Sounds familiar, been a while ya' know, but it was several streets not just one.  Sigh  "The Old Days will never return" & etc. etc. etc.

My experiences in Alphabet City (in the 70s) doesn't quite reach to include boutiques and snooty culinary establishments purveying undigestible meals.  I presume the local HQ of the NYC Hell's Angels has re-located from 2nd St?  ;-)

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre