Sunday, May 31, 2020

Our latest YouTube video "NEW YORK PROTEST AT UNION SQUARE FOR RACIAL INEQUALITY" is live!

 

We walk with our dog to see the mostly peaceful #protest for racial inequality near Union Square on East 14th Street in the East Village of New York City in memory of George Floyd, justice and #blacklivesmatter . 

We also see the aftermath of the not so peaceful #NYC protest turned riot earlier in the evening along East 14th Street and Second Avenue, in which NYPD police cars were vandalized and set fire to as well as banks and some small businesses with front windows broken.  

Filmed on Saturday, May 30, 2020 from 11 PM through the early hours on Sunday, May 31, 2020 near Union Square, Manhattan  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  

We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla

Friday, May 29, 2020

Raul’s Barber Shop on Avenue B is one of the many small businesses which have had to temporarily close due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

To see our East Village’s Alphabet City walk with our dog check out our full video: 

https://youtu.be/6PijcC-ENUU  

We walked by Raul’s and many other small #momandpopstorefronts to check on how they are coping in our latest YouTube video highlighting all the letter-named Avenues in Alphabet City, from Avenues A to D. 

• Please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel.


Thursday, May 28, 2020

Our latest YouTube video "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN: EAST VILLAGE WALK DURING COVID AROUND ALPHABET CITY" is live!

 In our walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown in New York, we travel along the streets of the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, #NYC in the area known as Alphabet City.

Full video:  https://youtu.be/6PijcC-ENUU 

We see many closed shops and restaurants during our walk as well as a few that are thankfully open, serving hungry New Yorkers who are in quarantine during the COVID 19 State of Emergency.   

We stop by one such essential business and visit Ray Alvarez, the owner of Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A, who has kept his historic candy store open for takeaway and delivery during the entire shutdown.    

We also look lots of graffiti and street art that we see painted on the streets. New York City streets we walk along include East 14th Street, Avenue A, Avenue B, Avenue C and Avenue D.    

Filmed on Sunday, May 24, 2020    

Food featured includes a hot dog from Ray's Candy Store 113 Avenue A New York, NY   

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!    

We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video.   

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.    

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla


Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Our latest YouTube video "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN: EAST VILLAGE WALK DURING COVID AROUND ALPHABET CITY" is live!

 

 In our walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown in New York, we travel along the streets of the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, #NYC in the area known as Alphabet City.  

We see many closed shops and restaurants during our walk as well as a few that are thankfully open, serving hungry New Yorkers who are in quarantine during the COVID 19 State of Emergency. 

We stop by one such essential business and visit Ray Alvarez, the owner of Ray's Candy Store on Avenue A, who has kept his historic candy store open for takeaway and delivery during the entire shutdown.  

We also look lots of graffiti and street art that we see painted on the streets. New York City streets we walk along include East 14th Street, Avenue A, Avenue B, Avenue C and Avenue D.  

Filmed on Sunday, May 24, 2020  

Food featured includes a hot dog from Ray's Candy Store 113 Avenue A New York, NY  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  

We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

ABC TV on Canal Street in the Lower East Side was located on the ground floor of the former Loew’s Canal Theater building, a 1928 movie palace constructed in a Spanish baroque style.

This photo is from 2004 and appears in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”. Although ABC TV has been closed for some time, the building itself still has a largely intact theater although the seats have been removed. 

• To sadly see what the #storefront looks like today and to see our walk with our dog of the entire length of Canal Street from Essex Street in Chinatown to West Street in TriBeCa, please watch and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Direct link to full video: https://youtu.be/HzRcB6vWJ80


Monday, May 25, 2020

To see what the M. Schames & Son Paints #storefront looks like today and to see our walk with our dog of the entire length of Canal Street from Essex Street in Chinatown to West Street in TriBeCa, please watch and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Full video: https://youtu.be/HzRcB6vWJ8 

M. Schames & Son Paints has been in the same family for four generations. In our latest YouTube video we visit the original location of this family-owned paint store near Canal Street, which was founded by Mendel Schames, a Russian immigrant. The shop is now run by father and son, Marshall and Brian Schames. 

This photo was taken in 2004 for our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”. Sadly, the Schames family was forced to relocate their business after the construction of a neighboring condo building destabilized their northern wall. 

We love their #vintage colorful PAINTS #signage and Brian told us that they wanted to take it with them but their new location is narrower and the sign won’t fit across the storefront.


Sunday, May 24, 2020

Our latest YouTube video "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN: WALKING DURING COVID-19 CHINATOWN TO EMPTY TRIBECA" is live!

 

In our walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown in New York, we travel along Canal Street in Chinatown to the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan, #NYC.  

We see many closed shops and restaurants during our walk as well as a few that are thankfully open, serving hungry New Yorkers who are in quarantine during the COVID-19 State of Emergency. 

We also look lots of graffiti that we see painted on the streets. New York City streets we walk along include the entire length of Canal Street from Essex Street in Chinatown to West Street in TriBeCa, which is a normally busy stretch with both traffic and locals and tourists shopping but we found it to be nearly empty.  

Filmed on Friday, May 22, 2020  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  

We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Our latest YouTube video "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN: WALKING DURING COVID-19 EAST VILLAGE TO THE HIGH LINE" is live!



In our walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown in New York, we travel along 14th Street in the East Village to Union Square and continue to the High Line in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, #NYC.  
We see many closed shops and restaurants during our walk as well as a few that are thankfully open, serving hungry New Yorkers who are in quarantine during the COVID-19 State of Emergency. 

We also look at some of the graffiti and street art murals we see painted on the streets. New York City streets we walk along include the entire length of 14th Street from Avenue C to the West Side Highway, W 12th Street and Washington Street.  

Filmed on Monday, May 18, 2020  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Faicco's Italian Specialties was established in 1900 and has been in this same location on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village since 1951.

We walked this past Friday to film our latest YouTube video, the whole length of Bleecker Street from the Bowery to 8th Avenue and were so happy to see that @faiccosnyc was open for business and following strict social distancing and guidelines. 


Although we did not have a chance to go inside to see their amazing selection of house-made fresh and dry aged #porksausage 🐷, fresh mozzarella, Italian cheeses 🧀 and other cuts of meat we definitely will be returning.



Sunday, May 17, 2020

Our latest YouTube video "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN: EMPTY GREENWICH VILLAGE WALK DURING COVID-19" is now live!


In our walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown in New York, we travel along the empty streets of Greenwich Village in Manhattan #NYC.
We see many closed shops and restaurants during our walk as well as some that are thankfully open, serving hungry New Yorkers who are in quarantine during the Covid-19 State of Emergency. 

We also look at some of the graffiti and street art murals we see painted on the tree-lined streets of this historic neighborhood. 

New York streets we walk along include the entire length of Bleecker Street from Bowery to 8th Avenue, W 11th Street, Hudson Street and Commerce Street.  

Filmed on Friday, May 15, 2020  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  

We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  


SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla 

JAMES AND KARLA: On Instagram & Twitter @jamesandkarla  Email: jandk@jamesandkarlamurray.com  Website: http://www.jamesandkarlamurray.com

Thank you @mondoneon for including us in your podcast!

Full podcast: https://www.mondoneon.com/mondo-neon-podcast/with-photographers-james-and-karla-murray

 "This episode of the “Mondo Neon Show” we're talking with husband-and-wife photographers, James and Karla Murray, about capturing and documenting years worth of New York City, the early days of graffiti, portraits of storefronts and shop owners, neon signs, cultural diversity, and so much more!  

Find James and Karla on Instagram @jamesandkarla, Youtube and website. Tweet us @mondoneon with your favorite moment."


Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Our latest YouTube video: "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN: EMPTY WALK TO ROCKEFELLER CENTER, RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL & BROADWAY THEATERS" is live!




In our walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown in New York, we travel along the empty streets of Chelsea & Midtown to see empty Broadway theaters, Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center in #NYC.  Rockefeller Center is completely empty of people and its famous ice skating rink displays the #NewYorkTough which was vey inspiring.  

We also see lots of graffiti and street art murals along our walk through Manhattan in New York City.  

Filmed on Saturday May 9, 2020.  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  

We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla

A very empty Pell Street in Chinatown, NYC.

We walked with our dog around the graffiti-filled and empty streets of Chinatown & the Lower East Side in Manhattan last week and filmed a YouTube video highlighting how empty the neighborhood looked with many closed restaurants and shops.

To see all the graffiti on the streets and what we encountered along the way, please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel.

Full YouTube video: https://youtu.be/MYhyKzdS1Rs


Saturday, May 9, 2020

Our latest YouTube "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN FOOD: HOW TO MAKE MAC AND CHEESE" video is live!



We visit Sarita's Macaroni & Cheese in the East Village during the #Coronavirus Pandemic #Lockdown in New York. We go inside and share a how to make tutorial of some of their inventive flavors of macaroni and cheese. 

We speak with the co-owner about the decision to stay open and keep making their delicious comfort #food for takeaway and delivery to serve hungry New Yorkers who are in quarantine during the State of Emergency in NYC.  

We eat at home three "TAKE & BAKE" flavors of Sarita's Mac & Cheese: Four-Cheese Nosh size Masala Nosh Size Alpine Nosh Size  

S'MAC aka Sarita's Mac And Cheese: 197 First Avenue East Village, New York  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  

We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Artist at Home: James & Karla Murray via Gingko Press

Full article: http://gingkopress.com/artist-at-home-james-karla-murray/ 

"James & Karla Murray are the photographers behind numerous Gingko releases, their latest being Store Front II – Mini Edition. You can view their work on jamesandkarlamurray.com and Instagram. James & Karla have also been filming their walks in New York City in an effort to highlight small, independently-owned businesses who could use help during this time. You can watch their videos on their YouTube channel."


Great N.Y. Noodletown in Chinatown has been in business since 1981

Great N.Y. Noodletown in Chinatown has been in business since 1981 and is known for its inexpensive Cantonese classics including ginger scallion noodles🍜 and wonton soup. 

Sadly, it is currently closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. 


(This photo is from 2019). 

We walked with our dog around the graffiti-filled and empty streets of Chinatown & the Lower East Side in Manhattan a few days ago and filmed a YouTube video showing just how empty it all looks. 

We also filmed closed restaurants and shops we encountered along the way. To see our video, please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel.


Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Our latest YouTube video. "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN: EMPTY CHINATOWN & LOWER EAST SIDE GRAFFITI STREETS, NYC" is live!

In our walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown in New York, we travel along the graffiti filled empty streets of Chinatown and the Lower East Side in Manhattan #NYC.  


We see many closed shops and restaurants during our walk and also look at some of the graffiti and street art murals we see painted on the streets of New York.  Filmed on Saturday, May 2, 2020  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla


Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Our latest YouTube video "NEW YORK LOCKDOWN: EMPTY CHINATOWN & LOWER EAST SIDE GRAFFITI STREETS, NYC" is live!



In our walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Pandemic Lockdown in New York, we travel along the graffiti filled empty streets of Chinatown and the Lower East Side in Manhattan #NYC.  

We see many closed shops and restaurants during our walk and also look at some of the graffiti and street art murals we see painted on the streets of New York.  

Filmed on Saturday, May 2, 2020  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. 

We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla

We are saddened to share the news that John DeLuca, the owner of DeLuca General Store in the Rosebank neighborhood of Staten Island passed away at 90 years of age due to the Coronavirus.

John opened his #hardware store which also sold electrical and plumbing supplies in 1975 and used the existing Coca-Cola privilege sign just adding his own copy to it. 

We first met John in 2005 when he was 75 years old and interviewed him for our “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York” book. 

He told us that the store was his life and that he still worked full time as he had lost his wife and didn’t want to stay home alone. He also showed us the creative figures he crafted from household items including a model schooner made from malt liquor cans. 

R.I.P. John 🙏

Monday, May 4, 2020

It is with heavy hearts 💔 that we are sharing the news that Evelyn Barbarino, the owner of OLDIES BUT GOODIES passed away from Coronavirus at the age of 98.

This lovely shop in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn was founded by Evelyn in 1972 and specialized in a wide variety of antique jewelry, figurines and assorted household items. 

We interviewed Evelyn in 2013 (when she was 91 years old) for our book "Store Front II - A History Preserved" and she shared with us that, “When I first opened my store in the late 1970s, this neighborhood was strictly Italian and Jewish but now it has become mostly Chinese. They are good customers but I often have a language barrier with them because I don’t speak Chinese and many of them don’t speak English. I have to write prices down for them on paper and we negotiate that way. This store is a home away from home for me and I am always here, seven days a week.”

 • R.I.P. Evelyn 🙏 you and your wonderful store will be missed!


Saturday, May 2, 2020

Our latest YouTube video is live!



We visit a hidden gem in the East Village during the #Coronavirus Pandemic #Lockdown in New York to order for takeaway the best tacos in New York. Some of the best food from Mexico served in #NYC can be found in the back of the bodega grocery store, Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery.  

This charming family-run bodega is open for takeaway and delivery to serve hungry New Yorkers who are in quarantine during the State of Emergency. We go inside and speak to the Co-Owner Maria Martinez and her son Ruben about the difficulties of running a small business during the lockdown. We also watch as Maria makes some homemade tacos for us and shows us some of the other delicious Mexican food they serve including rice and beans and quesadillas and burritos.  

Zaragoza Mexican Deli & Grocery: 215 Avenue A near East 13th Street New York, NY  

We have three of their popular tacos served with choice of meat, onions, cilantro, lettuce, lime and salsa and pico de gallo on the side: 
1.Chicken with Chipotle Sauce Taco (Tinga de Pollo) 
2. Roast Pork Taco (Carnitas) 
3. Marinated Spicy Pork with Pineapple Taco (Al Pastor)  

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING!  We would love for you to subscribe to our channel and hit the thumbs up and notification bell and please SHARE if you enjoy the video. We will be posting new videos EVERY WEEK highlighting unique small businesses in New York City.  

SUBSCRIBE TO NEVER MISS AN EPISODE: https://www.youtube.com/c/JamesandKarla

We walk with our dog during the Coronavirus Lockdown in New York along the graffiti filled streets of the Bowery and through empty streets in Little Italy and SoHo.

Full video on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/KmeDRssiAI8