Manhattan’s East Village is a magical place, filled with Irish bars (some phony, some real), thrift and antique shops, seemingly out of place sushi and French macaron places, and the occasional “adult store” and tattoo parlor.  If you come across 1st Avenue , you may get struck by a mysterious, well aged building, a decal of a tommy gun, and a sign pertaining to a popular persona in history and art: the American gangster, a type of criminal so dated that looking up to them no longer speaks of lawbreaking proclivities but of a fascination with history.  As you find yourself spontaneously walking into a tour of the ground-floor museum (which happens to many tourists and local residents), you will find yourself surrounded by various objects and artifacts that all have a story to tell: newspaper clippings about bootleg alcohols and whether death masks indicated a faked death, an honest to god submachine gun with bullet shells from the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, and the grand centerpiece, a blown-open safe with a variety of old photographs and miscellaneous garbage around it. 80 St. Mark’s Place is certainly no ordinary museum, and holds a special place in the heart of New York City.

The Museum of the American Gangster is composed of three buildings. Two of the three edifices have their own wonderfully interesting established histories: Theatre St. Marks, which once hosted Thelonious Monk, has been open since 1964, and the William Barnacle Tavern has technically been open since before Prohibition was repealed , but the museum has only been in its current form since 2007.  Before its current iteration, it was, among other things, a frame shop, a telecommunications business, and a “house of ill repute”.

History

Lorcan Otway first launched into the main story of how his father, Howard Otway, acquired the business from the gangster Walter Scheib and how they wound up with a destroyed safe filled with junk.  The building had originally been a speakeasy known as Scheib’s Place in the Prohibition Era, and was the first bar to open as soon as the Twenty-First Amendment was repealed, transitioning to legitimate instantly.  Otway’s father was an actor that had ownership of the theater before him. He had bought the place from a gangster. Two gangsters named Frank Hoffman and Walter Scheib were partners and made much of their money through illegally smuggling alcohol, and then selling it at the tavern they owned, which was previously called Scheib’s Place. Hoffman hid 12 million dollars, some of the money he made from smuggling liquor, in a safe in the building that was to become the theater. When Hoffman left to Bavaria, he got stuck in Germany during World War II as a result of the Nazis’ recognizing him as a known criminal, and Scheib was left in charge of protecting the safe in the building. He decided to sell the building in order to keep the money hidden, and sold it to Howard Otway, an aspiring actor who had plans to build the theater. Scheib had hoped that Otway’s theater would go bankrupt (it was not a fantastic time for off-broadway shows) and leave town, so that Scheib could take the money and blame the previous owner for stealing it. Otway found the safe and opened it along with his son Lorcan (the current owner), and Scheib. What they found was two million dollars, a partially eaten dish of fried clams, and some photos of showgirls. As it turned out, Hoffman had somehow returned to American, robbed his own safe and taken most of the money, shoved his dinner into the safe to hide evidence that he was there, and went along unnoticed. Scheib took the remaining two million and opened a hotel business in Florida. The Otways kept the theater and continued their father-son business.

The Tavern

Approaching the museum, you may be slightly confused as to whether or not you have arrived to the correct destination. There’s a big sign with the correct address on it, but it says St Mark’s Theater in the front. Then you notice on the gate of the building next door, there is a sign that says ‘The Museum of the American Gangster’. Adjacent to the museum on the left side is a bar called William Barnacle Tavern. The bar, the museum building, and the theater are all related to each other and under the ownership of the same guy. The tavern is very authentic and old-fashioned. You can tell that it has been preserved over the years and is at least a few decades old. It contains many antiques, especially sailboats of various sizes, smells like old wood, and has a projection of a black and white film playing on the back wall. On the other hand, the storefront of the tavern is not exactly welcoming. It has square shaped glass tiles surrounded by brick that make the storefront structure, and looks as if it is hiding a secret inside. Turns out that William Barnacle Tavern is actually a former speakeasy that operated during the Prohibition Era in the 1920s, and is now very well known for its absinthe drinks (made the same exact way they were back in the day). Also, it was the first legal bar in New York City to open, after the ban on alcohol had been lifted post Prohibition.

Owner Profile

Lorcan Otway’s father, Howard Otway, was born in Ireland, making him Anglo Irish. His mother, Florence Otway, is half Eastern European Jewish, and half Romani. Otway’s father moved them from a farm to the building when he was nine years old, and Otway eventually turned the building he grew up into a two-room museum, to share his story and life experiences of American gangs and growing up in the community of the East village in the late 1900s. Otway had a number of professions and hobbies. He was a combat photographer, a theatrical photographer, and a traditional musician in the 70’s and 80’s. He has written ballads that were archived in university. In addition, he attended New York University Law School and finished his studies to become a lawyer. Otway has studied Irish immigration in the United States immensely. In addition to his academic merits, Otway is also a member of the Society of Friends, known often as Quakers, a group that he claims has significant similarities to the organized criminals that he so admires.

Neighborhood Changes

When asked to describe the East Village when he first moved here, Otway stated, “It was the Haight-Ashbury district of New York”, in reference to a part of San Francisco that was historically famous for for being the center of the hippie movement. Not just a fantastic place to get robbed, mugged, or stabbed eleven times as happened to Otway’s father, the East Village was also a place where young people and artists could actually afford rent, and so the presence of younger generations gave way to letting old-fashioned hippie vibes dominate the community. Later on, the East Village became devoured by college owned estates, such as NYU, which he described as being infamous for buying up landmark buildings so that the government could no longer tear them down to build low income housing (which would have kept the region alive). There used to be many unique storefront businesses present each block, from art supply stores to restaurants to antique places. The storefront business owner either had a symbiotic relationship with the landlord of the building, or happened to be both the business owner and the landlord. Over the years, many chain corporations, with a much higher rate of incoming revenue and ability to absorb losses, were able to buy the buildings of previous shop owners that could no longer afford the rising rent costs. The neighborhood was losing its sense of culture and diversity because of pop ups of new McDonalds, Duane Reades, and of course, Chase Banks on every block. Worse yet, developers were able to take hold of many buildings (as opposed to individual landlords) and charge higher prices; Otway himself is in a sort of battle with developers badgering him to sell his now-invaluable buildings, sometimes to the point of threatening him.  As a result, Otway became a supporter of the EVCC, the East Village Community Coalition, which is responsible for formula retail regulation and making sure not too many chain companies overpower the community. This way the small independent businesses are protected, and the authenticity of the community is preserved.  He wants to ensure that the city does not become an unsustainable, expensive, and homogenous place, stating that it is impossible to have a “single-concept society”.

Between the 60’s and the 90’s, the workers at the museum, tavern, and theater were able to afford to live in the neighborhood and could walk to work from home. During the 90’s rent was rising to uncontrollable prices and when that combined with the fact that universities had started buying the land in the village, many of the workers, who were middle class or below, could only afford lower-income housing on the outskirts of New York City. As a result,  traveling to work became much more difficult for Otway’s employees, who faced longer commute times and greater expenses.

Demographic Changes

Back in New York’s infamous 70s heyday, the East Village actually had less racial diversity in comparison to now: around 80-90% white then, compared to the 70-80% range.  A more noticeable change can be found in average annual household income: in 2013, the average income was around $80,000, while in 1970, the average household income was around $9,000 (the equivalent of 50,000 today).  The best way to properly understand demographic change in the East Village is to look at how much rent has increased in forty years: adjusted for inflation, average monthly rent in 1970 was around $550, while today the average for St. Mark’s Place measures to around $1500.  It makes far more sense why the average clientele no longer shop at art supply stores or own small businesses. In addition, the education levels have changed from a meager 20-25 percent of residents having attended college for some amount of time in 1970, to approximately 80 percent now.  

Why is 80 St Mark’s Place a Gem?

Otway has a true passion and holds the museum building close to his heart.  80 St Mark’s Place represents where he grew up, and is an important historical aspect of the neighborhood. Otway has faced a number of obstacles and challenges in continuing the preservation of his home. He constantly receives calls from developers that say they want to buy the building. Otway has been responsible for the restoration of the museum for ten and a half years. He knows that he could become wealthy from selling the historic landmark, but that would result in a loss of “heritage, family, and the culture of the city”.

The Museum of the American Gangster building was named #3 in “Buildings with the Most Interesting Backstory” by Time Magazine, in addition to the Empire State Building and Gracie Mansion.