hey kids
im feeling nostalgic today
for the jewish immigrant lower east side of my childhood
gone is the beloved ratners with its 80 year old perpetually mean waiters
the parking lot of ratners is now giving birth to a huge blue glass skyscraper of luxury condos
long gone is bernsteins on essex the great kosher chinese joint
gone and the pushcart vendors
but now even the bowery is gone
well its stil the bowery but the flophouses and many a restaurant wholesaler has given way to condos and even a giant whole foods superstore
dont get me wrong honeys
i like that the heroin
and the gangs
and the filth
and the muggers are gone
but couldnt the mom and pops stores
and neighborhood vibe
and glorious edge be preserved
must crime and poverty always be the glue that keeps
ethnic hoods ethnic?
and why is chinatown the only ethnic hood in nyc that is not shrinking
but is actually growing?
ah well
much like the artists
great ethnic hoods
are pushed out
once moolah rushes in
i dont miss the dealers on my alphabet city block
and i love not needing to carry pepper spray
but i sure do miss
little eukrania
little poland
and all the punk rockers
had family in town this weekend
and i wound up taking them to kosher restaurants on the
upper east side
used to be
i never went up there
so stuck up i said
so old money
now
well now
its cleaner
but not a whole hell of a lotta different than much of manhattan
manhattan is truly becoming the emerald city
only the very rich and very poor shall live here
the poor in projects
the rich in condos
the middle must move
such is life
