The end of New York City icon: How Gem Spa became a mecca for misfits and musicians and counted Beat poets, Madonna and Patti Smith among its regulars before gentrification and coronavirus ended its 80-year reign in the city's East Village (12 Pics)
It was the stomping ground for the Beats, hippies and punks. For decades, the creative glitterati flocked to St. Marks Place for shows, theater, revelry and debauchery.
And on that street in Manhattan's East Village, Gem Spa was the corner spot where musicians, artists, writers, locals and tourists went for smokes, unique publications, and, of course, a New York egg cream, a frothy concoction of milk, seltzer and flavored syrup.
Poet Allen Ginsberg incorporated Gem Spa into his work, Lou Reed intoned a song about its egg cream, and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat immortalized the shop in a piece of art. The New York Dolls famously used an image of the store on the back of an album cover, Patti Smith went there with Robert Mapplethorpe, and more recently, Parul Patel told DailyMail.com that she had made an egg cream for Julian Lennon while her father once whipped up the iconic beverage for Chris Rock.
'This kind of thing only happens in New York City,' said Patel, whose father, Ray, bought the shop in 1986. 'These are regulars. This was what made the store what it was.'
The longtime mom-and-pop business shuttered in May because of the pandemic and lockdown. 'COVID-19 was something we couldn't survive,' she explained.
'It was heartbreaking to close.'
When Madonna moved to New York City from Michigan, she reportedly first lived on the Upper West Side and then moved to Alphabet City in the East Village, which had cheap rent, crime, and bustled with creativity and artists. Parul Patel, whose family has opened Gem Spa on the corner of St. Marks Place and Second Avenue since 1986, said that Madonna was at one point a regular customer. In 1982, Madonna and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who also frequented Gem Spa and referenced it in one of his paintings, dated. Madonna was on the cusp of stardom and later that year burst onto the music scene with the song Everybody. Above, Madonna in front of Gem Spa during the filming of Desperately Seeking Susan in 1984
Gem Spa has been located in the East Village for decades and Parul Patel told DailyMail.com that she thinks that the store opened sometime in the 1920s. By the time it is profiled in a New York Magazine article, Anatomy Of a Candy Store, for the June 2, 1969 issue, what was then known as Gems Spa, seen above on March 19, 1969, was a neighborhood staple. Ruby Silverstein and his partner Harold Shepard then owned the 24-hour shop, according to the article. 'The names "Gems" comes from a combination of the initial letters of Gladys, Etta, Miriam and Silverstein-Shepard. The three ladies, Ruby explained, are his wife, his former partner's wife and his present partner's wife.' He told writer Jane Wilson that he picked up the word 'spa' when he was overseas in the service
The East Village attracted artists, musicians and writers. The Beat poets were said to move into the neighborhood during the 1950s. The area was once considered part of the Lower East Side but by the 1960s, it had cemented its name. It became a counterculture center and St. Marks Place became the stomping ground for hippies and punks. Several bands either played in one the neighborhood's venues or hung out there. Above, the New York Dolls pose in front of Gem Spa for the back cover of their eponymous first album, which was released in 1973
How long some type of store has been at the corner of Second Avenue and St. Marks Place is unclear but Patel noted that the building that housed Gem Spa was finished in 1900. She said she thinks the shop opened sometime in the 1920s.
By the time it is profiled in a New York Magazine article, Anatomy Of a Candy Store, for the June 2, 1969 issue, what was then known as Gems Spa was a neighborhood staple. (Under the headline read: 'Sure the small businessman has a rough time. Neighborhoods change, suppliers hassle. But Ruby knows his territory.')
Ruby Silverstein and his partner Harold Shepard had owned the 24-hour shop, which was described in the article as 'battered and functional... long and narrow, with egg creams out front and public telephones in the back,' for about 10 years. They bought the lease in 1957 from a family called Goldfeather, who had run a business there for over 30 years, according to the article.
'The names "Gems" comes from a combination of the initial letters of Gladys, Etta, Miriam and Silverstein-Shepard. The three ladies, Ruby explained, are his wife, his former partner's wife and his present partner's wife.' He told writer Jane Wilson that he picked up the word 'spa' when he was overseas in the service.
Customers used to come to the East Village for the Jewish theaters, he said, but that started to change in 1963 when off-Broadway and music venues, such as Fillmore East, as well as nightclubs, like Electric Circus and Dom, which was frequented by Andy Warhol, started springing up.
The eternal New York City lament of change was apparent in the 1969 article. Wilson wrote: 'A few traces of the former character of this part of the Lower East Side are still to be seen.'
Until roughly the 1950s, the East Village was considered a part of the Lower East Side. Then the Beats, like Ginsberg, moved in, and soon other artists, musicians, and businesses, such as art galleries, followed. The neighborhood cemented its name sometime in the 1960s.
Counterculture flourished on St. Marks, and Gem Spa 'was in the epicenter of the cultural vitality that is the East Village,' said Andrew Berman, executive director for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, known as GVSHP.
'Gem Spa really drew a big cross section of the neighborhood,' he told DailyMail.com, adding that from the 1960s until the '90s, it was a piece of the East Village that one couldn't imagine not having there.
In the 1970s, crime-ridden New York City was in financial dire straits and almost filed for bankruptcy in the middle of the decade. In certain parts of the city, such as the Bronx, the Lower East Side and the East Village, some landlords let their buildings fall into disrepair. People squatted in some of the abandoned structures, which continued into the early 1980s. Rent was also cheap.
Before she was a household name, Madonna lived in the neighborhood and dated Jean-Michel Basquiat. Patel told DailyMail.com that they were both regulars at Gem Spa. The couple dated in 1982 with Madonna telling Howard Stern on his show: 'He wouldn't stop doing heroin. He was an amazing man and deeply talented, I loved him. When I broke up with him he made me give (his paintings) back to him. And then he painted over them black.'
Basquiat died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27 in 1988.
Beat poets - Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso - sought to challenge conformity with their work. It became a literary movement that took off in the 1950s. Ginsberg lived in the East Village from 1952 until he died in 1997, according to the website of Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, known as GVSHP. Ginsberg wrote: 'Back from the Gem Spa, into the hallway, a glance behind / and sudden farewell to the bedbug-ridden mattresses piled soggy in dark rain.' Above, poet Ted Berrigan, who considered himself a 'late Beat,' according to the Poetry Foundation, in front of Gem Spa in 1972
It is unclear when the 's' was dropped at the end of Gem. But what is clear is the store, which sold cigarettes, a myriad of singular publications and periodicals, and its famed New York egg cream, a frothy concoction of milk, seltzer and flavored syrup, was a neighborhood staple for decades. The East Village drew those seeking the avant-garde and those pursuing artistic endeavors. The area had cheap rent and crime was rampant throughout the 1970s and '80s. Above, Gem Spa on June 11, 1991
Counterculture flourished on St. Marks, and Gem Spa 'was in the epicenter of the cultural vitality that is the East Village,' said Andrew Berman, executive director for the preservation group GVSHP. 'Gem Spa really drew a big cross section of the neighborhood,' he told DailyMail.com, adding that from the 1960s until the '90s, it was a piece of the East Village that one couldn't imagine not having there. 'The tenor really started to change in the 2000s,' Berman said. Above, a boy holds a card stating Zoltar Speaks in 2015. A Zoltar machine was outside of Gem Spa starting in 2011
In the 1980s, the neighborhood continued to be an artist enclave but crime was rampant. Drugs like crack infiltrated the area and the HIV/AIDS crisis was raging. By the summer of 1988, there was a clash between police and those – the homeless, squatters, punks, users – that lived at Tompkins Square Park. They were protesting against gentrification and the NYPD came out in full force.
Photographers Karla and James Murray moved to the East Village in 1988 because of the neighborhood's unique character and funky independent businesses like Gem Spa.
'You would meet people there and it was super busy. It was a big meeting place,' Karla Murray told DailyMail.com, adding that the store was like the Times Square of the neighborhood.
The Murrays have been chronicling mom-and-pop businesses throughout the city since the late 1990s. But, she noted, they started in the outer boroughs. 'We took for granted the stores in our backyard,' Murray said. 'We thought they would always be there.'
Berman, of the preservation group GVSHP, said: 'The tenor really started to change in the 2000s.'
The Gap moved to the neighborhood in the late 1980s but by the 2000s, luxury condos and chain stores started to populate the area. 'It's still a wonderful block with great businesses and history,' he said of St. Marks Place, noting that over the past two decades there have been some lamentable losses. 'There's been some significant changes.'
Gem Spa was known for its New York egg cream, a frothy concoction of milk, seltzer and flavored syrup, such as chocolate or vanilla, which can be seen above in front of the store. Photographers Karla and James Murray moved to the East Village in 1988 because of the neighborhood's unique character and funky independent businesses like Gem Spa. The couple first chronicled Gem Spa in 2001. Parul Patel's father, Ray, told the photographers that the trick to their famous egg cream was that they kept their milk in the ice cream freezer so it would be cold when they frothed it. The store used the original soda fountain and he said they sold some 70 egg creams on a typical night
Above, an employee inside of Gem Spa. Parul Patel took over running the store after her father, Ray, who had owned the shop since 1986, became ill. She told DailyMail.com that due to violations, the store lost its cigarette and lotto licenses. The sales from the those products were the backbone of the business, she said. Patel created an Instagram account, switched up the products, and introduced Gem Spa T-shirts and other merchandise. Things were looking up when COVID-19 hit
Above, Gem Spa on St. Marks Place at night. The store was open 24 hours and this drew people to it after a night out, concerts and shows, said Karla Murray, a photographer who has lived in the neighborhood since 1988. 'You would meet people there and it was super busy. It was a big meeting place,' Murray told DailyMail.com, adding that the store was like the Times Square of the neighborhood. For decades, Gem Spa was the spot to shop for neighborhood characters, tourists, the famous and the almost famous
The Murrays first chronicled Gem Spa in 2001. St. Marks was still mom-and-pop shops at that time, she said, and Gem Spa 'was definitely the spot.' Since it was open late, people went there after a night out, concerts and shows.
Parul Patel's father, Ray, told Murray that the trick to their famous egg cream was that they kept their milk in the ice cream freezer so it would be cold when they frothed it. They still used the original soda fountain and he said that they sold some 70 egg creams on a typical night.
The couple documented small businesses for their 2008 book, Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York. Murray said that when they photographed a store, they often interviewed the owner. She said about 85 percent of the businesses closed due to a huge increase in rent.
For Gem Spa, they were late on rent, which was about $17,000 a month, for March and didn't have enough for April. The family decided to close the shop, Patel said.
The store was facing challenges before the pandemic and lockdown happened. Patel explained that there were violations that lost the store's lotto and cigarette licenses. The sales from the those products were the backbone of the business, she said. Her father, Ray, is dealing with an illness and was in and out of the hospital. Patel stepped up to run the store, created an Instagram account, switched up the products, and introduced Gem Spa T-shirts and other merchandise.
Things were looking up when COVID-19 hit.
Berman said: 'We definitely mourn the loss.'
Patel said that Gem Spa is not finished. 'The retail store is closed but the website continues. We hope one day we can come back. We strongly feel we will.'
'They certainly had challenges before the pandemic but COVID seemed to be the nail in the coffin,' said Andrew Berman, executive director for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, known as GVSHP. 'For Gem Spa – they couldn't hold on anymore.' Berman said it was already 'an incredibly tough environment' for small businesses before the pandemic and there are concerns whether mom-and-pop shops can survive the lockdown. He said: 'This is adding fuel to the already raging fire.' Above, the Gem Spa signs comes down on May 17
Parul Patel said: 'COVID-19 was something we couldn't survive. It was heartbreaking to close.' The store, which her family has owned since 1986, couldn't meet its nearly $17,000 monthly rent during the citywide shutdown due to the pandemic. However, she said that Gem Spa is not finished. 'The retail store is closed but the website continues. We hope one day we can come back. We strongly feel we will.' Above, Parul Patel with the Gem Spa sign. She told DailyMail.com that she planned to auction off the signs
'We definitely mourn the loss,' said Berman, of the preservation group GVSHP. Longtime East Village resident and photographer Karla Murray, who helped Gem Spa's fundraising efforts along with her husband James before the pandemic, said that the store's closure is 'like a little piece of history is gone, perhaps forgotten as well.' Above, the boarded-up storefront that used to house Gem Spa at Second Avenue and St. Marks Places
The end of New York City icon: How Gem Spa became a mecca for misfits and musicians and counted Beat poets, Madonna and Patti Smith among its regulars before gentrification and coronavirus ended its 80-year reign in the city's East Village (12 Pics)
![The end of New York City icon: How Gem Spa became a mecca for misfits and musicians and counted Beat poets, Madonna and Patti Smith among its regulars before gentrification and coronavirus ended its 80-year reign in the city's East Village (12 Pics)]()
Reviewed by Your Destination
on
June 20, 2020
Rating:
No comments