Auld Lang Syne Pike Street

From the Neal Hellman archives,

aka the KV Man West

That's Neal's father, Sol Hellman, in front of his store, which was on Pike Street (east) between East Broadway and Henry. The other picture shows some guys hanging out in front of the shoe shine place (19 Pike) which was on the same block as Sol's shop. Check out the left hand of the guy on the left. The block has an old synagogue that now houses a 99 cent discount and variety store

from the landmarks commission:

The Pike Street Synagogue (13-15 Pike Street), constructed in 1903-04 for the Congregation Sons of Israel Kalwarie, is a rare surviving synagogue building from that period of New York's history when the Lower East Side served as America's main portal for millions of Jewish immigrants. Designed by the architect Alfred E. Badt,this limestone-fronted building with its twin, lateral staircases up to the porticoed main entrance,and double stair towers projecting from the main facade creates an imposing presence on the crowded street. The basic form and massing of the building followed a stylistic precedent deriving from the Romanesque Revival and the German Rundbogenstil. At the same time, the architect included details which relate to the general classicizing tendencies in American architecture of the turn of the century. When constructed, this synagogue was one of the largest on the Lower East Side, and one of the few built specifically for this purpose. The Congregation Sons of Israel Kalwarie, started in 1853, continued to worship in this building until the 1980s. The building stood vacant for several years, but recently has been rehabilitated for a variety of uses with a Buddhist temple on the main level, apartments above, and commercial space on the ground floor