The Times recently wrote about the gentrification of Avenue C. Avenues A and B are pretty watered down at this point, but Loisaida Ave. still has a “surgical supply” store for all your fresh syringe needs. The article makes a good distinction by pointing out that C’s hot spots are more loungy with expensive drinks and afro-cuban DJs. As opposed to A and B which are bastions of Pabst and Interpol.
But what I took issue with was their definitions on what the letters actually stand for. It causes confusion among people who didn’t grow up fearing for their life in this neighborhood, so I’ll spell it out for the rest of you.
- A is for Anal rape
- B is for Bitch slap
- C is for Crack
- D is for Deal
That’s what it’s always stood for, since the days of getting shot for making eye contact with a pedestrian during a driver’s ed class. It’s a little better these days, but if you listen closely, you can still faintly hear “X, K, coke, weed” blowin’ in the wind.
C may be on the up and up, but let’s see the hipsters just try and gentrify Avenue Deal. Not even Torres could tame that beast.
Yeah, I should have talked about that more. Unless you turn the projects, the ConEd plant, or the FDR into a night spot, Avenue D is still largely uninhabitable.