WWAS?

During my first year at NYU, the Department of Housing announced their plans to unveil a new dormitory on 14th Street between 3rd Avenue and Irving Place. It would be named "The Palladium" in honor of the night club that previously occupied the space. Apparently it was a popular club because New Yorkers were aghast. Residents could be heard all over town: "NYU can't take over The Palladium!" Or, "I remember partying at The Palladium when I was young." It just seemed unfathomable to the Baby Boomers that the next generation was taking over their hunting ground in such a different capacity. We all laughed at them, saying, "Oh those old people."

Well, let me just tell you, the tables have now been turned. I was walking up 6th Avenue today, minding my own business, moving rapidly, trying to avoid rain drops, when I walked smack into this:



Yes! The doors to Limelight are open once again. It closed back in 2003 after years as one of NYC's most notorious nightclubs. Andy Warhol hosted the club's opening party back in 1983 (when I was still in diapers). But the new signs outside say it's now the Limelight Marketplace (@limelightmarket). I stepped inside. What?! A "mall?" That can't be. I USED TO PARTY AT LIMELIGHT. Ok, well, maybe that's not entirely true. Unless "party" means "I went there once during college, when it might have been named something else but everyone still called it 'Limelight.'" But I was still shocked to see an upscale, yuppy "flea market" on the site of the former NYC hotspot. It just seems sacrilegious. Current stores inside include Hunter Boots first ever retail location, a Havianas booth and an overpriced boutique where you can buy imported toothpaste for $20. WWAS (what would Andy say)?

Just as I am one of the countless Gen X'ers who will only know "The Palladium" as an NYU dorm, there's a new generation of New Yorkers who will only know "Limelight" as a flea market of overpriced yuppy boutiques. What a travesty.