Subway Struggle

As previously reported, the Subway Inn (at 60th and Lex in Manhattan) is set to close later this month.  The entire corner is to be cleared to make way for redevelopment, reportedly a luxury residential tower.  But the bar isn't going without a fight:  Its owners have launched a petition and are taking donations for legal expenses in a last ditch attempt to survive.  Follow this link to learn more about how you can support the Subway Inn.

The Subway Inn, 143 E60th Street, Manhattan.  (T. Rinaldi) 

Background: the Subway Inn is a blue-collar watering hole that has been around for nearly 80 years.  The pair of neon signs over its storefront dates to the 1940s-50s.  Uniquely appealing among the few such signs that survive in New York today, they mark this as an establishment where little has changed over the years. 

(T. Rinaldi) 

In the face of the aforementioned megadevelopment slated for this corner, the future appears very bleak indeed for the bar and its signs.  The management could attempt to relocate, but taking the signs with them is a costly proposition.   Perhaps a better alternative would be for the bar's landlord to reserve a spot for it in whatever new building takes shape here (at an affordable rent), though this would require the business to close or relocate for a prolonged period before moving back in, something that has been tried and failed before (read Mars Bar).  

 
143 E60th Street, Manhattan.  February, 2006. (T. Rinaldi) 

On a personal note, the Subway Inn was a point of entry and a favorite hangout when I first moved to New York a decade ago.  Even then, it stood out as a relic of a time when Manhattan was more accessible to what we now call the 99-percent, when a middle income family could plausibly live within walking distance of 60th and Lex - something essentially unthinkable now.  I loved rounding the corner from Park or Madison onto 60th Street, high rent district all around, and seeing that neon BAR sign still aglow down the street. 

(T. Rinaldi)

Neon storefronts like this were once a dime a dozen in New York.  We celebrate the few that survive today because change has rendered them unique.  We bemoan their loss not just because they're old, but because their disappearance signals New York's transition into a city whose center is growing ever farther beyond the economic reach of the working class.

SEE ALSO: 
• Support the Subway Inn by purchasing prints over at Project Neon.

IN OTHER NEON NEWS: 
• There are still a few slots open for my Neon Walking Tour of the East Village this Friday!  The tour starts at 7pm this Friday, Aug. 15.  Reservations required; you can book here.