Yesterday was the 135th birthday of the Statue of Liberty, the New York City icon gifted to us from France, which was dedicated on October 28, 1886.

In honor of the Lady Liberty’s birthday today, we are highlighting Liberty Department Stores in Ridgewood, Queens. Liberty was founded in 1980 and is family-owned and operated to this day!  

• To watch our visit  to the STATUE of LIBERTY Museum & both sides of Ellis Island including the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and the off-limits Abandoned #EllisIsland Hospital Complex & our scenic ferry ride, which provided amazing views of the #StatueofLiberty , Ellis island, New York Harbor and the New York City skyline, please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel. 

Direct link below & in IG story, and in our profile. 

•Full video: https://youtu.be/RNLCTSTW5Cw

Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade 2021

The annual Tompkins Square Park Halloween Dog Parade took place last Sunday, bringing together thousands of New Yorkers and their costumed pets from all over the Tri-state area. While the parade is no held at Tompkins Square Park, the event is the largest Halloween Dog costume event in the world. Photographers and Videographers James and Karla Murray witnessed first hand the canine costumes and shared on YouTube video of the cutest and most creative choices, including the ultimate winner, Essential Workers by Ruben Santana & his dog Amun.

In honor of #worldpastaday yesterday, we are highlighting Pastosa Ravioli, a third-generation family-owned ravioli & fresh #pasta 🍝 & Italian specialty 🇮🇹 shop.

@pastosaravioli was founded in 1966 in Brooklyn by Anthony Ajello selling fresh mozzarella and #ravioli but as the popularity of the shop grew, it expanded its offerings and now has multiple locations in both New York and New Jersey. 

Photo of this Staten Island location appears as a 2-page spread (this is only a section of the ship) in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”. 

• • • • • • #jamesandkarla #manicotti #gnocchi #rigatoni #tortellini #stuffedshells #macaroni #fettuccine #linguine #italianfood #italian #italianpasta

Beauty Bar, Union Square Area, NYC

The building that Beauty Bar on East 14th Street near 2nd Avenue is located in was once the headquarters of the Italian Labor Center and also served as the home base for the Cloakmakers Union. The building dates back to 1919 when the neighborhood had a sizable Italian population and even had its own Little Italy 🇮🇹. 

The marble signage for the Italian Labor Union can still be seen on the facade and it also has two unique bas reliefs which are not identical to each other. The carving on the right depicts a man (a worker with a shovel), woman, and a peaceful baby. On the carving on the left the woman’s hair is electrified and her face is contorted in pain. Her child is scrambling from her in terror and her husband is in the background, hard at work digging or plowing, seemingly oblivious to the turmoil. 

We just stopped by @thebeautybarnyc earlier today to check out their Halloween 🎃 display in the #storefront window and said hi to @brockmichaelnyc who is tending bar this evening and who told us that Beauty Bar just announced they will now be open Wednesday-Sunday. Due to the pandemic, after they reopened they previously had scaled back their hours, so w were happy to hear this news!

Halloween Dog Parade 2021, New York City

In our NYC Halloween Dog Parade 2021 in New York City: Best Dog Costumes Tompkins Square Park we see the annual event which draws thousands of people and dogs!

Full video: https://youtu.be/mNXa5ojtbDQ

Warm afternoon, Brussels, Belgium. Le Rubens not that long ago...

 

Kim’s Video and Music, East Village, NYC

Kim’s Video and Music on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village was a downtown institution founded by Yongman Kim. It was known for its amazing and eclectic collection of videos and music, but sadly closed its flagship #storefront in 2009. 

We captured this photo on 35mm film in 2001 and although it never made it into our “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York” book, we treasure this outtake.

Economy Candy, Lower East Side, NYC

Today, we visited New York City's oldest candy store, Economy Candy on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side to help support them as they struggled to survive during the pandemic and only recently reopened their #storefront to visitors after being closed for 18 months. This third-generation family-owned #candyshop which has been in business since 1937 sells over 2,000 varieties of candies including many old-time classics and nostalgia-type #candy. 

It is the perfect place to shop for #Halloweencandy or any year-round treat. 

• To watch our livestream visit to @economycandy and to see what candy we picked out today with our dog Hudson (Swipe left for 2nd photo) please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

• Full livestream video: https://youtu.be/rmRhJZf-Jng

Neighborhood gentrification is here: 5 photographers saving the block KULTUREHUB 10.15.21

"These photos represent New York's, early small businesses and give viewers a nostalgic representation of the familiarity that these storefronts had. Many of these storefronts embodied the early immigrant population of New York. " 

Full article: https://kulturehub.com/neighborhood-gentrification-photographers-save-the-block-list/

Sadly, the Filipino restaurant Jeepney on First Avenue in the East Village has permanently closed after nine years in business.

Nicole Ponseca decided to close @jeepneynyc for a variety of reasons including that being an independent restauranteur has been difficult and as told to Eater, she wants “a better life for myself….If I could see my vision through, it would have a support team. I don’t want this to be the end of Jeepney”. 

We will miss this restaurant and its award-winning Chori Burger 🍔 (beef and longganisa patty with spiced banana ketchup, Maggi aioli, archaea pickles , and egg served on a brioche bun) but hope to see it again in some form (partnering with a restaurant group) in the future. 

• • • • • #jeepney #filipinofood #filipino #jamesandkarla #eastvillagenyc #disappearingfaceofnewyork #longganisa #filipinofoodmovement

Leo’s Pizza, Astoria, Queens, NY

Leo’s Pizza on 36th Avenue at the corner of 31st Street in Astoria, Queens at the foot of the N, W subway station is family-owned and serves classic New York slices 🍕cooked in their wood-fired🔥 brick oven. 

Yesterday we visited @leos_pizzany with our dog Hudson (swipe left for 2nd photo) after walking over the Queensboro aka 59th Street Bridge from Manhattan to Queens and tried one of their classic cheese slices. 

• To watch our livestream walk over the 59th Street Bridge & to see what we and Hudson thought of Leo’s Pizza, please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

•Full livestream video:  https://youtu.be/FzgRxmL_EPY

Punjabi Grocery & Deli, East Village, NYC

Punjabi Grocery & Deli on East 1st near E. Houston Street in the East Village was founded in 1993 by Kulwinder Singh and is known for its delicious and inexpensive vegetarian Indian food including a variety of vegetable curries and fried samosas. 

• This evening we visited @punjabidelinyc to help support it as has struggled to survive in the past few years for a variety of reasons including the ongoing construction in front of their space and  along Houston Street which made access to their shop difficult for the many cabbies who were regular customers and the pandemic (they closed for 4 months during the height of the pandemic).  

• To watch our livestream visit to Punjabi Deli and to see the amazing puréed spinach, chickpeas, and eggplant & potato curries served on top of long grain rice that we had in our $8 combo platter , please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

• Full video: https://youtu.be/PhR0qZtiZnQ

Landmark Coffee Shop & Pancake House 🥞 SoHo, NYC

Landmark Coffee Shop & Pancake House 🥞 on Grand Street near Centre Street in SoHo was founded in 1962 and is famous for being the setting of the diner scene in the 1985 movie “Desperately Seeking Susan” where Roberta played by Rosanna Arquette takes the character Dez played by Aidan Quinn to eat at and gets kicked out when the waitress mistakes her for Susan played by Madonna.  

• Today, we visited Landmark Coffee Shop & Pancake House to help support this family-owned diner as it has struggled to survive during the pandemic due to the lack of street traffic and tourists in the neighborhood. 

To watch our visit and to see what we and our dog Hudson had for lunch today, please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. • 

Full livestream video: https://youtu.be/fz0XR8H5EHo

Sunshine Theater on East Houston Street and was established in 1917

Sunshine Theater on East Houston Street and was established in 1917 by Charlie Steiner and had a long history with varied uses, having initially been built as a church in 1844, but later used as a meeting hall and a boxing venue. 

In 1908, Charlie Steiner and Abraham Minksky converted the church building into a Nickelodeon called the “Houston Hippodrome”, which charged 10 cents admission for its Yiddish three-act plays and also offered local & European movies with #Yiddish subtitles. 

Sadly this historic closed in 2018 and was demolished to make way for a new 9-story glass-facade office tower. 

We will miss seeing many #independentfilms at this gem. Our photo of Sunshine Theater appears in our book “New York Nights”.  

• • • • • #disappearingfaceofnewyork #theater #jamesandkarla #cinematreasures #cinema #independenttheatre #theatre #neonsignage #neonsign

Second Hand Records Bushwick, Brooklyn

Second Hand Records Bushwick, Brooklyn was founded by Federico Rojas-Lavado, who worked at the record distributor Downtown304 before setting up his own #recordstore.  @secondhandrecordsnyc Full video: 

Full livestream video: https://youtu.be/sc47pdSqNOc

Rudy’s Bakery & Café, Ridgewood, Queens

Rudy’s Bakery & Café in Ridgewood, Queens was founded in 1934 and still serves old-world favorites as well #vegan and gluten-free desserts. We absolutely love its vintage #storefront with curved glass and terrazzo-lined doorway complete with “RUDY’S” inlaid as well as it’s neon signage with a steaming coffee cup ☕️ & its original interior. 

Yesterday, we visited this lovely family-owned #bakery to help support it and tried some of their amazing cookies including a classic Black & White and Linzer Tarts (swipe left or 3rd photo). 

• To watch our livestream visit to @rudysbakeryandcafe to see the delicious items they bake as well as our visit to other small businesses we highlighted in our walk through Brooklyn and Queens, please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

•Full livestream video: https://youtu.be/sc47pdSqNOc