In his great book, Vanishing New York, Jeremiah Moss writes:

“One of the great tragedies of my life was that I had the misfortune to arrive in New York City at the beginning of its end.”

I can relate. I moved to New York in the early 90’s – around the same time as Moss. And I constantly felt – and still do – like old New York is fading.

That was the spirit behind our project “New York Works,” audio portraits of a vanishing city. Most of the jobs – and people – from that series are gone. But not all of them. I’m happy to report that my friend Walter the Seltzer Man is still delivering bubbles on his route, just like his father and grandfather before him.

Today on the podcast, we pay a visit to Walter, and also remember Selma Koch, the iconic bra fitter in the Upper West Side’s Town Shop.



