Tacombi at Fonda NoLita is a #taqueria on Elizabeth Street located in a converted garage with a Mexican🇲🇽 courtyard setting. It opened in 2010 after its team first began serving tacos 🌮 out of a VW bus on the beaches of the Yucatán.
To see the interior of this Mexican restaurant @tacombi and the 1963 VW Kombi bus inside where tacos are prepared as well as the great selection of fresh-pressed juices 🍍🍉🍊please watch our latest YouTube video: NoLita: Cupcakes, Tacos & Endangered Green Space and subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla as we highlight unique small businesses and places in NYC.
We feature some in our latest YouTube video, NoLita: Cupcakes, Tacos & Endangered Green Space. The Gallery owner, Allan Reiver’s most prized possession is a 10 foot high original Coney Island Shooting Gallery. The shooting Gallery was manufactured by the Mangels Company and Allan purchased it in 1991 from a man on Stilwell Avenue in Coney Island who had boarded up the Shooting Gallery in the 1930s. It contains 90% of its original paintwork and believe it or not, it still works! See it in action in our video!
To see more hidden gems from inside the Elizabeth Street Gallery, please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla as we highlight unique small businesses and places in NYC. Visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
"Acclaimed husband-and-wife photographers James and Karla Murray this week dismantled the “Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.” installation, which had been seated in a Seward Park plant-bed for the last year. The duo has plans for a permanent revival, though. Yet not in New York City.
According to a bittersweet announcement on their Facebook page, the structure will be relocated out-of-state to the Civic Art Collection in Philadelphia."
In this episode, we travel to the NoLita neighborhood of the Lower East Side and visit an award-winning bakery, Little Cupcake Bakeshop, where we get one of their delicious freshly-baked cupcakes. We then visit the Elizabeth Street Gallery, which is housed inside a late 19th century firehouse and former bakery. The gallery displays hundreds of rare and fine objects acquired from estate sales, including marble and lead statues, cast iron figures, tables, benches, safes, lamps and various architectural pieces.
We then stroll with our dog, Hudson, to the Elizabeth Street Garden, a one-acre green space which is located right next door to the Gallery. The gorgeous tree and plant-filled garden is filled with items donated by the Gallery including stone sculptures, a gazebo, columns, balustrades, benches and seating. It is a wonderful place to sit and relax and listen to the sounds of birds chirping. The future of the Garden is uncertain as the City is planning to replace the Elizabeth Street Garden space with a senior affordable housing complex. We end the afternoon, by visiting Tacombi at Fonda Nolita, a neighborhood taqueria, specializing in tacos, quesadillas and fresh-pressed juices (jugos) and traditional Mexican drinks (aqua frescas).
During our afternoon, we also stroll down many tree-lined streets and look at some local street art and remember how this neighborhood has changed drastically since the late 1990s and early 2000s when it contained many industrial and graffiti-covered buildings. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel : https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
"Shortly upon arriving in New York in the 1990s, Allan Reiver traveled to Coney Island with one goal in mind: find a shooting gallery. Reiver, who has always had a knack for finding art out of other people’s junk, bought one that same day from an older man who told him it had been boarded up since the 1930s when it became illegal to shoot live ammunition. Nearly 30 years later, the 10-foot high boardwalk game, still operational, sits in the back of the Elizabeth Street Gallery in Little Italy, where Reiver has housed unique artifacts and fine objects for nearly a decade."
• The sale includes free shipping to anywhere in the continental U.S.A.. • These collage prints were designed by us using our photos of various NYC #momandpopstorefronts with an image size of 8.5 x 32 inches printed on 12 x 36 inch Kodak Professional Endura Glossy Paper and are in a signed edition of 50. (Swipe left for 4th photo showing entire print and exact paper size).
•Payment is via PayPal or Venmo to Karla-Murray. DM or email us at jandkphoto@att.net if you need more info.
We are excited to announce that we have found a new permanent home for our public art installation “Mom-and-Pops of the L.E.S.” which has been on display inside Seward Park in the Lower East Side since June 2018. We dismantled the entire structure with the help of @ericpreisendanz who is taking it to Philadelphia to be installed as the centerpiece of The Civic Art Collection in Philadelphia.
• The installation consisted of four of our near life-size photos of different “mom-and-pop” stores, printed on Dibond by @uniquevisualsny who did an absolutely amazing job. The panels were then attached to the wood-frame structure and even a green wavy roof (just like bodegas in NYC have) was installed by us to make it ever more realistic and to protect the installation from rain, snow ❄️ and whatever else the city wanted to hit it with!
• Although it was bittersweet to take down the installation from inside Seward Park, it will continue to raise awareness of the importance of small unique businesses to the fabric of the community.
• As soon as it is safely reinstalled, we will let everyone know so you can visit it at its new home!
In our latest YouTube video, Greenpoint, Brooklyn: Donuts, Vinyl & Pizza, we visit Paulie Gee’s Slice Shop @pauliegees_sliceshop which specializes in classic New York City-style Cheese slices, Pepperoni slices, Pepperoni slices with Mike’s Hot Honey aka “The Hellboy”, and some other specialty slices including vegan options as well as Sicilian pies made using four gas-fired ovens. The Slice Shop’s retro décor is inspired by the pizzerias Paulie Gee frequented in the 1960s and 70s in Brooklyn.
• To hear more and see more interior photos of this #Pizzeria please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla as we highlight small independently owned businesses in New York City https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
This second-hand shop is known by #vinyl junkies for its extensive selection of used vinyl #records, tens of thousands of which can be found in the packed basement level of the shop.
• To hear more about this gem and see ALL of the interior including the back room with a listening station and the entire basement with its floor to ceiling full of records on shelves and in crates, please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla as we will be posting new videos weekly highlighting unique small businesses like The Thing (direct link in bio) or visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
This family-owned #diner has been in business since 1945. To hear more about why it was named Manhattan 3 Decker and see the interior of this affordable diner, please watch our latest episode , Greenpoint, Brooklyn: Donuts, Vinyl & Pizza and please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla to follow our weekly videos highlighting unique small businesses in the city. https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
In this episode, we visit Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop, a 1950s-era donut shop known for its delicious donuts 🍩 and its original decor including a wrap-around S-shaped lunch counter.
To hear more and see the interior of this lovely #donut shop and to find out which two donuts we tried, please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
"When you think of the heart of Midtown, the first thing that comes to mind is probably not a turn-of-the-century mansion dripping with historic details. But nestled amongst the office buildings on West 56th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues is just that. Designed by architects Warren & Wetmore of Grand Central fame, 10 West 56th Street has gone through several incarnations over its lifetime, from private residence (including the one-time home of Elizabeth Taylor!) to high-end retail space."
In this episode, we travel to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, the northernmost neighborhood in the borough adjacent to Williamsburg. We visit a family-owned diner, Manhattan 3 Decker Restaurant and have an iced coffee and stop in at a 1950s-era donut shop, Peter Pan Pastry & Donut Shop, where we get two delicious donuts.
We also go crate digging at The Thing, a thrift shop known by NYC's vinyl junkies and DJs for its extensive selection of used vinyl records. We end the day at Paulie Gee's Slice Shop, where we get some slices of pizza and head to the waterfront area of Greenpoint, where we take in some stunning views of the New York City skyline.
We also stroll through McCarren Park, see graffiti and street-art lined streets and look at some local finds at sidewalk yard sales.
We were relieved to see that the iconic #neonsign for the Chelsea Hotel was lit again today despite being covered under scaffolding for the longest time as construction 🚧 has been underway inside the former hotel. The Chelsea Hotel was built in the 1880s and was sold to a developer in 2011 who closed the #ChelseaHotel for a major interior renovation project. The hotel’s exterior is landmarked and cannot be altered. We have so many happy memories of staying at the hotel as well as having paella 🥘 at El Quijote! Let us know what are some of your favorite memories of this hotel.
For the entire month of June, our friends at @urbanarchiveny are collecting personal histories and photographs of New Yorkers captured on city streets across the five boroughs. The above 12 photos are our #analog 35mm photos and taken between 2001-2004 and appear in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”.
• Submissions will be accepted between June 1 and June 28. All photographs that meet the selection criteria listed below will be added to their permanent, citywide archival collection. •
• We will be selecting the photos to highlight in Urban Archive along with the rest of the esteemed panel including @debimazar @jakedobkin Dave Ortiz and Michelle and James Nevius. We and the rest of the panel will also pick 25 stories from the submission pool to highlight in Urban Archive and feature on LinkNYC kiosks in proximity to where the photographs were originally taken. Selected submissions will be announced on July 12, 2019.
SELECTION CRITERIA AND PROCESS: The call is open to anyone with a story to share but @urbanarchiveny are most interested in photographs that were taken in NYC before the year 2005. All photographs submitted must have been taken on a city street and/or in front of a building that can potentially be identified within the five boroughs. Each photo must also include at least one human subject. You must retain all rights in any photograph you submit.
To read more about this project and to join in on their BYOP(hotos) scan night this Thursday June20th from 7pm at 155 Rivington Street please visit: https://www.urbanarchive.nyc/myarchive/
@biggayicecream is known for their soft serve 🍦 ice cream cones with a menu of unique and unusual flavors and toppings. Our #rescuedog @hudsonpittienyc is having his Birfdae Cek (yellow cake 🎂 batter soft serve) outside the shop. •
To see the interior of the shop and watch our other cone being made (guess which flavor and topping we also had) and see other local businesses associated with the #Pride movement including the oldest gay bar in NYC, please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla (direct link in bio) or visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
In this special Pride Month 🌈 episode, we visit many locations associated with the #Pride 🏳️🌈movement and discuss the significance of Julius’, the oldest gay bar in New York City.
To see the interior and hear more about this historic bar as well as many other places associated with the #lgbtq movement please subscribe to our YouTube channel : https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
In this episode, we visit the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan for Pride Month. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, which began on June 28, 1969 and are recognized as the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement. We visit many locations associated with the Pride movement and discuss the significance of Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, and Julius', the oldest gay bar in New York City.
We visit Duplex, the legendary cabaret and piano bar and get soft serve ice cream cones from Big Gay Ice Cream Shop and browse John Derian West on Christoper Street, which is known for its assortment of decoupage, glass plates, trays, bowls, paper weights and other decorative items.
We also stroll down a few beautiful tree-lined streets with historic buildings and townhouses.
We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up if you enjoy the video. We will be posting new videos weekly!
SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
"Los artistas y fotógrafos James y Karla Murray con sede en New York City, se dieron a la tarea de reproducir una tiendita clásica de los parques de Nueva York con el fin de concientizar a los habitantes y visitantes sobre la importancia que estos pequeños negocios, tanto para la fomentar la interacción en las calles y la vida pública como para los propietarios del negocio ya que familias enteras dependen de ellas."
Their #neon sign is from the mid 1940s. The Italian 🇮🇹 #bakery closed in 2014 when the family decided to sell the building due to a decline in health of the older fourth-generation members of the family coupled with a decline in business.
Black Seed Bagels which took over the #storefront kept much of the original interior, including its hand-laid decorative tiled floor, pressed tin ceiling and mirrored back wall and also kept DeRobertis large #neonsign along the facade’s upper floor. Since we live nearby and walk past this business every day we noticed last week that the neon was missing from its facade. The building has been undergoing renovation so we are not sure if it was damaged (the neon was not in working condition prior to the renovation) but we hope that it is just being restored. @blackseedbagels can you tell us what has happened to this gorgeous piece of history?
• Our photo of DeRobertis appears in our book “New York Nights” along with our interview with the 3rd-generation owner Annie DeRobertis.
The shop was founded in 1986 when the owners Julie Gaines and David Lenovitz stumbled upon a small hamlet in upstate NY, named Fish’s Eddy, and discovered an old barn that had stockpiled restaurant dishware that had survived a fire. They purchased and brought all the soot-covered plates, bowls, platters and cups back to NYC, cleaned them and sold them at their newly opened store.
• To see the interior and hear more about @fishseddynyc please view our new YouTube video: https://youtu.be/sTKtXRy9SF0
• If you have not already please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla as we are trying to raise awareness of the importance of small unique businesses like this one! (direct link in bio) or visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop located on Fifth Avenue across the street from the Flatiron Building has been in business since 1929. It was founded by Carl Eisenberg and even though it has a newer owner, the #luncheonette has not changed its menu or its classic decor complete with a long lunch counter and stainless stools. To see and hear more about about this #vintage sandwich shop and to watch an egg cream 🥛being made @eisenbergsnyc please view our new YouTube video: Flatiron District- Egg Creams & Vintage Typewriters.
If you have not already please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla as we are trying to raise awareness of the importance of small unique businesses like this onevisit: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla !
• In this episode we visit Gramercy Typewriter Company, the oldest operating #typewriter business in New York City, which is currently being run by the 2nd and 3rd-generation owners Paul (pictured) and Jay Schweitzer. They not only sell fully reconditioned #typewriters but also provide cleanings, maintenance and have a vast supply of ribbons for all #vintage typewriters. Celebrity clients include Tom Hanks @tomhanks who eulogized typewriters in his documentary @californiatypewriter.
• To see and hear more about our visit to Gramercy Typewriter Co. (and to see some of our collection of typewriters) please SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla (direct link in bio) or visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
In this vintage-inspired episode, we travel to the Flatiron District of Manhattan and check out vintage dishware with quirky designs at Fishs Eddy, get a classic vanilla egg cream at Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop and look at a large selection of vintage reconditioned typewriters at Gramercy Typewriter Company.
We also visit look at the Flatiron Building with its uniquely triangular narrow footprint that resembles the prow of a massive ship, which dominated the neighborhood back in the skyscraper era of the early 1900s. We take a stroll through Madison Square Park and see performance artists and musicians. We also point out other interesting and unique architecture along the way including the Gorham Apartment Building which houses Fishs Eddy, and in 1883 was one of the first apartment houses and mixed-use buildings ever constructed.
To see and hear more about our visit to Gramercy Typewriter Co. (and to see some of our collection of typewriters) please SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla (direct link in bio) or visit: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
We visit the the Lion’s Den 🦁as we spotted this #storefront with its fantastic #handpainted signage while walking along the J, Z, M line. This thrift shop which sells used and #vintage furniture and other random items is a true gem. You must really watch the video to get a true sense of its jam-packed interior.
We would love for you to subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla (if you haven’t already) and let us know what you think of this shop and the other unique small businesses we visit while in Bushwick.
Please vote for our near life-size storefront Public Art installation printed by Unique Visuals, for the Application of the Year Awards from Digital Output Magazine, honoring some of the most innovative work being done in the graphic arts.
Our "Mom and Pops of the L.E.S." was created by us to help raise awareness of the importance of small unique shops to the fabric of the community. Our near life-size photos of mom-and-pop stores were printed on DIBOND aluminum composite material to approximate free-standing shops. VOTING closes on 6/14/2019 so be sure to vote soon. (to vote via mobile, be sure to swipe screen to the left to view our work in the right column)
In this episode, we travel to Bushwick, the Brooklyn neighborhood around the Myrtle Avenue/ Broadway stop on the J, M, and Z train.
We visit Punk Alley, the world-famous re-purposed shipping container-filled alley on Broadway which hosts a punk rock flea market with Rebel Rouser, a record shop, Book Row- Better Read Than Dead, Video Eye, a used VHS shop and Street Level, an antique shop/ tattoo parlor.
We also check out a few thrift shops along Broadway including OG Flea Market and Lion's Den and see lots of graffiti and street art along the way. We finish the tour with a cold brew from Jones Beach Bar & Cafe and stop in at Norbert's Pizza, a go-to spot for vegan pizza in Bushwick.
We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up if you enjoy the video. We will be posting more new videos to our channel soon.
"Upon arriving in Manhattan, the Midwestern-born artist became part of an art scene that was antithetical to what was happening anywhere else. Ed was a founding member of the Rivington School, a group of anti-commercial artists who took the city’s open land as their own, creating make-shift gallery spaces and performance centers in basements and on vacant lots. A painter and printmaker by trade, Ed is a part of the mail art movement, which involves sending art through the mail via postcards, decorated objects, and original stamps."
To see the interior and hear more about the Brooklyn Diner and its famous patrons, please visit: https://youtu.be/FW-aTXeat58
Brooklyn Diner, despite its name is actually located on West 57th Street in Midtown West. This classic-styled upscale #diner was founded nearly 25 years ago by Shelly Fireman.
The article features our ongoing mission to document on film and in words the many small businesses in NYC that make each neighborhood unique. It also talks about our free public photography and oral history workshop, "Capturing The Faces & Voices of Mom-and-Pop Storefronts" and its mission to foster public awareness and advocacy and its dedicated Instagram feed @momandpopstorefronts
We are currently raising funds for the workshop and resultant exhibition to highlight the participants' work in September at the The Theater For The New City Gallery in the East Village. To learn more and contribute please visit: http://spot.fund/JamesAndKarla
In this episode, we travel to the Midtown West neighborhood of Manhattan and visit shops and historic places along 57th Street near Seventh Avenue. We stop in and have a artisanal donut from The Doughnut Project, look at some rare coins and bullion at Stack's Bowers Rare Coin Galleries, visit a free art gallery at the legendary Art Students League and have a bite to eat at the Brooklyn Diner, which despite its name is located on 57th Street. We also see some wonderful architecture, including Carnegie Hall and the historic Alwyn Court building.
We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up if you enjoy the video. We will be posting more new videos to our channel soon.
They also removed their newspaper 📰 racks outside. We hope that Zoltar returns soon! • Gem Spa was founded in 1957 and is still famous for its egg creams 🥛a quintessential New York beverage originally served in candy stores throughout the Lower East Side beginning in the 1920s. The egg cream, is said to have been invented at this #candystore @besteggcream . Contrary to its name, the #eggcream does not contain eggs 🥚 or cream but is a mixture of very cold milk, seltzer, and flavored syrup. Gem Spa is where Jack Kerouac and other beat poets got their egg creams in the 1950s and it also became a hangout for many musicians in the 1960s and 1970s, who performed at the Fillmore East and the Electric Circus, which were located on either side of the store. @thisispattismith is also a long-time customer.
Cafe Belle in NoLita. We just recently posted on our YouTube channel JamesandKarla our latest video Episode 7: NoLita - Italian Shops & Books in which we visit Cafe Belle on Mulberry Street and @moethebutcher on Elizabeth Street. @cafebellenyc was founded in 2017 by Noelle “Belle” Scala, whose family has owned and operated successful Italian 🇮🇹 bakeries for over 70 years. Everything the cafe serves is made in-house using her Grandpa’s original recipes!
To see and hear more about this modern cafe with a traditional coziness please subscribe to our YouTube channel JamesandKarla if you have not already as we are trying to raise awareness of the importance of small neighborhood businesses to the community. https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla
