We recently welcomed tattooed biker and auto technician Alan Brownfeld to the show. Whether your ride was a horse and buggy or a 2012 Prius, for over 90 years New Yorkers of all stripes depended on Brownfeld Auto on the far west side of 29th Street to keep their conveyances humming. However, with the advent of the High Line Park, Alan found himself in a highly-publicized battle to keep his family business against the tide of a rapidly changing city.

Portrait of Alan Brownfeld by Craig LaCourt for On the Real. www.craiglacourt.com.

It was a fight he ultimately lost, after which Alan decamped down south for good. We expected Alan to be bitter and brooding about it, as we might have been. We were prepared for this man to rage against the machine of "gentrification." What actually went down conversationally was completely surprising. He may call the Sunshine State home now, but rest assured, Alan Brownfeld is a true-blue New York character.