Rising rents force New York's Cornelia Street Cafe to close for good on New Year's Day

Cornelia Street Cafe, for over 40 years a favourite in New York City's Greenwich Village, is the latest victim of rising rents forcing businesses out of the area.

The cafe has been voted one of the best places in the world to hear jazz, and has played host to the performances of countless poets and musicians. In its early days, a young John Oliver and Amy Schumer tested their material in the homey establishment.

According to the owner, rent had risen 77 times since the business opened its doors in 1977, and that they were unable to keep up.

"I am sad to say that I am losing my oldest child," Hirsch was quoted saying in a December article featured in Gothamist. "Cornelia has brought me both joy and pain, and it is with a broken heart that I must bid her adieu."