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Photography by:  Joseph O. Holmes, NYC

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The Prince of 7th Street: Sexy Pretty Boy (R.I.P.)

The Prince of 7th Street: Pretty Boy (1989-2009)

Pretty Boy, The Prince of New York City’s E. 7th: One Cool Cat

Down in the East Village, residents and other people whose business brought them down to Seventh Street between Avenue A and First Ave. had their own daily guide, a white cat named Pretty Boy who strolled the south side of the street for more than 20 years. Pretty Boy passed away last month at the age of 22, leaving a small sense of emptiness for those who had felt his inescapable presence.

It’s impossible to say just exactly who owned Pretty Boy. The white cat walked into Mikey’s Pet Supply Store at 130 E. Seventh Street one day in 1988 and made it his home base on the block, where the cat became known as The Mayor of Seventh St. Pretty Boy slept at Mikey’s Pet Supply Store, but during the day he hung out mostly at Salon Seven, the hair salon at 110 E. Seventh Street. At Salon Seven he spent his day purring, sprawled out on the appointment calendar at the reception desk and in the laps of clients having their hair washed. Sometimes in the evening he would take a little jaunt over to 7A, the restaurant at the end of the block, and would sit in the sidewalk cafe watching people eat.

Pretty Boy was a great favorite of the superintendents on the block, who work out of a basement office and watched Pretty Boy walk by. One of them said, “I wish I had a cool walk like that. It really was a cool walk, especially as he got older, it was a Zen-like stroll. It was so serene. I like to think of him as my sensei, my Zen master. I hope to be as cool and serene as that when I get old.”

Some have said that Pretty Boy was a karmic blessing, he arrived on 7th Street and made everyone feel good.

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