Cleopatra’s Needle announced it was closing on Monday. On Tuesday, the interior and exterior of the restaurant and jazz club at 2485 Broadway between 92nd and 93rd were demolished incredibly quickly, leaving a shell and some tarps where people had gathered to hear music for 30 years.
One tipster told us the destruction “caught me off guard. Completely gutted.”
It’s not clear what will replace Cleopatra’s.
Photos by Linda Rosenthal.
Cleopatra’s Needle announced it was closing on Monday. On Tuesday, the interior and exterior of the restaurant and jazz club at 2485 Broadway between 92nd and 93rd were demolished incredibly quickly, leaving a shell and some tarps where people had gathered to hear music for 30 years.
One tipster told us the destruction “caught me off guard. Completely gutted.”
It’s not clear what will replace Cleopatra’s.
Photos by Linda Rosenthal.
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This is terribly sad news. It was a great jazz club. Greed destroys culture.
oh ok, so according to this logic, no space should ever change hands. You realize that there was probably a business there before Cleopatras needle. Accordingly, THAT business must have shuttered due to greed and cleopatras needle should never have taken over the space.
Yup, this obviously had nothing to do with the landlord. It’s all because of the new minimum wage.
Bruce–Given what you wrote on the other thread about Cleopatra’s Needle, I assume you’re being ironic here. (If I’m wrong, I’m sorry.) As you can see, irony–like sarcasm–is always a problem on social media. People will read it as if what you’ve written is exactly what you mean.
Of course high rents are crucial in the closing of many small businesses on the Upper West Side and elsewhere.
thank you, Bob. Of course i was being ironic. i think these other commenters knew that.
if the landlord ripped out the innards of the place in ONE DAY, it is obvious that it wasn’t the minimum wage and it WAS pressure from the landlord. The landlord wanted CLeopatra’s Needle out.
It amazes me that these WSR commenters, some making 300K or more (a corporate CPA), could believe that a full time worker in NYC does not deserve$15 per hour, which barely reaches a living wage. I’ll comment more on that below.
The thing is the minimum wage is the minimum wage. So my 14 year old who was lucky enough to get a part time job is getting $15/hour. He’d happily work for far less. Ideally adults working full time would be able to get skilled jobs that paid higher than the minimum wage. Few places will hire teens given what they have to pay. They’d rather be slightly understaffed or, more and more, automate things like cashiers.
Bruce,
As always, you are choosing to read what you want to read – you totally ignored Brandon’s point. I am ok with people working full time jobs making a higher minimum wage.
But people working in jobs where a large portion of their pay is based on tips don’t need a high base minimum wage. And teenagers working 10-15 hours a week, such as Brandon’s son, deserve a minimum wage but not $15.
Also, the nearly 50% increase was implemented over the course of just a few years, which was a major shock to the finances of business owners.
I appreciate your liberal values – despite your snide, Trump-esque nicknaming of me, I actually fundamentally agree with you in many ways. But sometimes moderation is a good thing and ideals do not need to be taken to extremes.
This situation is a perfect example of the principle of multiple causation. No one thing drove out the business. It was the confluence of rising rents, rising labor costs (due to the increased minimum wage), reduced customer demand due to poor service (as described by numerous people in the other thread), and likely other factors. Just because people choose to focus on one of these causes doesn’t mean they are dismissing the other ones.
Brandon, i’m glad your son is getting $15 per hour. i doubt he is working 40 hours per week.
be that as it may, there are hundreds of thousands of adults working full time at minimum wage.
$15 per hour is not even a living wage in NYC. it comes to less than 30,000 per year, when including one week unpaid vacation and a few holidays.
many of the minimum wage workers are single parents, supporting a child. even at $15/hr, many are homeless and/or doubling up with relatives. 10% of the children in NYC public schools are homeless. Who do you think their parents are? many are minimum wage workers.
oh, and by the way, several reports by economists have shown that the restaurant industry in NYC is thriving since the minimum wage increase. see link below.
before you complain again about the minimum wage increase, think if you know any minimum wage workers. whether you do or not, try to put yourself in their shoes.
https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-restaurant-industry-thriving-after-15-dollar-minimum-wage-2019-8
Hi Bruce
For once I agree with you.
This is just one more business on the UWS that collapsed under the weight of the increased minimum wage.
Sherm
If you read the previous article, the owner mentions the higher minimum wage, but says it was multiple issues but “especially the rent.”
I, too, agree with Bruce.:)
This was definitely 100% due to the rise of minimum wage. Good to see that Bruce is finally coming to his senses and seeing how much harm is caused by paying hardworking people a living wage.
Personally I stopped hanging out in Jazz clubs the day after they banned smoking indoors.
Open something for the kids.
Posted yesterday but didn’t make cut, so will try again.
An application was filed with DOB last week (17 December 2019) to remove and replace store front of 2485 Broadway. Approved next day, and construction is totally as of right.
Thus it is obvious owner of Cleopatra’s Needle knew something was up early as last week, which explains their sudden closure on Monday.
Fact LL moved quickly to demolish/replace storefront could indicate they already have a new tenant in mind for space.
Owner of jazz club would have had nothing to do with this “demolition”, though certainly LL must have told them what was coming. Again once permit was approved/issued by city whatever negotiations/hopes of remaining obviously were dashed.
It could also be that owner’s of Cleopatra’s Needle told LL they would be gone by end of month. This would have given LL time to seek bids/hire contractor, paperwork filed, etc…. Clearly however something happened behind the scenes. You don’t just wake up on 17 December and decide to gut a storefront, then have existing tenant vacate several days later.
For Bruce E. Bernstein–As always, thanks for your valuable comments. It’s great that you speak out so strongly and consistently on this blog. Your voice matters here.
+1
Thank you Bob. I appreciate what you wrote.
Based on voting behavior, and my personal experience of 25+ years in the neighborhood, I believe the large majority of UWSers think the way you and I do, or close to it. Why, then are so many comments on WSR so reactionary? Is it the nature of anonymous commenting? Something about WSR?
People who present strong views of any kind but hide behind fake or incomplete names are cowards who don’t have the integrity to stand behind their words.
— “People who present strong views of any kind but hide behind fake or incomplete names are cowards who don’t have the integrity to stand behind their words.”
Wasn’t it Mark Twain who said that?
Or was it Publius in the Federalist Papers?
Speaking as someone who also has a “fake” name, thank you for pointing out the ignorance of that comment in such a clever way.
It’s my understanding that it was not the landlord tearing out the enclosed sidewalk cafe…but the owner of Cleopatra’s Needle.
Apparently, it was his improvement to the building so he “took it back.”
you are most likely correct. Commercial spaces are usually renovated by the occupants. It would be rare for a landlord to go in after a vacancy and immediately start a demolition themselves.
Either way, regardless of who commissioned the work, 17 December a permit was filed and obtained.
Factor in lead time to get bids/hire contractor, draw up paperwork….. this closing of Cleopatra’s Needle was hardly without advance notice. It does seem however only general public at large didn’t know what time it was; owner and landlord did, so that is that.
After contractor is chosen, hired, plans drawn up, paperwork submitted to city, etc… you just don’t back out at last minute.
Gist of my previous statement stands; Cleopatra’s Needle was to be closed and gone by end of month, both owner and LL knew of it. Factoring in losing a few days work due to holidays, you start on 23rd and have everything cleared out by 31st (New Year’s Eve).
We are hosting a sit-in, teach-in, jam-in, love-in.
Open mic, Jam Session, Family Workshop, hangout, UWS.
Thursday the 26th 9am-7pm!!
Friday the 27th 9am – 12pm!!!
Saturday the 28th 9am – 7pm!!!
Come out!!! and tell people, tell the press, come vlog, and interview, and be in community. I will host the session until someone else comes to take over.
I will bring battery amp, drums, ukeleles, shakers, and hand drums, ubass, and you can bring your instrument too.
Jam session/hang / celebrate/remember/honor the cultural institutions that we forgot to support, AND that the city forgot to give the resources they needed to provide free arts for all and keep their doors open. It’s probably too late to save Cleo’s but maybe we can save the next cultural landmark that is being kicked out or priced out or pushed out.
Peace and Love Fam
Where?
Right in front of the former restaurant, 2485 Bway. Let’s all come out!
Re: Minimum Wage
Is unemployment up in the lesiure and hospitality sector? Because if the minimum wage is killing jobs, wouldn’t one logically expect unemployment to spike? As far as I can discern, it hasn’t. In fact, there was actually job growth in the ‘leisure and hospitality’ sector as of November 2019.
But I’m willing to be persuaded. With hard facts. Not glib right-wing fascist fake opinions from alleged accountants.
Also, regarding tipped wage earners, perhaps you will have heard of the trend toward no-tip restaurants (with added service charge)? The goal being to level the pay disparity between minimum wage back-of-house kitchen staff, and tipped wait staff. No, indeed, to the old system of systemically skewing wage disparities.
My daughter works as a bartender and her minimum wage doesn’t cut it and unfortunately she does depend on the generosity of tippers and she struggles still!! So tips are not always enough to get you by unfortunately. So that is not a fair statement‼️
Thank you, Bruce Bernstein for defending the landlord.
As for minimum wage, the system is broke. OF COURSE restaurant workers deserve a living wage! But if a small business owner must close her/his restaurant because imposed wage structures do not allow for any profit, they will. So, a small group will reap the benefits of minimum wage, while a larger group will be unemployed–also known as no wage! This needs to be fixed, but not by failed socialist policies.
Minimum wage is one of the worst laws ever enacted and, along with the many wasteful government programs which have plunged our country into this insurmountable debt, does nothing except keep poor and unskilled people poor and unskilled.
A business owner is not going to pay anyone more than the value that person brings to the company. The point of running a business is not to pay employees as much as possible, but to earn a profit and grow that business.
If employees feel they’re not earning enough, they need to find another employer who will pay them more. That’s how a free market should work, if the government would let it. The problem is a minimum wage makes it ILLEGAL for people without $15/hr worth of skills to get a job in order to learn basic job skills and training, eventually getting a real living wage (not an arbitrarily decided minimum wage) and provide real value to a business.
Capitalism 101. Unfortunately whoever offers the most free stuff will always win elections because sound economics is always terrible politics.
Also, why is anyone trying to support a family in New York without a viable income? People need to take some responsibility and have a solid job with savings before having kids.
The previous owner was a nasty guy. For all his talk about Regs and minimum wage, he clearly sold out to the developer next door weeks if not months ago. You cannot get a demo permit in NYC that fast. He took the money and ran. Save your tears.
Very very sad.
I don’t see any permits for this demolition inside or out. (There should be.) I do see this building owner has a lot of violations, most recently for illegal gas piping, and complaints.
Well I did, just had to enter Broadway address into DOB’s website search box.
Posted information at the time, but it never made cut, am not going back again.
We went there once and the owner (I think) was such a jerk… shockingly rude… that we never consider stepping foot there again.
Why are people allowed to destroy our neighborhood with no consequences?
The music was awesome, but every time I was there the band was playing for tips so the owner had free entertainment. The food was absolutely putrid and the owner could care less. Not surprised this place closed, the servers and musicians deserved much better.
The sidewalk outside what was Cleopatra’s Needle has already become a mess. Cheap ukuleles, random drum sets and boxes and bags everywhere all day and then it all disappears. It’s apparently some kind of tribute to Cleopatra’s Needle but it’s mostly a noisy eye-sore blocking the cleaners and CVS.
I remember, as a kid, being somewhat enchanted with its name and windowed entrance. 30 years later Cleopatra’s Needle joins Happy Burger and Big Apple cómics on the list of doomed storefronts on that short stretch of broadway. Lost to history.
This is terribly sad news. It was a great jazz club. Greed destroys culture.
oh ok, so according to this logic, no space should ever change hands. You realize that there was probably a business there before Cleopatras needle. Accordingly, THAT business must have shuttered due to greed and cleopatras needle should never have taken over the space.
Yup, this obviously had nothing to do with the landlord. It’s all because of the new minimum wage.
Bruce–Given what you wrote on the other thread about Cleopatra’s Needle, I assume you’re being ironic here. (If I’m wrong, I’m sorry.) As you can see, irony–like sarcasm–is always a problem on social media. People will read it as if what you’ve written is exactly what you mean.
Of course high rents are crucial in the closing of many small businesses on the Upper West Side and elsewhere.
thank you, Bob. Of course i was being ironic. i think these other commenters knew that.
if the landlord ripped out the innards of the place in ONE DAY, it is obvious that it wasn’t the minimum wage and it WAS pressure from the landlord. The landlord wanted CLeopatra’s Needle out.
It amazes me that these WSR commenters, some making 300K or more (a corporate CPA), could believe that a full time worker in NYC does not deserve$15 per hour, which barely reaches a living wage. I’ll comment more on that below.
The thing is the minimum wage is the minimum wage. So my 14 year old who was lucky enough to get a part time job is getting $15/hour. He’d happily work for far less. Ideally adults working full time would be able to get skilled jobs that paid higher than the minimum wage. Few places will hire teens given what they have to pay. They’d rather be slightly understaffed or, more and more, automate things like cashiers.
Bruce,
As always, you are choosing to read what you want to read – you totally ignored Brandon’s point. I am ok with people working full time jobs making a higher minimum wage.
But people working in jobs where a large portion of their pay is based on tips don’t need a high base minimum wage. And teenagers working 10-15 hours a week, such as Brandon’s son, deserve a minimum wage but not $15.
Also, the nearly 50% increase was implemented over the course of just a few years, which was a major shock to the finances of business owners.
I appreciate your liberal values – despite your snide, Trump-esque nicknaming of me, I actually fundamentally agree with you in many ways. But sometimes moderation is a good thing and ideals do not need to be taken to extremes.
This situation is a perfect example of the principle of multiple causation. No one thing drove out the business. It was the confluence of rising rents, rising labor costs (due to the increased minimum wage), reduced customer demand due to poor service (as described by numerous people in the other thread), and likely other factors. Just because people choose to focus on one of these causes doesn’t mean they are dismissing the other ones.
Brandon, i’m glad your son is getting $15 per hour. i doubt he is working 40 hours per week.
be that as it may, there are hundreds of thousands of adults working full time at minimum wage.
$15 per hour is not even a living wage in NYC. it comes to less than 30,000 per year, when including one week unpaid vacation and a few holidays.
many of the minimum wage workers are single parents, supporting a child. even at $15/hr, many are homeless and/or doubling up with relatives. 10% of the children in NYC public schools are homeless. Who do you think their parents are? many are minimum wage workers.
oh, and by the way, several reports by economists have shown that the restaurant industry in NYC is thriving since the minimum wage increase. see link below.
before you complain again about the minimum wage increase, think if you know any minimum wage workers. whether you do or not, try to put yourself in their shoes.
https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-restaurant-industry-thriving-after-15-dollar-minimum-wage-2019-8
Hi Bruce
For once I agree with you.
This is just one more business on the UWS that collapsed under the weight of the increased minimum wage.
Sherm
If you read the previous article, the owner mentions the higher minimum wage, but says it was multiple issues but “especially the rent.”
I, too, agree with Bruce.:)
This was definitely 100% due to the rise of minimum wage. Good to see that Bruce is finally coming to his senses and seeing how much harm is caused by paying hardworking people a living wage.
Personally I stopped hanging out in Jazz clubs the day after they banned smoking indoors.
Open something for the kids.
Posted yesterday but didn’t make cut, so will try again.
An application was filed with DOB last week (17 December 2019) to remove and replace store front of 2485 Broadway. Approved next day, and construction is totally as of right.
Thus it is obvious owner of Cleopatra’s Needle knew something was up early as last week, which explains their sudden closure on Monday.
Fact LL moved quickly to demolish/replace storefront could indicate they already have a new tenant in mind for space.
Owner of jazz club would have had nothing to do with this “demolition”, though certainly LL must have told them what was coming. Again once permit was approved/issued by city whatever negotiations/hopes of remaining obviously were dashed.
It could also be that owner’s of Cleopatra’s Needle told LL they would be gone by end of month. This would have given LL time to seek bids/hire contractor, paperwork filed, etc…. Clearly however something happened behind the scenes. You don’t just wake up on 17 December and decide to gut a storefront, then have existing tenant vacate several days later.
For Bruce E. Bernstein–As always, thanks for your valuable comments. It’s great that you speak out so strongly and consistently on this blog. Your voice matters here.
+1
Thank you Bob. I appreciate what you wrote.
Based on voting behavior, and my personal experience of 25+ years in the neighborhood, I believe the large majority of UWSers think the way you and I do, or close to it. Why, then are so many comments on WSR so reactionary? Is it the nature of anonymous commenting? Something about WSR?
People who present strong views of any kind but hide behind fake or incomplete names are cowards who don’t have the integrity to stand behind their words.
— “People who present strong views of any kind but hide behind fake or incomplete names are cowards who don’t have the integrity to stand behind their words.”
Wasn’t it Mark Twain who said that?
Or was it Publius in the Federalist Papers?
Speaking as someone who also has a “fake” name, thank you for pointing out the ignorance of that comment in such a clever way.
It’s my understanding that it was not the landlord tearing out the enclosed sidewalk cafe…but the owner of Cleopatra’s Needle.
Apparently, it was his improvement to the building so he “took it back.”
you are most likely correct. Commercial spaces are usually renovated by the occupants. It would be rare for a landlord to go in after a vacancy and immediately start a demolition themselves.
Either way, regardless of who commissioned the work, 17 December a permit was filed and obtained.
Factor in lead time to get bids/hire contractor, draw up paperwork….. this closing of Cleopatra’s Needle was hardly without advance notice. It does seem however only general public at large didn’t know what time it was; owner and landlord did, so that is that.
After contractor is chosen, hired, plans drawn up, paperwork submitted to city, etc… you just don’t back out at last minute.
Gist of my previous statement stands; Cleopatra’s Needle was to be closed and gone by end of month, both owner and LL knew of it. Factoring in losing a few days work due to holidays, you start on 23rd and have everything cleared out by 31st (New Year’s Eve).
We are hosting a sit-in, teach-in, jam-in, love-in.
Open mic, Jam Session, Family Workshop, hangout, UWS.
Thursday the 26th 9am-7pm!!
Friday the 27th 9am – 12pm!!!
Saturday the 28th 9am – 7pm!!!
Come out!!! and tell people, tell the press, come vlog, and interview, and be in community. I will host the session until someone else comes to take over.
I will bring battery amp, drums, ukeleles, shakers, and hand drums, ubass, and you can bring your instrument too.
Jam session/hang / celebrate/remember/honor the cultural institutions that we forgot to support, AND that the city forgot to give the resources they needed to provide free arts for all and keep their doors open. It’s probably too late to save Cleo’s but maybe we can save the next cultural landmark that is being kicked out or priced out or pushed out.
Peace and Love Fam
Where?
Right in front of the former restaurant, 2485 Bway. Let’s all come out!
Re: Minimum Wage
Is unemployment up in the lesiure and hospitality sector? Because if the minimum wage is killing jobs, wouldn’t one logically expect unemployment to spike? As far as I can discern, it hasn’t. In fact, there was actually job growth in the ‘leisure and hospitality’ sector as of November 2019.
But I’m willing to be persuaded. With hard facts. Not glib right-wing fascist fake opinions from alleged accountants.
Also, regarding tipped wage earners, perhaps you will have heard of the trend toward no-tip restaurants (with added service charge)? The goal being to level the pay disparity between minimum wage back-of-house kitchen staff, and tipped wait staff. No, indeed, to the old system of systemically skewing wage disparities.
My daughter works as a bartender and her minimum wage doesn’t cut it and unfortunately she does depend on the generosity of tippers and she struggles still!! So tips are not always enough to get you by unfortunately. So that is not a fair statement‼️
Thank you, Bruce Bernstein for defending the landlord.
As for minimum wage, the system is broke. OF COURSE restaurant workers deserve a living wage! But if a small business owner must close her/his restaurant because imposed wage structures do not allow for any profit, they will. So, a small group will reap the benefits of minimum wage, while a larger group will be unemployed–also known as no wage! This needs to be fixed, but not by failed socialist policies.
Minimum wage is one of the worst laws ever enacted and, along with the many wasteful government programs which have plunged our country into this insurmountable debt, does nothing except keep poor and unskilled people poor and unskilled.
A business owner is not going to pay anyone more than the value that person brings to the company. The point of running a business is not to pay employees as much as possible, but to earn a profit and grow that business.
If employees feel they’re not earning enough, they need to find another employer who will pay them more. That’s how a free market should work, if the government would let it. The problem is a minimum wage makes it ILLEGAL for people without $15/hr worth of skills to get a job in order to learn basic job skills and training, eventually getting a real living wage (not an arbitrarily decided minimum wage) and provide real value to a business.
Capitalism 101. Unfortunately whoever offers the most free stuff will always win elections because sound economics is always terrible politics.
Also, why is anyone trying to support a family in New York without a viable income? People need to take some responsibility and have a solid job with savings before having kids.
The previous owner was a nasty guy. For all his talk about Regs and minimum wage, he clearly sold out to the developer next door weeks if not months ago. You cannot get a demo permit in NYC that fast. He took the money and ran. Save your tears.
Very very sad.
I don’t see any permits for this demolition inside or out. (There should be.) I do see this building owner has a lot of violations, most recently for illegal gas piping, and complaints.
Well I did, just had to enter Broadway address into DOB’s website search box.
Posted information at the time, but it never made cut, am not going back again.
We went there once and the owner (I think) was such a jerk… shockingly rude… that we never consider stepping foot there again.
Why are people allowed to destroy our neighborhood with no consequences?
The music was awesome, but every time I was there the band was playing for tips so the owner had free entertainment. The food was absolutely putrid and the owner could care less. Not surprised this place closed, the servers and musicians deserved much better.
The sidewalk outside what was Cleopatra’s Needle has already become a mess. Cheap ukuleles, random drum sets and boxes and bags everywhere all day and then it all disappears. It’s apparently some kind of tribute to Cleopatra’s Needle but it’s mostly a noisy eye-sore blocking the cleaners and CVS.
I remember, as a kid, being somewhat enchanted with its name and windowed entrance. 30 years later Cleopatra’s Needle joins Happy Burger and Big Apple cómics on the list of doomed storefronts on that short stretch of broadway. Lost to history.