B AND H DAIRY - EAST VILLAGE

Two years ago a friend from the Yucatan and I had pirogis at the B&H Dairy, the historic counter restaurant on 2nd Avenue serving customers since 1938. The pirogis and matzo ball soup were the same as they ever were. Afterwards we walked down 2nd Avenue and I was struck by the many vacant retail spaces. Tweren't that way in the 70s. There was the Stage Deli, Gem Spa, Kiev, the Orchida, and the St. Mark's Theater. The Filimore Eaest and Club 82 Plenty of other establishments enlivened the avenue. Covid killed many, but nothing like the greed of the realtors. The first people to go in a revolution are landlords.