Our purpose for this website is to peel back the facade of Carmine Street and, through personal interviews with local business owners, find out what makes this quaint West Village block so resilient in the face of ever-changing communities and an increasingly commercialized society. Here we detail our experience in visiting the street for the first time:
As springtime thaws out the remnants of the exceptionally frigid winter of 2014, New
York comes back to life. Trees and flowers bloom, fountains are turned on, and most
importantly, people spend more and more time outside (at least until the summer forces
us into the air conditioning). Tucked away in Greenwich Village and between Sixth and
Seventh Avenue is Carmine Street, spanning only about two and a half blocks,
intersecting with its more famous brother, Bleeker Street. Down here the entire
cityscape has changed; the grid plan of the streets has broken down and streets are only
wide enough for one or two cars. Buildings are rarely more than a few stories high,
making the neighborhood seem much more like a small town that was coincidentally
dropped onto the South side of Manhattan than an actual part of the Big Apple. The
noisy chaos of Midtown has been replaced by the soft chatter of pedestrians who have
decided to soak up the sunshine. Many are relaxing in the various parks and gardens
that are scattered about the Village, including Father Demo Square, where a cascade of
water falls from a fountain, creating a peaceful aura for those whose who need to rest,
check their phones, and drink their Starbucks. Pigeons lurk in the trees, waiting for a
charitable stranger to offer them their breadcrumbs. In another park across the street,
the greenery is tastefully contrasted with an old brick wall painted with a fading
advertisement for a presumably defunct pharmacy.
While the area is culturally mixed and overall
gentrified due to the heavy influence of the
nearby New York University, Carmine Street is
home to several relics that harken back to its
days as one of the largest Italian-American
neighborhoods in the country. The most
noticeable building is the Our Lady of Pompeii
church, a large limestone building equipped
with a bell tower and stained glass windows. Its
ringing church bells help to reinforce the
peaceful aura of the area One of the busiest and most famous establishments is a tiny
pizzeria called Joe’s Pizza. There is a line out the door, which is no surprise considering
its reputation as one of the best pizza spots in the entire city. Many other small
businesses line the block, like House of Oldies, a record store that sells vintage vinyl
from the mid-1900’s, and a bookstore with the unwieldy name of Unoppressive,
Non-Imperialist Bargain Books. Considering how commercialized the area only several
blocks north is, it feels comforting to see homegrown businesses thriving on the street.
