On the Mud Truck and Hotel Gramercy Park

Photo by myself in Astor Place, around 4th Avenue and 8th Street.

The Mud Truck is a distinctive part of the New York cityscape. Visible from blocks away, usually with a line waiting outside, the Mud Truck serves up coffee in bright orange cups.

There are actually two trucks, typically located in Astor Place and the West Village. Everything about the trucks, from the logo to the name have an anti-establishment vibe.

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For those who get the Sundance Channel on television, there's a great film playing on December 31st.

The other night, Mark and I watched Hotel Grammercy Park, a documentary about hotelier Ian Schrager's renovation of the historic downtown hotel, which once catered to rock stars. Schrager himself gained notoriety in the 70s when he opened Studio 54.

The movie interviews Schrager, as well as several quirky people who lived in the Hotel before the renovation. Some longtime residents refused to move out during the construction period. One gay couple writes show tunes. An elegant woman collects teddy bears.

Then there's the ill-fated family that originally owned the hotel. One of the descendants grew up in the hotel, and recounts a story of drug addiction and tragedy. There is something about all the characters in this movie that makes them very 'New York'.

Here's the trailer for the movie


Click here for the Sundance page about the film.
Click here to see the review and photos of the hotel by the New York Times.

Related posts: Shopping on St. Mark's Place, On Seeing the World Through a Different Lens and The Scoop.