My friend 

Visited me when I was staying in New York

I had my second cousins second or third apartments in the West Village right above where the Cafe San Remo used to be. 

Ghosts of literary types, NYU students and young business people didn't even bother to come around any more

There was a guy living on the sidewalk across the street

He was historic New York. He'd been around when New Yorkers fought with the British over the Spring Pole at the downtown corner park. Mostly he just wore pants. No shirt or shoes. His hair was kind of long but not too. I think his name was Washington Irving or something like that. He talked of bowling pins and tankards of Ale and what lousy Canadian beer they used to sell down the street.