Monday, June 14, 2010

Lost City Closes Up Shop


One of my favorite blogs about NYC, Lost City, has decided to call it quits.  Brooks, the blogger who ran Lost City, used his blog to celebrate "Old New York" - notable old restaurants, shops, stores, and buildings.  But recently he spent most of his time railing against the economic and political forces which have destroyed Old New York - making the city one big homogenized shopping mall for tourists and the rich.  I guess Brooks couldn't handle the disappointment of chronicling the loss of so many New York City landmarks, so he just gave up trying.

I completely agree with Brooks point of view, that economic interests shouldn't necessarily trump history every time.  I fell in love with sleazy, gritty Times Square (above and below) when Mama Bunny took me on a one-day theater bus trip from PA when I was about 13.  When I saw the unpolished, in-your-face, dirty (in many ways) city on that day, I KNEW it was where I wanted to live.

I know a preserved-in-the-bad-old-days Times Square wouldn't do anything for the economic development of the city, but there has got to be some kind of balance between "progress" and preservation.


If you have a chance, visit Lost City and say goodbye to Brooks and to the New York City I fell in love with as a kid.  And while you're there, you can explore Old New York as seen through one Blogger's eyes.