Lenox Lounge circa 2013.

 The writing on the boarded-up door says it all, "1939-2012, 80 Years For This". We started revisiting and photographing many of the small independent businesses we documented over 10 years earlier for our book "Store Front:The Disappearing Face of New York" and this photo is truly one of the saddest. After Alvin Reed was forced out of the Lenox Lounge #storefront in 2012 after a rent increase of $10,000 to $20,000 a month, he took most of the iconic Art Deco interior and facade including the #neon #signage with its amazing #font. He hoped to reopen the #jazz lounge nearby but money troubles and litigation with his original landlord has delayed those plans. The landlord leased the original space to Richie Notar, of restaurant Nobu fame so that he could reopen the jazz #bar but that deal also fell through and now the original Lenox Lounge has sat abandoned since 2012. #Harlem truly lost a piece of its history! #disappearingfaceofnewyork