Defeat comes to the Victory Diner

Staten Island's classic Victory Diner is a star of film and TV – it’s seen in “Easy
Money” and “The Education of Max Brickford.” But it turns out that Easy Money will be the downfall of this historic 1941 Kullman diner when developer Leonard Tallo demolishes it to built new office space. The diner was also the subject of a painting by artist Tom Chibbarro which is in the collection of the Staten Island Museum, a location for weddings, and a favorite icon of Staten Islanders for decades.  It has been visited by Rodney Dangerfield, Richard Dreyfuss, and bank robber Willie Sutton -- but never by Paris Hilton.  The story is covered in yesterday’s Staten Island Advance:

Hope vanishes for return of The Victory
Dongan Hills site to be transformed into office space
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
By KAREN O'SHEA
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The "closed for vacation" sign posted on the
door of the Victory Diner in Dongan Hills dangled hope that the
silver and blue bullet-shaped restaurant with the red neon sign would
reopen.
Longtime owner Maria Pappas also clung to that hope -- until her
recent decision to retire and enter into a long-term lease with
developers who plan to transform the diner into a two-story building
with commercial space on the first floor and offices above.
Read the full story at SI Live.

Please feel free to discuss this story further on my Yahoo Group: NEW YORK BUILT ENVIRONMENT.

(Photo: Diner City)

Tags:   diner, easy money, endangered building, for sale, leonard tallo, paris hilton, preservation, richard dreyfuss, rodney dangerfield, staten island, staten island advance

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Posted on 7/12/2007 ( Permanent Link )
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