BY THE VILLAGE SUN | After 14 years chronicling the news and doings of the Lower East Side, Bowery Boogie has gone dark.
When visiting the Bowery Boogie online address now, one is met by a black-and-white background image of a benighted Manhattan Bridge, with an epitath-like headline: “Bowery Boogie: A Lower East Side Chronicle 2008-2022.”
“Yes it’s true; we’ve decided to retire Bowery Boogie,” the message on the page reads. “Deepest gratitude for your continued support over the last 14 years, and a special thank you to our contributors.
“It’s been an amazing opportunity for us to interact with so many passionate people on this journey. We are proud of the relationships forged and achievements met, and hope that our extensive coverage of the Lower East Side kept you informed, entertained, and on your toes.”
Bowery Boogie even boasted its own extensive collection of merch for sale, including T-shirts, coffee mugs, skateboards and tote bags.
This one hurts 💔.
@boweryboogie was the very best of local journalism. Kept locals informed & status quo definitely “on their toes”.
BB will be missed 😢. Best wishes to the founders & contributors
(Some very big shoes to fill but LES needs a new local paper) pic.twitter.com/gocS7h4Gsz
— LES Dwellers (@LESdwellers) September 10, 2022
Elie Perler, the site’s co-founder and editor in chief, did not respond to a request for comment on the decision to cease publishing. However, running an online site obviously requires a tremendous amount of work and commitment, if it’s to be done right.
As of now, Bowery Boogie’s online archives are not accessible through the site.
Fans of the publication were saddened by the news. Clayton Patterson, the Lower East Side documentarian, said the loss of another local outlet hurts.
“I am sad that Bowery Boogie is down,” he said. “Every small independent that closes, we lose. We have fewer voices to listen to and to think about. Fewer opinions to agree with or not. The independent media is getting to be a thing of the past. We trade the voice of freedom for international or national corporations. We are getting news from people we do not know or will ever meet. They do not know us or our community. That is not good.
“Sad to see Bowery Boogie gone,” he said. “They covered areas no one else did. Below Houston Street we first lost the Lo-Down and now Bowery Boogie.”
The ICONIC @boweryboogie will be missed but not forgotten. Cool knows when to end on a high note. Got a hoodie, t-shirt, bag & mug to rock on the LES & remember.
In the time of cringe "Dimes Sq" strive to be the LES vibes of the Bowery Boogie👊❤️#ICON https://t.co/Zro0S8Fgi1
— LES Dwellers (@LESdwellers) September 10, 2022
In an e-mail, Diem Boyd, the leader of the LES Dwellers, said she’s not sure why the site shut down, but speculated that it’s along the lines of “going out on high note,” a la the “Seinfeld” episode “The Burning” or the ending of “Breaking Bad.”
“I am not sure why but think it’s like this,” she said, “a.k.a. the George Costanza ending on the high note. Or Vince Gilligan ending BB at the right time, at the peak of brilliance — not one season too many so that it jumps the shark.
Using an emoji, Boyd wrote, “We are really 
.”
“I will miss you as a source of news,” tweeted Allie Ryan, the former City Council candidate. “Please keep your archives alive!”
Sad day for advocates. Big real estate and corrupt party machine took over City Hall and the harm to local communities will be felt for decades. The only voice for activists to expose this corruption was through small independent local media like BoweryBoogie. A handful of powerful political families have taken control of the local media for the entire city. They have given political cover to corrupt lawmakers serving big real estate. First the old Villager and now Bowery Boogie and likely others to follow.
the wayback machine has an archive … here you go … https://web.archive.org/web/20220000000000*/boweryboogie.com