NEW YORK CITY: The Meatpacking District in Manhattan, once a gritty hub of slaughterhouses and packing plants, is preparing to bid farewell to its last remaining meatpackers.
Among them is John Jobbagy, whose family has been in the business since his grandfather emigrated from Budapest in 1900. For Jobbagy and the others, the end of an era is near as the city moves forward with redevelopment plans for the area.
“The neighborhood I grew up in is just all memories,” said Jobbagy, now 68. “It’s been gone for over 20 years.”
In its prime, the district was home to over 200 slaughterhouses and packing plants strategically located near shipping docks and train lines. Meat and poultry moved swiftly from plant to market, and the streets were filled with the unmistakable sounds and smells of industrial meatpacking. But over the years, the industry shrank as advancements in refrigeration and packaging shifted operations to massive plants in the Midwest.
By the 1970s, nightlife began to take root in the district, with bars and clubs-often catering to the LGBTQ+ community-moving in alongside the remaining slaughterhouses.
Gradually, the area transformed, attracting fashion designers, restaurateurs, and eventually high-end retailers. By 2009, the opening of the High Line Park marked a significant turning point, flanking the area with galleries, luxury apartments, and upscale businesses.
Today, remnants of the meatpacking past linger as nostalgic touches in storefronts, but the neighborhood has fundamentally changed. Signs for old meat suppliers adorn trendy boutiques and tech stores, but the loud, smelly, working-class district of Jobbagy’s youth is long gone.
Jobbagy, who began working for his father in the 1960s, has held on by supplying fresh hanging meat to high-end restaurants. While some meatpacking businesses plan to relocate, he and his employees, many of them Latino immigrants, are preparing to retire.
“I’ll be here when this building closes, when everybody, you know, moves on to something else,” Jobbagy said. “And I’m glad I was part of it, and I didn’t leave before.”
Andrew Berman, executive director of Village Preservation, reflected on the area’s history. “It wasn’t always a meatpacking district. It was a sort of wholesale produce district before that, and it was a shipping district before that,” he said. “So, it’s had many lives, and it’s going to continue to have new lives.”
