Sad News: Carlitos Cafe y Galeria is Closing Nov 29

The following  is a long heart-felt letter from the owner of East Harlem staple, Carlitos Cafe y Galeria. Unfortunately, doors will be closing for good on November 29th. Thank you Doug S. for passing this along. A schedule for the last week of events here will be listed in a separate post. Click below to read the entire letter.

Dear friends,
I have been avoiding writing this letter for quite some time.  For the past couple of months I’ve attempted to write a few lines but I just couldn’t do it.  Where do I begin?  How can I write in one single letter all I want to say to you about Carlitos? And how can I tell you that it has come to an end? But, it’s getting close to our final days so here it is……
It is with so much sadness and tons of tears that I write to let you know my Carlitos, your Carlitos, our Carlitos Café y Galeria will closing on November 29th.

I have given everything I am and everything I have to this small entrepreneurship and although it is breaking my heart to let the space go, our lease is up!  It is time to move out.   I know Carlitos will re-open somewhere, some day, once we find the right place, but its current location is where it was born and took shape, and is and will always be its first home, and will always be special. The owner is either selling the building empty or has decided to rent it for a ridiculous amount of money, taking advantage of the money and time we have invested in renovating the space and the business traffic that now exists.

It is sad to me that something that I hope played an important part in the community can no longer afford
to exist. Gentrification has been creeping into East Harlem slowly but steadily under the disguise of urban
development.  For the past ten years, I have seen my neighbors move out and local small businesses close.
And while we blame each other or blame a particular ethnic group for this, we forget about the real issues
that bring about the phenomenon of gentrification.

I first thought of Carlitos the first year I moved to New York City back in 1997.  I was sitting on my stoop
in Astoria, Queens racking my brain about starting a non-profit that could bring artists and activists together to combat racism.  This was the original idea of Art for Change.  As I was trying to figure out ways
in which I can fund the organization, I thought of Carlitos.  I pictured it exactly like it is: full of art on the walls, live music, poetry, books, artifacts, flowers, bright colors, lots of interesting artists, activists and neighborhood characters and in particular I pictured it would be like a second home
to many.

It took a lot of guts and strength to open Carlitos. Since we didn’t have much money, my partner Monica and
I struggled through many experiences in particular through the renovations in the middle of the winter of
2002.  There were so many times when I had to push a shopping cart full of cement up and down the street
because we didn’t have money left over to rent a car or when the morale of the workers was so low when we
couldn’t advance due to lack of materials.  But the most challenging moments came with beautiful ones:
students from our English as a Second Language class would bring us food, our friends or complete strangers
would suddenly be at the venue helping out with renovations.
We never thought Carlitos would actually open.  There were simply so many expenses and other challenges; but little miracles kept on happening so on april 2003, Carlitos opened to the public with an exhibit featuring the work of artist Diogenes Ballester.  Once Carlitos opened, we received a few emails from people
attacking us for opening up a café/gallery in the neighborhood and blaming us for the displacement of
the Puerto Rican community.  Some people made assumptions about our intentions and clearly did not
know that through Art for Change, we had already been working in the community with old and new residents, children, youth and adults.
>
> Throughout the years, it has been challenging to keep
> Carlitos as a social entrepreneurship; balancing the
> cultural priorities and the non-profit compromises
> with the commercial ones that pay the bills.   People
> kept on suggesting we focus on a target audience since
> this would better define our identity as a business
> and thus bring in more profits.  But, I never cared
> about the economic profits so much as the other
> profits that are more long-lasting.  I wanted to offer
> a space where we can look beyond target marketing to a
> particular group of people — I wanted to build a
> place that can transcend race, ethnicity, age, sexual
> orientation, language, religion, etc., where people
> from all sorts of walks of life who normally would not
> meet could have the opportunity to talk and share a
> space.   Additionally, I wanted to offer a place that
> would not deny access to in-your-face art, or art that
> directly or subtly deals with all those uncomfortable
> issues we avoid when we are feeling like just having a
> drink.  Yes, perhaps it was taking a major risk but an
> important one to take.
>
> I am proud of all the accomplishments of Carlitos.
> In only a few years, we have provided a venue for many
> organizations to meet, many collectives to get
> started, many artists to express themselves and many
> activists to convene and network.  We have provided a
> venue for people to learn, reflect upon and analyze
> issues that we sometimes overlook.  We have provided a
> place for people to fall in love, to get a job, to get
> an apartment, to find information, to come up with
> ideas, and to meet people they might not have
> otherwise met during the course of their life.
>
> I feel blessed to have met my best friends through
> Carlitos and to have had the opportunity of seeing the
> most beautiful moments and the best human qualities of
> people.  In particular, I am thankful to have had the
> opportunity to personally hear so many of your
> stories, your adventures, secrets, plans, dreams and
> aspirations.
>
> Despite the stools that kept on breaking on you and
> the times when you had to personally fix the bathroom,
> I thank you so much for still appreciating and
> supporting Carlitos.   Thank you for each time you
> decided to come to Carlitos instead of going to
> another bar.
>
> I also would like to thank every artist that
> participated at Carlitos, every activist that
> organized an event, every organization that held their
> teach-ins, workshops, report-backs, fundraising events
> and other events.  Thank you to Monica Maltby my
> business partner who helped to make Carlitos a
> reality, to my dear Lester LaBoy and Louis Zwiebel,
> the heart and soul of Carlitos, who have dedicated so
> much of their time and energy and heart to Carlitos.
> Thank you to Rosario Marino, Lori Noll, Claudia Plaza,
> Israel Lucas, Christina Baute, Felix, Raul Vera, Senor
> Timoteo, Paco, Lina Puerta, Ricardo Fernandez,  Jules,
> Teddy, Nora, Nick, Fernando, Hillary, Joy, and
> everyone who ever worked at Carlitos for contributing
> to make Carlitos a second home to so many people.  And
> of course a huge Thank you to everyone in the
> community who supported Carlitos from Day One until
> now, and to all the patrons from all the five boroughs
> and from all over the world who gave life to Carlitos
> and helped it achieve its destiny.
>
> As we get close to Thursday, November 29th, I invite
> you to come to Carlitos and share a last moment.   We
> have a full calendar of great events this weekend and
> almost every day until the day we close, and we’ll
> also have products from all over the world for sale at
> our new gift shop. (Please Note our new daytime hours
> below)
>
> On Thursday, November 29th, we are having a massive
> closing party that will last the whole night with DJ
> Liberation Sound and his crew of Brazilian MCs!  Feel
> free to call in sick on Friday!  We also have lots of
> beautiful clothing and accessories from all over the
> world, books, cds and other items for sale.
> Additionally, we have memory postcards where you can
> write your favorite Carlitos moments and the last week
> of November, we will be videotaping stories of
> Carlitos.
>
> We are looking for a new space and hope to open our
> doors once again in East Harlem. If you are interested
> in being a part of the SAVE CARLITOS campaign, please
> email me at carlitoseliana@yahoo.com but in the
> meantime here is how you can help:
> 1. Support Carlitos by coming and bringing all your
> friends to carlitos now and until November 29th
> 2. Send us phone numbers of retail spaces for rent
> 3. Send this email to all your contacts
> 4. Shop at our gift store for the holiday season (our
> gift shop will be open every day from Nov. 17)
> 5. Visit our webpage (carlitosny.com) regularly for
> updates
> 6. Email us with information about storage space
>
> Thank you everyone, and see you soon!
>
> Love,
> Eliana
>
>
> CARLITOS’ FINAL WEEKS HOURS:
>
> —- CARLITOS WILL BE OPEN 11am TO 2am EVERY DAY,
> AND UNTIL 4am ON WEEKENDS —-
> SHOP AT CARLITOS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON!
> “Socially conscious holiday shopping, now available at
> Carlitos: Visit Carlitos Cafe before November 29 (and
> somewhere else thereafter) to check out our selection
> of beautiful and fairly-priced clothing and
> accessories from all over the world. Get what you need
> for your friends, your family and yourself (you
> deserve it!) Special deals on handmade items from
> indigenous communities in Mexico and Bolivia. See
> below for store hours and check out our calendar of
> events so you can catch a great show while shopping
> for great items and meeting some great people.(And
> stay tuned for a new website store!)
>
> UPCOMING EVENTS: (see carlitosny.com for full details
> and descriptions)
> Wed. November 14 6:30pm: “Change as Growth” – Final
> Gallery Exhibit Dialogue. Including artists,
> volunteers, committee members and community members.
> Thurs 15, 6:30pm: “Colonial Capitalism — Crisis and
> Response in Puerto Rico” Discussion and exhibition.
> 9:00pm: Live Music: Alfonso Maya, Mexican Trovador
> Fri 16, 9pm: “Viernes Social” : with DJ Chris
> Maestro. 6-8pm happy hour.
> Sat 17, 8pm: “Bolivia Out Loud!” Fundraiser. A
> night of Bolivian music and films, to benefit Art for
> Change.
> Tues 20, 9pm: “Carlitos Project” OPEN-MIC (The last
> two shows will be video-taped)
> Fri 23, 8:30pm: Live Music — Tatsuya
> Sat 24, 8:30pm: Live Music — Ruben Flaco Gonzalez
> Tues 27, 9pm: “Carlitos Project” OPEN-MIC (The last
> two shows will be video-taped)
> Wed 28, 7pm: “X-Vandals” Debut Album Release Party
> THURSDAY Nov. 29, 6:30pm – All night: “CARLITOS
> CLOSING PARTY” with the amazing DJ Liberation Sound.
> This will be like no other. (Last chance to get
> Carlitos memorabilia)
> See you there!
>

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Tagged: Carlitos Cafe y Galeria

Posted in: Closings, Community, Restaurants