NYC Sentinel

Documenting disappearing storefronts

By Spencer Bailey Many decades-old New York City shops, some of which have been around for over 50 years, have shuttered as landlords raise rent, urban development increases and storeowners retire from family-run businesses. James and Karla Murrays’ “Store Front” project helps capture these ever-dwindling, multi-generational stores as they struggle to survive.

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Moe Albanese: Elizabeth Street’s stronghold

It’s 2:30 p.m. on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Little Italy and Moe Albanese, 85, sits on a wooden chair outside his shop’s battered, red-painted storefront, wearing a bloodied butchers smock. Above his head, a white sign, its blue lettering faded with time, reads: “Albanese Meats & Poultry.” In 1923, Vincenzo Albanese, Moe’s father, immigrated to [...]

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Bushwick bound, new residents living large

By Spencer Bailey Ryan Slack and Drew Smartt, who live at 550 Irving Plaza Lofts, are part of a next-neighborhood movement of artists, musicians and young professionals coming to Bushwick. While the area continues to maintain its gritty vibe, there are rapidly gentrifying pockets for those priced out of Manhattan and close-by Williamsburg.

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The art of selling gentrification … in Bushwick

Richie Maggio says he’s learned to not only sell apartments but also gentrification. Maggio, a senior project manager for AptsandLofts.com’s rental division, has been a broker of Brooklyn units, many on a high-end scale, for four years. From his office on Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg, he spends his time marketing new, or renovated, apartments in [...]

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