Nicholas Cooper

Nicholas Cooper
y.ohta
Tue, 10/23/2018 - 12:24
When did you live in SoHo?

1973-1988

Where did you live in SoHo?

I lived at 131 Greene Street between Prince and Houston. 2nd floor.I also lived at 27 Howard Street (looking directly up Crosby)for 2 years.

What was your occupation when you lived in SoHo?

Student.

What do you miss most about SoHo in the 1970s?

The vast emptiness and community. The light, the rents, knowing almost everyone, the creativity, the architecture, the empty cardboard fabric spindles put out as garbage that my brother and I would sword fight with. Dean and DeLucca being a cheese shop.

What do you miss least about SoHo in the 1970s?

I hated getting mugged. Also, some friends were actually not allowed to come to my house because it was such a "dangerous" neighborhood. ha.

If you no longer live in SoHo, why did you leave?

My mother moved to Chelsea and I can not afford to live there.

What is your most vivid SoHo memory?

I have so many. Here is one: My mother sent me to the bodega on West Broadway and Prince street to get her beer and cigarettes when I was 9. One of the guys who worked at the bodega sent me home to get a note from my mother. When I returned with the note he put the 6-pack in a paper bag and walked me half way home before handing me the bag. I think he was nervous about breaking the law. That kind of thing would be impossible today. I also will never forget the Etan Patz thing.