I saw this image up on Flickr...
Hah.
It’s funny (maybe not so much) but a week or so ago I was walking up to midtown from Chelsea after a long workday and I found myself walking up Sixth Avenue. And I was on the east side of Sixth as I crossed 23rd Street and walking north I got to 24th and looked across and there on the corner was another nondescript deli or some such in the very same corner that was for a long time the home of Billy’s.
And I thought to myself what a crying shame that was.
Back in the eighties when I wrangled the yellow beast I could always enjoy a beer or two in Billy’s on a day off. And then we had a friend’s bachelor party at Billy’s and I remember coming in and being stricken by the fearsome man with the shaved head dressed in a suit (the soon to be groom - who had shaved his head for the wedding) and countless other nights when an evening of adventure took a turn and we wound up there.
It was different from all the other topless bars at the time, it was small and it had something of a neighborhood bar feel and while it was a topless joint it wasn’t overly sleazy.
And now it’s just another friggin’ deli.
And further up Sixth most of the flower shops are gone now and the furriers have closed up shop and in their place are a bunch of bland, newish rental buildings occupied by who knows who with the rents they charge.
And I really miss that New York.
Hah.
It’s funny (maybe not so much) but a week or so ago I was walking up to midtown from Chelsea after a long workday and I found myself walking up Sixth Avenue. And I was on the east side of Sixth as I crossed 23rd Street and walking north I got to 24th and looked across and there on the corner was another nondescript deli or some such in the very same corner that was for a long time the home of Billy’s.
And I thought to myself what a crying shame that was.
Back in the eighties when I wrangled the yellow beast I could always enjoy a beer or two in Billy’s on a day off. And then we had a friend’s bachelor party at Billy’s and I remember coming in and being stricken by the fearsome man with the shaved head dressed in a suit (the soon to be groom - who had shaved his head for the wedding) and countless other nights when an evening of adventure took a turn and we wound up there.
It was different from all the other topless bars at the time, it was small and it had something of a neighborhood bar feel and while it was a topless joint it wasn’t overly sleazy.
And now it’s just another friggin’ deli.
And further up Sixth most of the flower shops are gone now and the furriers have closed up shop and in their place are a bunch of bland, newish rental buildings occupied by who knows who with the rents they charge.
And I really miss that New York.
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