A friend of mine posted a picture on the Facebook of the old Howard Johnson's in Times Square the other day, circa the good ol' days, complete with vestiges of pre-Guiliani ill-repute accompanying the Americana. In this day of Times Square looking more like a flashy strip mall, many folks pined in the comments section for that lost New York. More strip, less mall. Well if you're one of those feeling nostalgic, just mere steps up Broadway there is a little slice of heaven that might just feel like you've gone a bit back in time.
There's a series of storefronts in the low 50's that recently housed things so unmemorable, that despite the fact I had probably walked by them a few hundred times, I can't now for life of me recall what they were. Fact is, they're vacant now- gutted on the inside, more than likely eventually to be snazzed up for some new high-rent tenants, to replace those others that wouldn't or couldn't pay the high rent anymore. The storefronts are glass, top to bottom, and there's nothing to block a fair view of the lack of action that has taken place over weeks of time.
Here's where the old NYC charm comes into play- there are signs posted on each door letting passers-by know that what they are walking by is a war-zone: man vs. rat. Well, poison en loco man, vs. rat. "WARNING KEEP OUT POISON BAITED AREA" the signs read. Skull and corss-bones, the whole deal. Fantastic. So urban. I'm sure the tourists are tickled and take pictures. But the added whimsy to all of this, is that someone or ones, has taken the trouble to slide under or through the glass doors of a few of the storefronts, magazine pages taken from some of your finer pornography. I thought to myself when I first noticed things laying on the floor just on the other side of the glass, "That's not... is it?" And then after my eyes adjusted to the mid-morning glare, I realized I was indeed looking at very close up photograph of the very spot where so many are brought into this world. It was only then- after I took the time to (I'm not going to say stop and smell the flowers) take a gander that I realized the other storefronts also had some choice photos skillfully maneuvered through the doors and onto the floor just beyond. Excellent. There's your homage to a simpler time. Times Square. I almost felt like mugging someone, just because.
Never you worry, fans of New(er) York City- just two blocks down on your left is a Starbucks and a drone shop. These days there's a lot of in-with-the-new in this little town, but there will always be shadows of days past, if you let your eyes adjust to the glare.
Porn, downstage center.