Jay Dee Bakery, Forest Hills, Queens

Today, we are highlighting another Jewish-owned small business in honor of Hanukkah. Jay Dee Bakery in Forest Hills, Queens was in business for over 60 years before it closed in 2009. It was well known for its chocolate marble cake, pies, and custom birthday cakes. We especially loved its gorgeous #storefront with Art Deco details and its reverse channel neon sign complete with a unique script #font. Our 35mm photo appears in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”.

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We are not the only ones who appreciated its facade, the Estate of James Yancey used our photo of Jay Dee Bakery for the 12” first press clear vinyl release of J Dilla’s long lost vocal track (that had never before been released), “Give Them What They Want”.

(Swipe left for 2nd photo)

The first press 12” featured clear vinyl atop a Jeff Jank-altered photograph by James T. & Karla L. Murray.

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#disappearingfaceofnewyork #jamesandkarla #jewish #neon #jewishfood #bakery #artdeco #bakersofinstagram #neonsignage #neonsigns

Happy Hanukkah 🕎

This evening is the first night of Hanukkah 🕎 and for all who celebrate this holiday, we are highlighting the original location of the 2nd Avenue Deli in the East Village, which was founded in 1954. The late Abe Lebewohl opened this iconic Jewish #delicatessen on the corner of 2nd Avenue at East 10th Street but it sadly closed in 2006 when the rent was raised from $24,000 a month to $33,000 a month. 

Abe’s nephews reopened the #deli in 2007 in Midtown on East 33rd Street and it also now has an Upper East Side location serving its iconic sandwiches, chopped liver and matzoh ball soup. 

This film photo taken in 2005 appears in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”. • • 

 #disappearingfaceofnewyork #jewish #jewishfood #jamesandkarla #storefront #supportsmallbusiness #supportlocal #supportlocalbusiness

Support Small Business!

We are celebrating the many small businesses we have photographed in the past 25 years in New York City, by offering a sale on our prints of our 12 x 36 inch chromatic branded signage collage, which we designed using 100 different photos of the many #momandpopshops in all 5 boroughs of NYC. This signed limited edition collage is now $230 and  includes FREE shipping to anywhere in the USA.  

• To order, please Venmo $230 payment to us & shipping address to us at our Venmo: https://www.venmo.com/Karla-Murray

It’s Black Friday & time for our annual STORE FRONT print sale for 15% OFF!

Signed 8x10 inch prints are $70  & Signed 11x14 inch prints are $90 & both sizes include FREE shipping to anywhere in USA Please indicate which print you want & address 

Venmo: https://venmo.com/Karla-Murray

Autumn , Central Park, NYC

 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

To celebrate this holiday, we watched a& livestreamed from the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We had so much fun seeing in person the massive balloons which are handled by 90 people! Some of our favorites from this 95th Year of the Parade included Astronaut Snoopy, Pikachu and the Papa Smurf from “The Smurfs”.  

•To see the other large balloons including Sponge Bob SquarePants, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pillsbury Doughboy, and The Boss Baby please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

• Full Video: https://youtu.be/oFUzpjCS3Ek

Veselka the Ukrainian comfort food diner is open on Thanksgiving

Veselka, the Ukrainian comfort food diner in the East Village has been in business since 1954 and is one of the few casual restaurants, which not only is open on Thanksgiving but also serves both an affordable Turkey 🦃 dinner as well as a special Thanksgiving #vegetarian dinner and even a special Turkey Pierogi Bowl filled with Roast Turkey and cornbread stuffing served with Turkey gravy snd cranberry sauce.  

• To watch our video highlighting @veselkanyc and its affordable Thanksgiving Dinner, please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

Full video: https://youtu.be/Vid_JWhc3s4

The Union Square Holiday Market

The Union Square Holiday Market is now open daily It was founded in 1993 by Eldon Scott of @urbanspacenyc and is modeled after Christkindlmarkts in Germany. It features independent vendors and artisans who are all individually selected to mark sure that there are varied offerings. Applicants are even personally interviewed and asked to provide samples of merchandise before being selected.

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Last evening we visited the @unionsquareholidaymarket to highlight this wonderful #christmasmarket and help support some of the vendors. To watch our livestream visit and to see what we purchased including a handcrafted bracelet, please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story.

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https://youtu.be/m38bSxadaWs

East Village Meat Market, East Village, NYC

East Village Meat Market was founded by Julian Baczynsky in 1970 and specializes in Ukrainian Kielbasa, which are made by hand and smoked daily in the back of the shop. 

We recently visited @eastvillagemeatmarket to see both the items they are offering for Thanksgiving as well as their special #Thanksgiving prepared meals ( #Thanksgivingdinner ) which includes fresh roasted turkey and cranberry stuffing as well as Country hams and Canadian hams and potato pierogi. 

• To watch our visit to this amazing family-owned #butchershop please  subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

• Full video: https://youtu.be/HGCE6uqrOrI

Sunset. Central Park Autumn.

Sunset. Central Park #Autumn . Watch our full walk: NYC LIVE Walking Rainy Central Park Fall Foliage Tour & 5th Avenue & Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree & Holiday Windows Preview Saturday night with our dog Hudson!

Video: https://youtu.be/ooq4ylOZdCw

Tea & Sympathy on Greenwich Avenue in the West Village

Tea & Sympathy on Greenwich Avenue in the West Village and its British grocery provision shop, Carry On Tea & Sympathy which is located next door to the restaurant are all owned by Nicky Perry, a British expat. Nicky founded Tea & Sympathy in 1990 and it has attracted many British expats and celebrities over the years including Sarah Jessica Parker, Dame Judi Dench and David Bowie, who celebrated his 50th birthday at the tea-room style restaurant. 

• Yesterday, we dined with our dog, Hudson @hudsonpittienyc in the outdoor dining structure of @teaandsympathynyc and had a large pot of Typhoo tea for two and an order of both cod and haddock battered & fried fish 🐟& chips from their sister fish & chips shop, “A Salt & Battery” which were absolutely delicious. We ended our meal with a slice of Marmalade cake which Nicky made using her homemade marmalade and an order of custard and fresh scones served with clotted cream and jam (2nd photo).  

• To watch our livestream walk around the West Village and our lovely meal at Tea & Sympathy, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

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

Rainy Central Park #Autumn .

Watch our full walk: NYC LIVE Walking Rainy Central Park Fall Foliage Tour & 5th Avenue & Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree & Holiday Windows Preview Saturday night with our dog Hudson! 

Video: https://youtu.be/ooq4ylOZdCw

Autumn. Central Park, NYC.

Watch our full walk: NYC LIVE Walking Rainy Central Park Fall Foliage Tour & 5th Avenue & Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree & Holiday Windows Preview Saturday night with our dog Hudson! 

Video: https://youtu.be/ooq4ylOZdCw

Smith’s Bar in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood near Times Square has been in business since 1954.

Although this old Irish ☘️ pub which closed briefly in late 2014 before a new owner (actress Hayden Pannetire’s father)  took over the former dive bar and renovated it, he thankfully kept and restored the original #neon signage.  

This photo of the original #storefront was taken in 2004 and appears in our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York”.

Village Works NYC, East Village, NYC

Village Works NYC is a unique gallery/bookstore in the East Village which was opened earlier this year by Joey Sheridan. It focuses on New York-centric new and used books and artists who create art in New York City. 

• We just visited @villageworksnyc today and not only spoke with Joey about why he created this great new space but we also signed copies of three of our books that are for sale including a rare copy of our NYC graffiti book “Burning New York” as well as our book “Store Front II-A History Preserved” 

• To watch our visit to Village Works with our dog Hudson, please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

• https://youtu.be/MVC2aSjLsVs

Central Park Autumn Rain Fun.

Watch our full walk: NYC LIVE Walking Rainy Central Park Fall Foliage Tour & 5th Avenue & Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree & Holiday Windows Preview Saturday night with our dog Hudson! 

Video: https://youtu.be/ooq4ylOZdCw

Deep Cuts Record Store in Ridgewood, Queens was founded by Brandon Perry in 2013.

Deep Cuts specialize in used and new vinyl records in a wide variety of genres.  

• We visited @deepcutsrecordstore the other day and not only found some #vinylrecords gems but also filmed a short video highlighting the shop and also spoke with Brandon about his inventory and how he founded his #recordstore  

To see what #vinyl we found , please watch our video please see direct link below & in bio and IG story. • Full video: https://youtu.be/39yRW_I4WX0

Hudson. Central Park Autumn Rain Fun New York City

Watch our full walk: NYC LIVE Walking Rainy Central Park Fall Foliage Tour & 5th Avenue & Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree & Holiday Windows Preview last night with our dog Hudson! 

Video: https://youtu.be/ooq4ylOZdCw

Thank you El País for the article!

Print version:  "Los retratistas de una Nueva York que dice adiós" MATEO SANCHO CARDIEL - 07 NOV 2021 

Photos courtesy of Ignacio Buhigas

Gotham Thrift Shop in Ridgewood, Queens

Gotham Thrift Shop in Ridgewood, Queens has an amazing selection of #vintage furniture, memorabilia, vinyl records, books, comics, baseball cards, jewelry and clothing. Yesterday we visited @gothamthriftny to check out the many unique items they sell (the Coca-Cola bottle vending machine seen in the front window was a fave of ours).  

•To see some of the other items we spotted inside (we purchased a thick  silver bracelet), please watch & subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. • 

Full video: https://youtu.be/3klL_gd96B8

Joe & John Pizzeria & Restaurant on Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood, Queens was founded in 1968.

We really loved its unique retro facade adorned with yellow and mint green-colored panels giving it a sort of big-top circus 🎪 look.  Although the #pizza place is still in business, the original Joe and John have long retired and new owners and management took over the #pizzeria and modernized the exterior and replaced the #vintage #signage. We photographed the #storefront at night for our book “New York Nights” but also took a daytime photo which appears in our book “Store Front II-A History Preserved".  

• Today, we visited @joeandjohns_ to have a classic slice of pizza 🍕 with our pizza-loving dog Hudson. To see what we both thought of the pizza we tried, please watch   & subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

• Full video: https://youtu.be/3klL_gd96B8

CW Pencil Enterprise, an amazing Lower East Side pencil shop has sadly closed its doors due to the lack of foot traffic due to the pandemic.

Caroline Weaver founded this unique shop on Forsyth Street in 2014 (original location seen in our first photo) and moved to its larger lower Orchard Street #storefront (seen in top photo) in 2017. 

Today, we passed by to see the @cwpencilenterprise Orchard Street shop mostly empty except for some furniture for sale and boxes outside with free giveaways. It saddens us to see this quirky shop close its doors as we remember when we first discovered it.  

• • • • • #disappearingfaceofnewyork #jamesandkarla #pencil #pencilart #pencilsketch #pencildrawing #pencildrawings #pencilartist #writingcommunity #writing #writinginspiration #lowereastsidenyc

We love when we encounter an old ghost sign from a storefront from yesteryear and this gem is no exception.

If you look carefully on the lintel above this doorway in TriBeCa, you can see the faded lettering for “John Campbell & Co.”,  a dyestuff manufacturer which was in business from 1900 to 1958. While this address no longer houses a #storefront we love how the new residents decorated the sidewalk with planters filled with a colorful array of flowers 🌺 🌸. 

Thank you El País for todays article! "Los retratistas de una Nueva York que dice adiós" MATEO SANCHO CARDIEL - 07 NOV 2021

Full article: https://elpais.com/eps/2021-11-08/los-retratistas-de-una-nueva-york-que-dice-adios.html?prm=copy_link

John’s of Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village was founded in 1929 by John Sasso.

John's is regarded by many #pizzalovers as one of the best pizzerias in New York City and serves only whole pies, no slices  🍕 which are cooked in the original coal-fired 🔥 oven . Today, we visited @johnsofbleeckerstreet to help support this iconic historic #pizzeria as it suffered during the pandemic with the lack of street traffic and tourists which normally flock to eat there. We went inside and filmed the historic interior with all of the benches, booths and tables carved with the signatures of customers and watched as their famous brick coal-fired🔥 oven pizzas 🍕 were being prepared (they are prepared and cook in under 5 minutes)•  

•To see the interior of John’s and its #vintage brick coal-fired oven and the delicious pizza 🍕we had while dining outside with our rescue dog @hudsonpittienyc (swipe left for 2nd and 3rd photos) please watch & subscribe to our channel (direct link in bio). 

•Full video:  https://youtu.be/pzy9RFx0zjM

Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn has been in business since the 1950s.

It has been owned by Cristos and Donna Siafakas since 1993 and still has its original interior including an S-shaped counter. In addition to a wide variety of delicious fresh doughnut flavors, Peter Pan also serves breakfast sandwiches and milkshakes.  

• Yesterday, we visited Peter Pan to help support this family-owned business which we believe has the absolutely best donuts in the world and purchased toasted coconut #donuts 🍩 and strawberry-filled and blueberry-filled jelly (each #donut regardless of flavor is only $1.50) and a cup of piping hot coffee ☕️ & hot chocolate.  

To watch our livestream visit to this #donutshop and to see what our dog Hudson thought of the donuts and to see its amazing original interior, please watch and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

•Full video: https://youtu.be/rWHsdHu5udM

Today, November 1st is the first day of Dia de Los Muertos

Today, November 1st is the first day of Dia de Los Muertos, a 2-day festival celebration of life and death which originated in Mexico 🇲🇽 but is also celebrated throughout Latin America and places with a significant #Mexican and Latino population. Assured that the dead would be insulted by a day of mourning or sadness, #diadelosmuertos celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties, and activities the dead enjoyed in life. 

Whereas Halloween is considered to be a holiday of dark nights, terror and mischief, Day of the Dead festivities are an explosion of color, life and joy. On Día de los Muertos, the dead are also a part of the festival as they are awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones. Colorful #ofrendas or altars with incense and candles are created by families to honor their deceased loved ones and include symbols of Calacas and Calaveras (skeletons and skulls) portrayed as enjoying life.