Ghost Signage Visible at 101 Delancey

Last week, the gaudy black-and-yellow Sprint awning was stripped from the facade of 101 Delancey (at the corner of Ludlow).  Lo and behold, a spectacular ghost sign is now clearly visible!  Even though the ornate lettering has worn with time, it appears to advertise an establishment called Jay-Mor Hats.

While there isn’t much ink dedicated to the Jay-Mor business, this cornershop also became the location of Buranelli Hats.  The latter was deemed a “hidden treasure” by the Daily News back in 2001.

At Buranelli Hats on Delancey St., Gino Buranelli sizes up customers with a glance. “You’re a 7 1/8,” he told a visitor last week. The shopowner was, per usual, dead-on. After 35 years in the business, the guy knows noggins.

On the other hand, he doesn’t know how many hats are in his store. “Everywhere you look, it’s hats, hats, hats,” he said with a shrug, pointing to shelves and cases stacked and stuffed with stylish lids. “There’s a lot!”

In recent years, the space morphed into a run-of-the-mill wireless outpost. According to a computer printout taped to the shutters, the store is closing for the Passover holiday, and will reopen on April 7.