By Scott Etkin and Lisa Kava
La Caridad 72, the Chinese-Cuban restaurant, opened on November 28th at 130 West 72nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues. The restaurant is under new ownership, but is carrying forward the same menu as its previous iteration on 78th Street and Broadway, which closed in 2020 after more than 50 years. Its dishes range from egg omelets (huevos tortillas) and fried rice seafood and meat platters, to lo mein and egg foo young. The space used to be Friedman’s, which has relocated further East along 72nd Street. Stay tuned for more detailed coverage of La Caridad in the Rag next week.
The Concept Store by Lya Pouleyy, an art store and studio featuring work by artist Lya Pouleyy, has opened in the basement of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 3 West 65th Street. This arrangement is organized through ChaShaMa, an arts access organization, which put out an application for artists to use the space. Pouleyy moved to New York nine years ago and has a background in many fields, including painting, choreography, and journalism. Her shop sells a wide range of handmade goods, such as paintings, digital arts, clothes, accessories, holiday cards, and Christmas ornaments. “My two main inspirations are: spirituality, so I do a lot with abstraction and symbols based on spiritualities and emotions; and teaching people about Black people who changed the world for the better,” Pouleyy told West Side Rag. Pouleyy renovated the space and plans to paint murals at the church as well.
Bitcoin Center, a cryptocurrency educational and event space, appears to have closed its location at 2307 Broadway between 83rd and 84th Streets. There is a “For Rent” sign in the window and the organization did not respond to WSR’s outreach. Back in October 2021, the Rag covered a happy hour at the loft-like storefront that was held to celebrate the launch of the first Bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund.
The annual Columbus Circle Holiday Market returns this year from November 28th through December 31st at Merchant’s Gate (Columbus Circle and Central Park South). The market will have booths featuring 100 vendors selling crafts, food, and gifts for the season. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Check out the Rag’s in-depth coverage of the market here.
HIIT The Deck, a boxing and fitness gym offering classes and private training, is opening at 2872 Broadway between 111th and 112th Streets towards the end of this year. This will be the gym’s second location – the existing one is downtown in the Seaport neighborhood. “We’re all fighting for something in our lives, whether it’s fitness goals, academic success, or personal growth,” said Stephen Frank, co-founder of HIIT The Deck, in an announcement by Columbia University, which owns the retail space. “HIIT The Deck is more than just a gym; it’s a tight-knit community where we fight together, side by side, and motivate each other to do our best.” The space has been vacant in recent years but was last a Citibank branch.
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Very excited about La Caridad!
I never cared for the food, but I am glad to see it is continuing on, not everything has vanished. I miss Eclair, and wish someone could re-open that.
The new one has nothing to do with the original one except that it has Caridad in its name and serves the same type of food. Nothing is continuing on. It’s like saying that a McDonalds closed but was replaced by a Burger King that also serves burgers and fries.
It now looks super trendy LOL.
Goodbye bitcoin center, you won’t be missed!
LC 72 looks too fancy and frou-frou for that style of cooking. Plus, last time I ate at the old one, the food was inordinately expensive for what it was and it wasn’t great like it used to be. I’ll stick with good old Dinastia right across the street that’s been serving up delicious and respectable Chino-Latino for decades, thank you.
Except that La Dinastia changed chefs sometime over the last five years.
The Cantonese Egg Foo Yung is so different now, and not for the better. It’s sad bc it was our favorite dish to share.
Otherwise, I still like the atmosphere but no longer crave the food. I guess its still a good place…
The Latino food at Dinasta has always been excellent! The Chino food? Hit or miss. Still, one of the best places at which to eat in the neighborhood, though.
I can imagine that LC72 will be even more expensive than their old place now, due to the luxe modeling job of their new digs and also the move to their more expensive real estate location.
Legend, just a few doors east of Dinastia, is great.
Legend 72 is a pale comparison to the ORIGINAL Legend (anyone know where the kitchen staff went?) down on 7th and 15th. They were the real deal for authentic Si-chuan food outside of China.
They weren’t cheap, but they drew a knowledgeable crowd. I can’t find the sliced conch with red oil anywhere else.
I’ve eaten at both and to tell you the truth, I actually prefer 72 to the original. 72 will really listen to you when you tell them you want the “mala”.
I didn’t know there was an original Legend, and this is why I love the WSR’s comment section 🙂
They were hanging signage for Hiit the Deck today.
Not far away, there is a new houseware/hardware store at 983 Amsterdam and 108th that opened within the past two weeks. It’s called King Discount Mart and replaces a barber shop that was there for quite some time.
The corner storefront at 981 Amsterdam is being renovated for a dermatologists office..
The Shaking Crab on Broadway btw 111 and 112 is permanently closed. Their Facebook page status says this is as of about 3 weeks ago.
There is a new smoke shop that opened on broadway and 61. I think they sell weed there.