No, they didn’t. (Photo: Daniel Maurer)
The Papaya King that opened in the East Village last month is all about St. Marks Place. There’s a dog named after St. Marks resident Jimmy McMillan, who scored the King’s endorsement for mayor; and a sign on the back wall tells us that Lenny Bruce once lived on St. Marks (strangely, there’s no sign giving props to Crif Dogs for being the first place on St. Marks to combine hot dogs and video games).
All that is well and good, but this is not so good: another sign claims that buildings on St. Marks were featured on the covers of albums by Led Zepplin [sic] and the Rolling Stones. Head across the street to St. Marks Sounds and peruse whatever Rolling Stones albums are in stock and you’ll see a lot of crotch, but no buildings on St. Marks Place.
What the good folks at Papaya King are probably thinking is: the video for “Waiting on a Friend” was filmed at 96-98 St. Marks Place, which of course is the building that appeared on the cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti.”
Not that any of this will keep us from frequenting Papaya King. Everybody makes mistakes. After all, a day before the grand opening Jimmy McMillan was calling the place Papa King.