The Ever-Changing face of Ludlow Street Retail

In 1997, the New York Times said, “it seems more guitars are being carried along Ludlow Street, between Houston and Stanton Streets, than on any other block in New York City.” This then “unspoiled” eastern Bohemia proudly wore the ethnic stamps of its immigrant population who lived in the century-old tenements only visible today at Ludlow’s southern tip. But while the spirit of Lou Reed lingers in legend some twenty years after the NY Times article, the stamp you’ll wear is probably on your wrist from the bouncer at the door of Dirty French or Pianos nightclub from when he checked your id. Institutions like Max Fish, the Pink Pony Cafe, Motor City Bar, Ludlow Guitars and Earth Matters health food store were slowly squeezed out over the past decade by the glass condominiums buildings which dwarf the still-thriving Katz’s Deli on the street’s north-eastern corner.