Tonight I got a cursory tour of the Meat Market, as given by two friends who live in the West Village. Steve (a journalist at a Queens newspaper) indicated that if one were to awake at, say, 4 am any day during the week it would be possible to hear the grinding from the meat processing plants that characterize the area. But, and this blew my mind, it is one of the hottest, most celebrity attended areas in all of Manhattan. My other friend/tour guide Steff (the buff Brooklyn Botanical Gardens kids group leader) informed me that one morning on her trip to the corner store she stood in line behind Jake Gyllenhall. Apparently Mandy Moore and Britney Spears both frequent the night clubs in the area. Now, I am not one for getting “stars in my eyes,” (especially for the likes of these two teeny pop divas), but I was tickled to know that I was walking in a mega-trendy area. (And, for the record, Donnie Darko is one of my absolute favorite movies).
The streets are cobbled and lined by old brick factory buildings. There is the absurd and fascinating dichotomy of death smeared, shuttered warehouses and the latest, chic-est restaurants and designer boutiques. My overall impression…this area seems to be like the fiefdoms of old where the moneyed royalty took pleasure from walking among the commoners. In front of the Olympia garage, two milk crates supported the bearers of grease-stained hands. These mechanics seemed out of place in their own livelihood, amidst the gossamer-thread clothed mid evening diners.
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