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Katz's Deli, McSorley's Among Landmarks Featured in New York Cosmos Campaign

By Patrick Hedlund

DNAinfo News Editor

MANHATTAN — Lower East Side mainstays Katz's Delicatessen and McSorley's Old Ale House might not conjure images of athletic excellence, but the longtime landmarks are nonetheless acting as the backdrop in a new ad campaign for a revived local soccer club.

A series of advertisements — featuring everyone from martial artists on the streets of Chinatown to a tough-looking crew sipping espresso at a Little Italy café — are being used by sportswear company Umbro to drum up interest in the recently reborn New York Cosmos soccer club.

The portraits of New Yorkers across the boroughs include photos of Katz's Delicatessen owner Alan Dell and staff at the 123-year-old East Houston Street restaurant, a surly looking bouncer sitting out front of the circa-1854 McSorley's bar on East 7th Street, and a trio of firefighters outside the FDNY's Engine 55 on Broome Street — all decked out in Cosmos gear.

The pictures, by acclaimed urban photographer Jamel Shabazz, also feature hoopsters at Harlem's famous Rucker Park courts, cooks at Mexican restaurant La Esquina in SoHo and break-dancers at a Midtown subway station.

The recently relaunched Cosmos organization, led by Brazilian great Pelé during the 1970s, are lobbying to join Major League Soccer as an expansion team after dissolving in 1985.

A spokeswoman for the team did not immediately return request for comment.

The Cosmos also recently posted mysterious ads on the Upper West Side featuring the image of Pelé and the team's former monkey mascot Harold.