Uncle Sam’s Army-Navy Store is sort of this unexpected store on West 8th Street. And as the strip’s ‘powers that be’ (the local “BID” – business improvement district – and landlords) strive for more “pretty” and “artisanal” on the block, it becomes that much more refreshing that Uncle Sam’s is there! The other day, I met Susan Brown outside the shop; she runs the store with her husband, Richard Greist who is the owner. I think I got her costume explanation right of the “Bottom Chef.”
When people stop to look at this window, Susan said, parents will look in and say “Ewwww” (as in, freaked out) and their kids are all like, “Oh cool.” (She may not have used those exact words but that was the gist.) The paintings usually decorate the shop’s offices two doors down.
Uncle Sam’s is in the old beloved PosterMat space (its second location I learned from a commenter here last time I wrote about Uncle Sam’s) at 37 West 8th Street and Susan said she thought Uncle Sam’s used the original sign. And it does look the same … just different words! So go now and get your Halloween gear there! Susan said most things can also be worn year round!!
I have mixed feelings about the Halloween Parade being back on this year (it was called off last year due to conditions post-Hurricane Sandy) because I had a scary experience with the policing of the Parade in 2011. The NYPD also closed off 8th Street that year from Sixth Avenue except for one small walkway and created conditions that were quite precarious and dangerous. I ended up trapped at the door of (former) Barnes & Noble with way too many other people behind a barricade as we tried to navigate the corner.
In addition, the Park gets gated off and shut. That’s no fun!
Previously at WSP Blog:
Uncle Sam’s: Pretty in Pink | West 8th Street for Rent March 11, 2013
Greenwich Village on Halloween Night – Policing Run Amok? Washington Square Park Closed; Access to Parade Limited; Streets Dangerously Barricaded November 1, 2011
