at the B&H, which opened in 1938. Feh. Velselkas is better. Afterwards as we walked down 2nd Avenue, I was struck by the many vacant retail spaces. Looked to be more than half. Tweren’t that way in the 70s. There was the Stage Deli, Gem Spa, Kiev, the Orchida, and the St. Mark’s Theater. Plenty of other establishments enlivened the avenue. Covid killed many, but nothing like the greed of the realtors. The first people to go in a revolution are landlords.
Although not those like Jerome Golding who owned 256 E 10th and the Fun Gallery. His loving wife invited me over for dinner, even when I was months behind in rent.
When Jerome rightfully harangued me for the late rent, sometimes as much as six months, his wife said, “Leave the boycek alone. He’s always good for it.”
He sighed and shrugged defeat. What a couple.
His wife outlived Jerome and was blessed to pass after eating blueberry blintzes at the end of Kaffee klatch with her friends. At Ratner’s Dairy on Delancey. Good people.
ps. The East Village will survived the curse of capitalism. There have to be other Jerome Goldings out there.