He’ll be the last meatpacker in the Meatpacking District. Here’s how NYC’s gritty ‘hood got chic

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The last meatpackers in New York’s Meatpacking District have agreed to end their leases early and make way for development on their city-owned lot. A third-generation meatpacker says he is ready to retire and he’ll be proud to be there when the building closes. The closure date has not been set, but will mark the end of over a century of industrial life in the Meatpacking District. Starting in the 1970s, a new nightlife scene emerged as bars and nightclubs moved in. Today it’s a hub for shopping, tourism, and recreation and only echoes of that grit remain.