Edshugeo The GodMoor

Lai Ying used to be the spot I'd go to for my Hong Kong DVDs and VCDs in Manhatten's Chinatown. Every few weeks or so I'd make the one hour Long Island Railroad trip to the city and stock up on a handfull of HK movies, and this was the place to go. After years of buying bootleg VHS tapes at various places like a mall on Jamaica Ave. in Queens, and The Karate Center across from the Port Authority terminal as well as tape trading through the mail. A friend of mine hipped me to rental shops in Chinatown. I visited a few (owned by U.E. Enterprises, I think) and rented some tapes, but the trip for me made that option a little on the expensive side unless I needed to be in the city 2 days apart. My friend was working out there, so for him it was no thang.

About ten years ago as I prepared to purchase my first DVD player, I'd discovered a small string of video stores on The Bowery. I don't remember if by chance or if I'd read about them on alt.asian-movies (a usenet discussion group). Or maybe it was while I was searching for the last remaining (not for long) Chinese movie theatre in Manhatten, The Music Palace, which was also on the Bowery.

Anyhow, knowing that the VCD format worked on some DVD players as well as PCs, I started to build up a collection of VCDs, so I'd have a selection to play once I got a player, but could watch right away on my computer.

Lai Lai was the first store I became a semi-regular at. I'd tried a store closer to or on the corner of Canal and the Bowery, and felt like a complete foreigner there. While Lai Lai was a lot smaller, it was a lot less intimidating as well. I'm pretty sure that's where I first met Michelle, who had helped me out when I had to return the DVD of Tai Chi Master. Twice, I think. It wouldn't play, and then another copy was tried in-store and that didn't work either, so I opted for some other movie. I still don't have Tai Chi Master on DVD, and I won't buy Twin Dragons (the U.S. release), though I've seen it.

Lai Ying opened up next door and when I went there was surprised to see Michelle, who I guess was running this operation. Lai Lai might've been her aunt's shop, but I don't remember for sure. Lai Ying was the greatest place for movies for a while, and there was a dude selling HK comics in the back as well. These came packaged with toy swords, which were the main reason I was buying them.

Over time I visited with less frequency due to a lot of factors (the internet, not that interested in Jonhny To movies and the like, not enough new kung fu movies, less time for long trips to buy movies, etc.), but always expected it would be there for me, if I needed it. But no more. It's been razed to the ground by some bastard.

Swiped from Kaiju Shakedown:

The legendary Lai Ying in New York City has been HQ central for Asian film fans for years and years now. Run by Michelle, this DVD/VCD/CD store was located one door down from the Music Palace, one of the last Chinatown movie theaters in the US, near the corner of Bowery and Hester and it was the place to pick up the latest Hong Kong and Japanese movies. They had an extensive stock, would find anything you were looking for, and their bargain bin ran a "3 for $20" special pretty much non-stop. Michelle and her co-worker Paul really stepped up their game to help serve non-Cantonese-speaking fans and their prices were usually the lowest in town. They were also one of the few people to stand up to Tai Seng's "piracy" raids that were once the bane of Chinatown video stores.

A few weeks ago, the owner of the building in which Lai Ying was located told them that they had to move, despite the fact that they had a couple of years left on their lease. Given 15 minutes to vacate the store, Michelle managed to find a new location at 75 Chrystie Street around the corner. Two days later, however, the building owner reneged on his promise to Michelle to let her staff back in to get her inventory out and he had the building demolished along with her entire stock of DVDs and CDs. He told her to file an insurance claim if she wanted her money. On the one hand, "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." On the other: holy cow! This is a massive blow to a small business owner, and Michelle has lost all of her money. More details in the next few days.

That... Is fucked up. I had read that they moved, a little while back at the Kung Fu Cinema forums, but this bit with the 15 minutes to vacate and later on all of her stock being destroyed like that...

RRrrgh!!

I'll have to make it a point to visit the new spot some time in the next few weeks.

Labels: bullshit, DVD, Heroes, kung fu, movies, odd