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How the Lower East Side has changed since the 1988 rom-com ‘Crossing Delancey’
(New York Jewish Week) — The classic and very Jewish 1988 film “Crossing Delancey” is one of those movies that feels both extremely of its time and also completely timeless.
Director Joan Micklin Silver’s film has all the classic rom-com trappings: A woman who’s torn between two men (and to that end, two worlds); complaints about how hard it is to meet a man in New York City (as true in 1988 as it is in 2022), and a “mother” figure who knows better (here, a Jewish grandmother known as Bubbe, and in this case, she actually does know better). You could pluck all these specifics and drop them into a present-day film — and, if told with the heart and care of “Crossing Delancey,” still have a pretty good movie.
Yet there’s one thing about the “Crossing Delancey” that fully anchors it in the past, and that is its late-1980s Lower East Side setting. While our heroine, Izzy (Amy Irving), lives and works on the Upper West Side, she pays frequent visits to her Bubbe (Yiddish theater actress Reizl Bozyk), her grandmother, downtown. From the moment that Izzy steps off the train at Delancey Street, she’s transported to another world: a bustling Jewish enclave with market-goers shopping for produce, friends and neighbors in the streets kibbitzing and a Hasidic child sitting outside the subway, enjoying a treat from a local bakery.
This dichotomy between the “Old World” of the Lower East Side and the “New World” uptown is the central conflict of the film: Izzy’s inability to reconcile her Jewish roots with her desire to live a secular, intelligentsia lifestyle, as represented by her two love interests (Sam the Pickle Man and Anton, the self-important author).
However, rewatching the film in the present day, I can’t help but wonder: Would Izzy run from the shtetl if she knew that in a few years, it wouldn’t exist anymore? That due to rising rents and a shift in population, many Jewish businesses would meet their end — or, somewhat ironically, be part of the flight to Brooklyn that began in the early-to-mid 2000s? In some ways, 1988 itself was the beginning and the end: It marked the opening of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, an effort to preserve the neighborhood’s immigrant past, and it was the very same year that Mayor Koch created a new redevelopment proposal for the Seward Park Extension, a canary in the coal mine for the sea change of development the city would see over the next 30 years.
Re-watching the film in 2022, it struck me how the Lower East Side’s bustling Jewish enclave — the same place where my grandparents were born and raised — has since been lost to time, gentrification and re-zoning plans. These days, the neighborhood paints a different picture entirely: giant buildings hog entire city blocks, with construction promising even more sky-high buildings. There’s no specific character to the neighborhood, no story to tell, few places more integral to the city’s fabric than the Delancey-Essex McDonald’s.
Of course, if you’ve lived in the city long enough, you know there’s no getting comfortable. New Yorkers have to, in essence, harden their hearts. We must accept that the local business you love that’s here today very well could be gone tomorrow — even if that business is a Duane Reade. The Lower East Side of today is not the neighborhood of 1988, or 1968 or 1928.
But amongst all of the present-day residential developments, upscale clothing stores and fast food chains, old-school Jewish businesses like The Pickle Guys, Kossar’s Bagels and Bialys and Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery are still thriving. (And, I’d like to think that if you look hard enough, you’ll find some meddling but well-meaning bubbes and yentas, too.)
While we might not be able to fully experience the Lower East Side as the cast and crew of “Crossing Delancey,” here are four places from “Crossing Delancey” that you can still visit, and four that are sadly gone forever.
What Remains Today
Bubbe’s Apartment
154 Broome Street
The interior shots of Bubbe’s apartment, where Izzy fulfills all of her granddaughterly duties, like singing with her grandmother in Yiddish and plucking her chin hairs, were filmed at 154 Broome Street. The 181-unit building sits at the mouth of the Williamsburg Bridge — which is why Bubbe has that spectacular view — and is part of the New York City Housing Authority’s Seward Park Housing Extension. So while you still can visit the exterior of Bubbe’s apartment building today, don’t linger too long — it might weird out the current tenants.
Essex Market
108 Essex Street
This one is a little complicated. The original Essex Market, where Bubbe shows off her Korean-language skills, still stands today. (If you get off at the subway at Delancey Street, you can’t really miss it.) But that iteration of the market closed its doors in 2019 — in order to relocate to a building across the street so big and so glassy it would make Michael Bloomberg blush. In addition to apartments, office space and a movie theater (it’s a truly mixed-use building for our modern times!), Essex Market does boast local, independent vendors, such as Essex Olive & Spice, Porto Rico Importing Co. and Puebla Mexicana food. Per the New York Times, only one of the market’s vendors decided to forgo the move, opting instead for retirement. But you might want to pay a visit to the original Essex Market while you still can — even if only to give it one last look. Following the move, Essex Market initially housed some avant-garde art installations, but it has since seemingly closed its doors for good. According to Gothamist, it’s to be razed to create — what else? — more condos.
Seward Park Handball Court
Essex Street between Grand and Hester Streets
From the moment Sam and Izzy meet, he makes no effort to hide his ardor. In fact, I’d say he uses every weapon in his arsenal to demonstrate his interest — even going so far as to try to impress her with his handball skills when she unexpectedly drops by the court. (You might also clock his CUNY sweatshirt, as I most certainly did.) The handball court is still there, should you decide you want to play a pickup game, but sadly the court’s colorful mural depicted in the film has since been painted over.
Bonus: Gray’s Papaya
2090 Broadway
While this article is focused on the film’s Lower East Side locations, and with good reason, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that one important New York institution Izzy visits triumphantly remains: The Upper West Side Gray’s Papaya. There, Izzy celebrates her birthday with a friend and a hot dog — the right way to do it, in my opinion — when a woman bursts in singing “Some Enchanted Evening,” for everyone and no one in particular. It’s one of many of the film’s classic New York moments.
What’s Been Replaced
Steinberg’s Dairy
21 Essex Street
When Izzy emerges from that train at Delancey Street, director Silver takes great care to immerse us in this world. The camera stays on Izzy as she walks from the subway to Bubbe’s apartment, passing a host of local businesses along the way. Among them is Steinberg’s Dairy, which once lived at 21 Essex Street. Steinberg’s Dairy, which also had an Upper West Side location, offered staples like herring, egg salad and vegetarian chopped liver for less than a dollar back in 1941. Today, if you’re in the area, you can grab a drink at the punk rock bar Clockwork, which opened in 2013.
Zelig Blumenthal
13 Essex Street
Izzy also takes us by Zelig’s Blumenthal (also known as Z & A Kol Torah), where three older women sit outside, enjoying the sights and sounds around them. Once a popular Judaica store, it unexpectedly closed its Lower East Side doors in 2010 after 60 years in business. At the time, then-owner Mordechai Blumenthal made the decision to relocate the store to Flatbush due to a dwindling Orthodox population and foot traffic in the area, and a landlord who made clear he “wanted him gone.” It’s unclear if the Flatbush location remains open today, but a vintage clothing store called Country Of has taken up its original spot.
Posner’s Pickles (AKA Guss’ Pickles)
35 Essex Street
Posner’s Pickles, as run by Sam the Pickle Man in the film, was never exactly a real place to begin with. Filming took place at the world-famous Guss’ Pickles, which first opened on Hester Street in 1920, before relocating to Essex Street, where there were once over 80 pickle vendors for locals to choose from. After a stint on Orchard Street, Guss’ Pickles followed in the footsteps of so many others by then, leaving Manhattan to open up shop in Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market in 2017. While Guss’ Pickles is today based out of the Bronx, their delicious pickles are available to order no matter where you are in the country, via Goldbelly. Today, 35 Essex Street is home to Delancey Wine — appropriately named, but doesn’t offer possibilities for a slogan like “a joke and a pickle for only a nickel,” as Posner’s Pickles did in the film.
Schapiro’s Kosher Wines
124 Rivington Street
For 100 years, Schapiro’s Kosher Wines proudly served the Jewish community as the only kosher winery in New York City. It’s where Bubbe chides Izzy for her lack of interest in Sam, and while today the pair couldn’t have this conversation outside Schapiro’s, they could grab brunch at the restaurant Essex. Home to New York City’s “longest-running Brunch Party,” Essex salutes its Lower East Side roots with dishes like potato pancakes and Israeli couscous.
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The post How the Lower East Side has changed since the 1988 rom-com ‘Crossing Delancey’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israel’s National Security Council Warns Israelis Abroad Not to Attend Passover Events in Open, Public Spaces
El Al planes are seen on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion International airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, March 10, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) has “strongly recommended” that Israelis traveling abroad avoid public Passover events, following its assessment that the ongoing war with Iran increases the risk of them being targeted in terrorist attacks around the world orchestrated by the Iranian regime.
The NSC issued the warning on Wednesday, one week before the Jewish holiday of Passover is set to begin, explaining that the Islamic Republic will increase efforts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets abroad.
“Throughout Passover (as well as other spring holidays and commemorative days such as Shavuot, Memorial Day, and Independence Day) there are large gatherings of Israelis abroad. These constitute potential targets for terrorists, both organized and lone-wolf attackers,” the NSC said in a statement. “In light of the above, and based on the current situational assessment, the NSC calls on Israelis abroad to exercise increased precautionary measures in any country worldwide. We strongly recommend not attending Passover events that are unsecured or held in open, public spaces.”
“In recent weeks, several terrorist attacks, led by Iran and its proxies as well as lone-wolf attackers acting under Iranian inspiration, have been carried out or thwarted,” the NSC added. “Several attacks and attempted attacks have targeted synagogues and Jewish sites (explosives in synagogues in Belgium and the Netherlands, and an attempted attack on a synagogue in the United States).”
Regarding countries bordering Iran — including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Gulf states — the NSC advised that Israelis should not participate in holiday events, including holiday meals, at venues identified with Israelis or Jews, “due to concerns that these will be targets for kinetic attacks by Iranian elements.”
A separate advisory on the same topic was published on March 5.
Last week, the NCS urged Israelis in the United Arab Emirates to exercise extreme caution as Iran continued its campaign of drone and missile attacks across the country and broader Gulf region, warning that their safety could be directly at risk.
Jews and Israelis living in the UAE were advised to avoid public events, synagogues, Israeli-linked businesses, and unnecessary gatherings, including at airports, unless holding a valid flight ticket.
In Wednesday’s statement, the NSC also advised Israelis abroad to take “increased precautions” in Asia, especially in Thailand and the Philippines, and said it strongly recommended Israelis not to stay in the region of the Sinai Peninsula, except if they are traveling to and from Taba Airport in Egypt.
Israeli authorities also urged citizens to enter and exit Israel through Ben Gurion Airport. Those choosing to travel through Egypt or Jordan are advised only to use Taba Airport or Aqaba Airport in Jordan, “and avoid staying in these countries longer than your flight requires.” The NSC additionally recommended that Israelis try to avoid connecting flights in countries classified as Level 4 (high threat).
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A new book of contemporary Yiddish poetry with Russian translations
נישט יעדער ווייסט, אַז די ייִדישע פּאָעזיע לעבט און בליט נאָך אינעם 21סטן יאָרהונדערט. די נײַע זאַמלונג „איך קער זיך אום“, וואָס איז אַרויס אין מאָסקווע סוף 2025, קומט דווקא צו ווײַזן, אַז דאָס פּאָעטישע לעבן אויף ייִדיש גייט אָן ווײַטער — אין פֿאַרשידענע לענדער, שפּראַכן און סטילן. דאָס בוך האָט אַרויסגעגעבן דער ייִדישער פֿאַרלאַג „קניזשניקי“ מיט דער הילף פֿונעם פּריוואַטן אַרויסגעגעבער ברוך־לייב (באָריס) זײַטשיק.
די אַנטאָלאָגיע איז צווײ־שפּראַכיק אוןמע קען זי לײענען פֿון בײדע זײַטן׃ אײן טײל איז אױף ייִדיש, און דער צווייטער – אױף רוסיש. די אויסגאַבע שליסט אײַן צוועלף דיכטער. יעדער אײנער פֿון זײ ווערט פֿאָרגעשטעלט מיט צען לידער. אַוודאי זענען דאָ אַ סך מער ייִדישע דיכטער הײַנט אױף דער וועלט, אָבער, ווי עס שרײַבן אינעם אַרײַנפֿיר־וואָרט ברוך־לײב זײַטשיק און יואל מאַטוועיעוו, דער צונויפֿשטעלער און רעדאַקטאָר פֿון דער זאַמלונג, איז דער ציל געווען צו געבן אַ פּאַנאָראַמישן איבערבליק פֿון דער ייִדישער פּאָעטישער לאַנדשאַפֿט.
די צוועלף דיכטער רעפּרעזענטירן פֿאַרשידענע דורות און לענדער׃ לעוו בערינסקי, פֿעליקס חײַמאָוויטש, מיכאל פֿעלזענבאַום, וועלוול טשערנין, גיטל שעכטער־ווישוואַנאַט, ישׂראל נעקראַסאָוו, ברוריה וויגאַנד, שלום בערגער, יואל מאַטוועיעוו, מאַרעק טושעוויצקי, דוד־עומר כּהן און אַני הקטנה. זײ זענען געבוירן געוואָרן צווישן 1938 און 1993 און ווױנען אין ארץ־ישׂראל, רוסלאַנד, בעלאַרוס, די פֿאַראײניקטע שטאַטן, ענגלאַנד, פּוילן און האָלאַנד.
דער טיטל פֿון דער אַנטאָלאָגיע איז אַ שליסל צום בוך – אַ ציטאַט פֿון וועלוול טשערנינס ליד וועגן דעם אײביקן אומקער און זוכן אַ באַשטימטן צוועק. אין אָט דעם קאָנטעקסט מײנען די ווערטער אינעם טיטל, אַז די ייִדישע פּאָעזיע בײַט זיך און אַנטוויקלט זיך ווײַטער. דער פֿאַקט, וואָס מע שרײַבט הײַנט ווײַטער אױף ייִדיש און נײַע זאַמלונגען לידער זענען אַרױס כּמעט יעדעס יאָר, קען זײַן אַ חידוש אַפֿילו פֿאַר די, וואָס פֿאַרנעמען זיך מיט ייִדיש.
ווי עס שרײַבט דער מיטרעדאַקטאָר וואַלערי דימשיץ אין זײַן הקדמה צום בוך׃ „מענטשן, וואָס זײַנען ווײַט פֿון דער הײַנטצײַטיקער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור, גיבן פֿון צײַט צו צײַט אַ ביטערן קרעכץ און טענהן, אַז ייִדיש, שױן אָפּגערעדט פֿון דער שפּראַכס ליטעראַריש לעבן, איז געבליבן אינעם עבֿר.“
די שאַפֿער פֿונעם בוך וואַרפֿן אָפּ אַזעלכע פֿאַרשפּרייטע סטערעאָטיפּן. זײַטשיקס און מאַטוועיעווס אַרײַנפֿיר־וואָרט איז באַטיטלט „נײַע רינגען פֿון דער ׳גאָלדענער קײט׳“ — די קייט, וואָס פֿאַרבינדט די מאָדערנע ייִדישע דיכטונג מיט דער לאַנגער טראַדיציע פֿון פֿאַרגאַנגענע דורות. די הײַנטצײַטיקע פּאָעטן זענען נישט קײן אײנצלנע איזאָלירטע עפּיזאָדן, נאָר טײלן פֿון אײן גרױסן ליטעראַרישן פּראָצעס.
אין דער זעלבער צײַט געהערט יעדער פֿון זײ צו דער ליטעראַרישער טראַדיציע פֿון זײַן לאַנד און סבֿיבֿה. הײַנט, ווי מיט אַ הונדערט יאָר צוריק, זענען ייִדישע דיכטער פֿילשפּראַכיק. זײ זענען אױפֿגעוואַקסן אַלע מיט אַנדערע ליטעראַטורן אַרום זיך – די רוסישע, אַמעריקאַנער, פּױלישע. דעריבער ברענגען זיי מיט זיך זײער לאָקאַלע ירושה.
די אַנטאָלאָגיע ווײַזט אױך ווי פֿילפֿאַרביק ס׳איז די וועלט פֿון דער הײַנטיקער ייִדישער פּאָעזיע׃ די דיכטער האָבן גאַנץ פֿאַרשידענע סטילן און טעמעס. פֿון דער וויסנשאַפֿטלעך־טעכנישער רעוואָלוציע בײַ לעוו בערינסקי ביז צום „חסידישיזם“ פֿון דוד־עומר כּהן; פֿון טושעוויצקיס „דזשאָגינג“ (לויפֿלען) אין וויליאַמסבורג ביז שעכטער־ווישוואַנאַטס ליד וועגן דעם קאָוויד; פֿון מאַטוועיעווס קבלה־מאָטיוון ביז וויגאַנדס שפּילן מיטן ייִדישן פֿאָלקלאָר. די געזאַמלטע ווערק שטײַגן איבער אַלע דערוואַרטונגען.
דאָס אױסזען פֿונעם בוך קען אַרױסרופֿן עפּעס אַן אַנדער רושם. די הילע – פּרעכטיקע „רײזעלעך“ מיט בלומען און חיות – דערמאָנט אין דער ייִדישער פֿאָלקסקונסט און מע קען דענקען, אַז דאָס בוך האָט עפּעס אַ נאָסטאַלגישן טעם. אָבער נײן, דער תּוכן פֿון די לידער איז ווײַט פֿון דער שטעטל־עסטעטיק. אַגבֿ, וועגן די קאָמפּליצירטע באַציִונגען מיטן אימאַזש פֿון אַ שטעטל רעדט דאָס טרױעריק־איראָנישע ליד פֿון שלום בערגער אין זײַן ליד „דער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור“:
דער ייִדיש־דיכטער שעפּט פֿון שטעטל־חלום
אַ טעם געמישטן פֿון חרוסת־כרײן,
נאָר פֿונעם שטעטל איז אַנטלאָפֿן יעדער,
און צו דעם שטעטל קען מען ניט דערגײן.
דאָס בוך איז די ערשטע דוגמא פֿון אַן אַרומנעמיקער צווײ־שפּראַכיקער אַנטאָלאָגיע פֿון דער הײַנטיקער פּאָעזיע אױף ייִדיש, הגם אַ קורצע באַשיידענע אַנטאָלאָגיע פֿון אַזאַ מין איז דערשינען אינעם אַלמאַנאַך „ביראָבידזשאַן“ אין 2023. הגם עס זענען געווען עטלעכע לידער־אַנטאָלאָגיעס אױף ייִדיש (צום בײַשפּיל, „אַ רינג“, 2017) איז „איך קער זיך אום“ די ערשטע ברייטע פּרעזענטאַציע פֿון דער טעמע פֿאַר אַ נישט־ייִדיש־רענדניקן עולם. דאָס מאַכט די זאַמלונג אױך אַ מין מאַניפֿעסט גופֿא – ייִדישע פּאָעזיע איז לעבעדיק, זי האָט אַ שטאַרק און זיכער קול. פּאָעזיע אױף ייִדיש דאַרף פֿאַרנעמען אַ גלײַך אָרט צווישן אַלע אַנדערע הײַנטצײַטיקע פּאָעטישע טראַדיציעס און קען זײַן אינטערעסאַנט דעם ברייטן עולם אױסער דער ייִדישיסטישער סבֿיבֿה.
אױב מע זוכט וואָס צו קריטיקירן אינעם בוך, קען איך אָנמערקן, אַז עס זענען דאָ נאָר דרײַ דיכטערינס קעגן נײַן דיכטערס. די פּראָפּאָרציע שפּיגלט אָפּ, צום באַדױערן, דעם אמתדיקן מאַנגל פֿון פֿרױען־שטימען אין דער ייִדישער פּאָעזיע. אָבער איך בין אָפּטימיסטיש – מירצעשעם וועלן מיר הערן מער און מער נײַע פֿרוייִשע קולות. ווער ווײסט, אפֿשר אין אַ פּאָר יאָר אַרום וועט מען קענען אַרױסגעבן אַ גאַנצע אַנטאָלאָגיע פֿון הײַנטיקע ייִדישע דיכטערינס.
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At least 40% of Russia’s Oil Export Capacity Halted, Calculations Show
The Druzhba oil pipeline between Hungary and Russia is seen at the Hungarian MOL Group’s Danube Refinery in Szazhalombatta, Hungary, May 18, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
At least 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity is at a halt following Ukrainian drone attacks, a disputed attack on a major pipeline and the seizure of tankers, according to Reuters calculations based on market data.
The shutdown is the most severe oil supply disruption in the modern history of Russia, the world’s second largest oil exporter, and has hit Moscow just as oil prices exceeded $100 a barrel due to the Iran war.
Russia’s oil output is one of the main sources of revenue for the national budget and is central to the $2.6 trillion economy.
UKRAINE HAS INCREASED ATTACKS
Ukraine intensified drone attacks on Russia’s oil and fuel export infrastructure this month, hitting all three of Russia’s major western oil export ports, including Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and Primorsk and Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.
According to Reuters calculations, about 40% of Russia’s crude oil export capabilities – or around 2 million barrels per day, were shut as of Wednesday after the most recent attack.
That includes Primorsk and Ust-Luga as well as the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia.
Kyiv has also targeted pipeline oil pumping stations and refineries. Kyiv says it aims to diminish Moscow’s oil and gas revenue, which accounts for around a quarter of Russia’s state budget proceeds, and weaken its military might.
Russia says the Ukrainian strikes are terrorist attacks and has tightened security across its 11 time zones.
PORTS, PIPELINES, AND TANKERS
Ukraine said that part of the Druzhba pipeline was damaged by Russian strikes at the end of January, while both Slovakia and Hungary demanded Kyiv restart the supplies immediately.
The Novorossiysk oil terminal, which can handle up to 700,000 bpd, has been loading oil below plan since damage from a heavy Ukrainian drone attack early this month.
In addition, frequent seizures of Russia-related tankers in Europe have disrupted 300,000 bpd of Arctic oil exports flowing from the port of Murmansk, traders said.
With its westward export routes under fire, Moscow must rely on oil exports to Asian markets, but those routes are limited due to capacity, traders said.
Russia continues uninterrupted supplies via pipelines to China, including the Skovorodino-Mohe and Atasu-Alashankou routes, as well as ESPO Blend exports by sea via the port of Kozmino.
Together, the three routes account for some 1.9 million bpd of oil.
Russia also continues to load oil from its two far eastern Sakhalin projects, shipping about 250,000 bpd from the island.
Traders also say that Russia is supplying the refineries in neighboring Belarus with around 300,000 bpd of oil.