RIP: Vercesi's Hardware

I grew up in a village in the East Bronx. Geographically, it was part of New York City, but anyone who lived there back then knew it was closer to a shtetl in the Carpathian Mountains that to the rest of the City. Among other relatively unique customs was the fact we referred to local shops along the main drag of 180^th Street by the names of their owners. Thus, it was that when my Mother sent me out for a loaf of bread, it was not to the bakery, it was to Grossfeld's. We went to Markowitz for hardware, Lobel for meat and Mr. Litskey (always “Mr.”) for medicine. Fruit and vegetables came from a place that I thought was called Masonaforma. Years later I learned that the store was called 'Mason and Forman.' They also sold live chickens, killed and plucked to order. And so it went.

Of course these shops - along with the entire neighborhood - are long gone and frankly I don't really miss them much. Last time I was anyplace near, the only buildings I recognized were a church and my old public school, PS 6, neither of which held any warm and fuzzy memories.

When I moved to Greenwich Village nearly 40 years ago, it was a long way from the East Bronx, but the “Village” part of the neighborhood had a sort of familiar feel. Like my barber, Zach. His shop was a fixture, he was a part time actor and he cut my hair for around 30 of those years, right up until he retired. Breakfast and an occasional dinner out was usually at Pete's Diner, on my block around the corner. The Victoria Deli on 14^th Street made better pastrami than Katz's. Leno was the owner of Kenan's Bar on 4^th Avenue, and you became a 'regular' there around the second time you walked in.

Vercesi Hardware figures in here. It wasn't exactly in my immediate neighborhood, but it was an important part of it none the less. Vercesi's wasn't quite an 'old school' hardware shop like Markowitz, with nails in barrels and hardware loose in wooden bins, but it probably once was. Mr. Versesi is long gone, but the sales guys there knew their stuff. You might be waiting at the counter alongside contractors buying materials for a major job, but you could be there asking for a thing to connect the thing that came loose from the other thing and they'd know what you needed. And not only have it in stock, but take the time to show you how to install it. In short, it was a real hardware store. When I had my photo studio a few blocks away, I was a regular. When Home Depot opened nearby, I made it a point to shop at Vercesi as often as I could.

Last month, Vercesi Hardware closed. I walked by this afternoon. It was cold and raining. A sign in the window explained that the building had been sold and would be torn down so that a new 20 story condo could be built. The new owners planned on having a retail store at street level. I am betting it will not be Vercesi. Chances are it would not be a hardware store at all. Probably a place to buy shoes or flavored coffee. And New York City is just a bit poorer.