varvatos vs cbgb
April 21, 2008 by Cash
If you haven’t heard, pioneering punk venue CBGB in NYC has been sold to John Varvatos, who transformed the space into an uber-swank JV boutique.
Last Thursday, the Manhattan fashion elite descended on the space for its grand opening gala.
Inside; gone were the vomit covered bathroom walls & peeling stickers, replaced with $2,000 jackets $250 tee shirts.
Outside; a handful of protesters lamenting the gentrification of another NYC landmark.
One of the funniest quotes I’ve come across in a long time comes courtesy of Arturo Vega, longtime creative director of the Ramones, who showed up in a crisp white Varvatos shirt.
Rebecca Moore, a musician who is one of the founders of Take It to the Bridge, an activist group that organized the demonstration, sparred loudly with Mr. Vega. Saying that Lower Manhattan is becoming “a playground for rich people,” she shouted: “Forty-thousand-dollar-a-month rents, $1,600 jackets and $800 pants are closing music spaces in New York.”
Smiling, Mr. Vega responded: “When you are good at what you do, money comes, people. Work hard and you’ll be able to afford.”
To the rehearsal studios, hipsters!
via New York Times
I know someone with a Kitchen Aide Mixer… It’s real nice.
As a New Yorker and E. Villager who’s seen CB’s at it’s best (and worst!) I think the co-opting of the LES by the monied few, and the co-opting of the gritty reality of what was to humour those spoiled children of today is, at minimum, a travesty. John Varvatos was born to a garment-district dynasty (his pop was a clothmaker) and granted, he did bring the family business to the next level, but this takes style-over-substance to the heights of hubristic fantasy. The people that made CBs what it was could barely afford rent in the E. Village then, nevermind the crazy rents of the newly developed LES now. Oh, yes, to re-live the life of a punk rocker by buying a $3,000 off the rack suit, when a real punker lived with secondhand clothes from non-”vintage” shops, most likely nearby Salvation Army or Goodwill. What upsets me the most is that the denizens of Varvatos and the “new” E. Village and LES have no idea, nor any desire to find out, the history of their locales, which is why they live in brand new towers or expensively developed “luxury” buildings, which have ruined the aesthetic of their respective neighborhoods. No, I don’t mean that old, dirty New York. I mean the old, gorgeous architecture and neighborhood feeling, as opposed to the new nihilism. Do I sound angry? You betcha!
Cheers,
Steve
Oh, and in response to Mr. Vega - The chances of a band working hard and “making it” to be able to afford the prices posted at the likes of a Varvatos are somewhere between slim and none. Get real, please…
You tell em Steve!