Here’s something unexpected. A record/book store and arts space has opened in the East Broadway Mall, under the Manhattan Bridge. Amongst the Chinese clothing shops and herbal vendors you’ll now find 2 Bridges Music Arts, the first in an expected wave of creative ventures in the quirky Chinatown shopping space.
The shop is run by Simon Gabriel, a longtime East Village resident who was part of Good Records (East 5th Street) when it was opened 11 years ago. After the demise of the beloved “Other Music” record store earlier this year, Gabriel finally decided, “somebody needed to step in to keep music alive” downtown.
2 Bridges Music Arts sells new and used records, tapes and books. There are also exhibitions (currently showing: Henri Chopin: Works on Paper 1969-2001). As the store’s website notes, “the space is meant to host overlapping tendencies in experimental music, art and knowledge production internationally.”
Gabriel said the other-worldly Chinatown mall appealed to him because he wants visitors to the store to feel as though “they’re crossing over the threshold.” The space, he noted, has the “power to wash over you,” heightening your senses. The shop is a place to hang out and listen to international music but also to engage with other art forms.
2 Bridges Music Arts is located at 75 East Broadway, in suite 205. Every week, you can see five featured albums (posted on the store’s website). Hours are Monday-Friday 2-9 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday noon-8 p.m.
