{"id":236852,"date":"2025-09-18T17:18:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/236852\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T17:18:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T17:18:16","slug":"two-bronx-shops-featured-in-new-book-vinyl-nyc-highlighting-independent-record-stores-bronx-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/236852\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Bronx shops featured in new book \u2018Vinyl NYC,\u2019 highlighting independent record stores \u2013 Bronx Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two legendary Bronx shops are featured in the new book \u201cVinyl NYC,\u201d photographed by James T. and Karla L. Murray with text by music journalist Hattie Lindert<\/a>, which takes readers inside the best indie record stores across all five boroughs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The book was released Sept. 9 and features Casa Amadeo in Longwood, the city\u2019s oldest continuously-running Latin record store, and Moodies, serving the Bronx\u2019s Caribbean community since 1981. Moodies was formerly located at East 225th Street and White Plains Road but is currently moving to an unannounced location.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cVinyl NYC\u201d highlights 33 1\/3 independent stores \u2014 the \u201cone-third\u201d being Academy Records Annex in Greenpoint, Brooklyn \u2014 in homage to the standard vinyl playing speed of 33 1\/3 revolutions per minute, according to the book\u2019s introduction by the Murrays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The book blends photography, history, music, and culture to give vinyl lovers a taste of what makes each one unique. Some shelve records into neatly categorized genres, and others offer a \u201ccrate-digging\u201d experience with random stacks upon stacks. Some have expanded their offerings to include vintage clothing, coffee, snacks, antiques, and other treasures to draw customers in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made sure that we included something for everyone,\u201d said Karla Murray.\u00a0
\n\"\"Photo Emily Swanson\n<\/p>\n

The Murrays, who are married self-taught photographers living in the East Village, set out to paint an \u201cintimate portrait\u201d of record stores, which often function \u201clike a little mini community centers,\u201d according to Karla Murray.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple had already photographed some of the city\u2019s unique small businesses for their previous books, \u201cStore Front NYC\u201d<\/a> and \u201cGreat Bars of New York<\/a>.\u201d From there, exploring their favorite record shops and discovering new ones along the way was a natural next step.<\/p>\n

They said that as music lovers who grew up in the vinyl era, the Murrays\u2019 love for neighborhood record stores goes far beyond the albums.\n<\/p>\n

These shops are places not only to purchase music but also to browse, attend events, discover new artists, and engage with fellow music lovers. They serve as \u201ca home away from home for a lot of people,\u201d Karla Murray said in a Sept. 3 interview with the Bronx Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vinyl records have surged in popularity in recent years, especially among younger shoppers who did not grow up owning them. The global vinyl market is expected to more than double in value between 2022 and 2030, from $1.98 billion to $4.12 billion, according to research cited by CNBC<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cVinyl is now back, and it\u2019s not just people James and my age,\u201d said Karla Murray, who is 57. Many younger people today are \u201cdiscovering the joy of vinyl for the first time,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

James Murray, 61, said record stores offer the element of surprise, whether discovering new music or encountering like-minded people. \u201cYou just never know who you might end up meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legendary Casa Amadeo<\/b><\/p>\n

Mike Amadeo, owner of Casa Amadeo, is 91 years old and still works in his store six days a week. He\u2019s a fixture in the Longwood community and an internationally-celebrated musician and composer, especially in his native Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo Emily Swanson
\n\"\"Photo Emily Swanson<\/p>\n

Casa Amadeo was added to the National Register of Historic Places<\/a> in 2001 because it \u201cembodies the history of the development of Latin music in New York City and its role in the Puerto Rican migration experience,\u201d according to the National Park Service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The shop opened in 1941 and carries vinyls and CDs \u2014 including more than 300 recordings of Amadeo\u2019s own songs \u2014 as well as instruments (guitars, maracas, tambourines) and accessories (strings, straps, tuners).<\/p>\n

Casa Amedeo has a museum-like feel, with portraits of musicians Amadeo collaborated with, photo albums of their in-store visits and displays of the shop\u2019s many government honors and media coverage from New York City and around the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a treasure trove, it really is,\u201d said James Murray.\u00a0
\n\"\"Photo Emily Swanson\n<\/p>\n

During the Bronx Times\u2019 visit on Sept. 15, Mike Amadeo said he started working in the shop at age 16 and never left. According to Vinyl NYC, he bought the store from its previous owners, siblings and musicians Rafael and Victoria Hernandez, in 1969.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amadeo had a long and influential music career, and \u201call the big names\u201d recorded his songs, including Tito Puente, Willie Col\u00f3n and Celia Cruz, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even the street permanently bears Amadeo\u2019s legacy: the intersection of Prospect and Longwood Avenues was co-named Miguel \u00c1ngel (Mike) Amadeo Way in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Photo Emily Swanson<\/p>\n

Though his shop has had a lasting impact on the city\u2019s cultural and music scene, Amadeo expressed a bleak outlook for its future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said business is \u201cvery bad now\u201d after being \u201cso great\u201d for many years, and that he can\u2019t afford to hire employees. \u201cThat\u2019s the way it is now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many small businesses are now struggling, and record stores are no exception, which was part of their motivation to create \u201cVinyl NYC,\u201d said the Murrays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope this book encourages you to go out and explore the city\u2019s many independent vinyl record shops, letting the music, memories, and new discoveries move you so that these stores can stay in business for generations to come,\u201d they wrote in the book\u2019s introduction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Those who venture in are likely to be rewarded. All stores need foot traffic, even if they sell online, and many save their most prized records for in-store purchase, said James Murray. Even in today\u2019s digital world, \u201cPhysical media still really matters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two legendary Bronx shops are featured in the new book \u201cVinyl NYC,\u201d photographed by James T. and Karla…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":236853,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,127113,127114,127115,975,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,127116,9207,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,3340,127112],"class_list":{"0":"post-236852","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-casa-amadeo","10":"tag-james-t-and-karla-l-murray","11":"tag-mike-amadeo","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-record-stores","20":"tag-small-business","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa","27":"tag-vinyl","28":"tag-vinyl-nyc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115226444560806888","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236852"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236852\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}