Newsstand, Paris, France
January 19, 2009
Dear Readers:
Here is the menu:
First, with your morning coffee, tea, chocolate or hot milk, a poem, sometimes two.
Second, a few articles on various topics.
Third, answers to any questions of general interest submitted by readers. Some answers might be complex and require some time for research.
André Bluteau
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Photo: http://photos.linternaute.com/photo/1290152/1332090422/1429/le-kiosque-a-journaux/
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See also:
Yesterday’s News
IN 2006, the photographer Rachel Barrett began documenting Manhattan’s newsstands, the makeshift sidewalk stores that sell candy, soda and lottery tickets, as well as newspapers and magazines. To date, she has photographed all 236 that she could find.
Ms. Barrett was drawn to the newsstands because they are ubiquitous and largely taken for granted, and because they forcefully demonstrate that New York, unlike cities whose streets have lost their vitality to car culture, still teems with on-the-run pedestrians.
For the photographer, these grass-roots businesses present variations on a theme. Each reflects the personality and business acumen of its owner as well as the needs and tastes of its neighborhood.
A newsstand on Water Street and Whitehall in the financial district attracts attention with a bright red paint job and prominent displays of upscale magazines and Vitamin Water. A Harlem newsstand on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard and 135th Street sports a well-worn office chair where its owner sits and chats with passers-by.
When Ms. Barrett started her project, she did not realize she was photographing the end of an era. Until recently, newsstand operators owned their stands and paid the city $1,000 for two-year licenses. In 2003, the city enacted Local Law 64, which required owners to give up their stands but allowed them to operate city-owned structures at no cost. In 2006, the city signed a contract with the Spanish conglomerate Cemusa to build 3,300 bus shelters, 300 newsstands and 20 public toilets.
The new newsstands began to appear last year. The old stand on West 57th Street west of Fifth Avenue, for example, which was photographed by Ms. Barrett, is gone. Like mom-and-pop storefronts, this New York tradition is quickly fading from view.
Manhattan’s newsstands present variations on a theme. Each reflects the personality and business acumen of its owner as well as the needs and tastes of its neighborhood. This newsstand on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard and 135th Street in Harlem sports a well-worn office chair where its owner sits and chats with passers-by.
New York, unlike cities whose streets have lost their vitality to car culture, still teems with on-the-run pedestrians. This newsstand is on Broadway and 86th Street.
But like mom-and-pop storefronts, independently owned newsstands are quickly fading. Plastic walls help protect this stand on Amsterdam Avenue and 79th Street from wind and rain.
Until recently, newsstand operators owned their stands and paid the city $1,000 for two-year licenses. This stand is located on First Avenue and 79th Street.
In 2003, the city passed Local Law 64, which required owners to give up their stands but allowed them to operate a city-owned structure at no cost. In 2006, the city signed a contract with the Spanish conglomerate Cemusa to design, build and maintain 300 newsstands. As the new stands are built, passers-by will no longer see hand-painted signs like the one on this stand at Second Avenue and 67th Street.
Lottery tickets get prime advertising space at this newsstand on Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street.
This old stand on 57th Street west of Fifth Avenue, shown here last summer, is now gone.
Some stands, like this one at Seventh Avenue and 49th Street, fit refrigerators into their tight spaces.
Like many New York businesses, this stand at Wall and Broad Streets features a security gate.
A newsstand on Water and Whitehall Streets in the Financial District attracts attention with a bright red paint job and prominent displays of upscale magazines and Vitamin Water.
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Full article and photos: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/nyregion/thecity/06news.html
