We're not sure if this is graf "proper," or the sloppy handiwork of the proprietor of whatever is behind this shutter door upon which the Krylon moniker is applied. (A shop called "Ize," perhaps?) At any rate, it's good to see some dirty aerosol work even if it's a third-rate effort in the heart of the Meatpacking District, that stinky and sometimes stanky industrial-commercial zone full of cobblestone streets and sandwiched between Chelsea and the far West Village. The area, as its name implies, is the traditional home to New York City's meat markets and refrigerated meat-packaging warehouses. But gentrification, money and massive disused factory spaces brought a developer-led building-conversion and real estate boom in the late 1990's. Now, next door to massive (and smelly) buildings filled with meat coolers, are million-dollar lofts, apartments and condos. The area is also home to dozens of upscale and truly, amazingly-designed clubs and restaurants. There's naturally a boutique hotel in the hood. It's called the Hotel Gansevoort and it is a beautiful place. Across from the hotel is the celeb-filled British social haunt the Soho Club. The Meatpacking District has become so flooded with new boites, high-end designer stores and food-snob hangouts that it's now a overcrowded Friday and Saturday nightmare destination for the tourist and bridge-and-tunnel crowds (which is the tell-tale sign that the nabe is "so over") looking for "hot" Manhattan. The fact that the character "Samantha" in Sex and the City eventually moved into the area in the show's storyline is both a reflection of what's happened to the real nabe in real life and also a part of why it has become a trendy and (as advertising people say) aspirational locale.

Ivan Corsa Photo