Image Courtesy of Curbed

What happens when someone asks a question that has already been answered years ago? We were confronted this very situation today when GoaG posed the question "Is the LES Dunzo?" At first, we asked ourselves if it was April Fools Day, or maybe dumb rhetorical question day, or any day when it is OK to ruminate on inane questions. It turns out it isn't - so we must assume it is actually a serious query. GoaG says:

We have already gotten more than one email from very “in the know” New Yorkers that insist that the LES (Lower East Side), including the Bowery and her hip hotel and bars are OVER. As in DUNZO.  At least for the “cool kids” of the city that refuse to follow trends.

She continues:

My heart broke a little upon hearing this news.  Apotheke in Chinatown was the #1 spot of our well-researched “where the cool kids are” post, and I have yet to go see the Aussie Bartender Albert in action…

We assume she is referring to Albert Trummer, who is originally from Vienna. This of course, makes him Austrian. Oops. Back to the topic at hand, we have to wonder why she is worried that the "LES is Dunzo". In terms of being interesting or happening, the LES has been "dunzo" since approximately 2005. In 2006, it was ingeniously branded as "Hell Square", signaling the official end of its run as the counter balance to the overt lameness of the Meatpacking District. Since that time, the LES crowd headed en mass to Brooklyn, and the neighborhood is now flooded with uptowners, college kids and B&T Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The operators have moved southwest towards the Chinatown/Little Italy area, and now the LES and MePa, once polar opposites, are really fraternal twins. Slightly different on the outside, but made up of the same genes.

You could point to the Box, Thompson Lower East Side, 205 etc as symbols of the neighborhood's continued relevance. But these are late comers were around during the reemergence of the LES as a neighborhood. By the time these new clubs were established, the residents (both old and new)  were so fed up with nightlife they  made it their mission to close them down. This is a far cry from the beginning of the decade, when the LES was for dive bars, live music, and general fun. No longer. We feel the Eldridge was the final nail in the coffin.

So yes - the LES is Dunzo, and has been for quite a long time. It certainly doesn't take an "in the know" New Yorker to tell you that. Or maybe it does, and that makes us weep.