The Vacation

People have been asking me, they've been saying "Hey East Village Today, why haven't you posted anything since your one-year anniversary?!"

Well, the answer is this: I was away, on vacation — all the way in Asheville, North Carolina!

"What's that, you say?" they say. "All the way in Asheville, North Carolina?!"

Well, sort of. I was between Black Mountain and Swannanoa most of the time. I only passed through Asheville to get to I-26 coming home, to the East Village!

Here is a picture I took from Scenic Overlook:

Scenic Overlook, North Carolina.

Scenic!

This picture was taken August 24th, the very day of the first anniversary of… East Village Today!

Thank you.

#eastvillage #asheville #northcarolina #swannanoa #blackmountain #scenicoverlook

Happy Anniversary!

Today is the one year anniversary of the beloved East Village Today!

To celebrate, here's a picture of something cool in the East Village:

Something cool.

Happy Anniversary to the East Village… Today!

#eastvillage #anniversary

Hodgepodge – August 18, 2015

Here is this week's hodgepodge video:


Short but sweet… in the East Village Today!

Unbelievably Beautiful Restaurant

An unbelievably beautiful restaurant recently opened on Avenue A and East 6th Street — the beloved Mother of Pearl:

Unbelievably beautiful restaurant.

Look how wide that space is, without any upright impediments!

East Villagers love unbelievably beautiful restaurants.

#eastvillage #motherofpearl #avenuea #6thstreet #restaurants

Trash Mural

There are more new murals being painted in the East Village today than you can shake at stick at!

I recently wrote that an old mural was being painted over, at the beloved Best Hou ekeeping, on Avenue A. This past Sunday, this was in its place:

Trash bags mural.

The love of trash goes back a long way in the East Village: trash sculptures, songs, and now a mural!

Trash, pick it up, take them lights away!

East Villagers love trash!

#eastvillage #murals #besthousekeeping #avenuea

The Paradox of Trees

East Villagers love trees, as I've written before. They worships them! And why not? Everybody wants a shady lane!

Another reason East Villagers love trees is that the shaded area adds to a block's shabbiness. I've pointed this out with the beloved Ray's Candy Store, on Avenue A. Here is another example, on Second Avenue between East 7th Street and St. Mark's Place, home to many small shops, all of them beloved:

Second Avenue between East 7th Street and St. Mark's Place.

Cutting down the trees would make this area look better, but that would make it worse! Hence, what is known as "the paradox of trees"… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #trees #shabby

New Mural

Murals are not just for abandoned buildings any more!

This mural was recently painted onto the side of a relatively-new building on Avenue B at East 7th Street:

Mural on relatively-new building.

It won't be easy to graffiti on this one!

#eastvillage #mural #avenueb #7thstreet

Sleep-Overers Graffiti Joe Strummer Mural

East Villagers love street art — they also love graffiti! So what's better than a mural with graffiti on it?!

This is the beloved Joe Strummer mural on the wall of the beloved Niagara, on Avenue A and East 7th Street, graffiti'd Sunday night, August 9:

Beloved Joe Strummer mural, with graffiti.

Here is a close-up of the graffiti:

Close-up of the graffiti.

My psychic-detective abilities tell me that a malcontented sleep-overer — and anarchist! — scrawled this. My psychic-detective abilities also tell me that this was not the result of being refused service!

Not good enough for A-in-a-circle… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #avenuea #niagara #sleepover #tompkinssquarepark

Taylor Swift — Official Musician of the East Village

Taylor Swift is not from the East Village, she never lived here, no one knows if she even visited — all of which makes her the perfect official musician. The East Village has always been steered by outsiders!

So, in my capacity as arbiter of coolness in the East Village, I designate Taylor Swift the Official Musician of the East Village!

Here is a song of hers, to celebrate the occasion:


She even plays the banjo — how cool is that?!

I designate the banjo the official instrument of the East Village… Today!

#eastvillage #taylorswift #youbelongwithme #banjo

The Water Cycle

Here is something you don't usually see:

Something you don't usually see.

In case you're wondering what that something is, it's a water control box: open!

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

This one is kind of messed up.

Also, this shows all three aspect of park water — intake, usage, and output — in a single picture.

It's the water cycle in miniature… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #waterfountains #tompkinssquarepark #watercycle

Hollow Tree Fungus Alert — Update

Back in July, I wrote about a tree on Avenue C suffering from hollow-tree fungus.

I passed by there recently, and saw this:

Curb your hollow-tree fungus.

It sort of looks like matzos!

Also, someone replaced the previous "Curb Your Dog" sign with two new ones!

It's never too late to curb your dog… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenuec #hollowtreefungus #mushrooms #signs #trees #5thstreet

Meet Me in the Park

Marching-band drummer meets bicycle-safety guy in Tompkins Square Park, during the recent punk rock concert:

Punk rock music bring everyone closer together… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #riotreunion

Fallen Cicada

I was walking across East 6th Street tonight, when I saw this:


I'm pretty sure it's a cicada. It looks like the new bug is emerging from a split at the head, much as Athena emerged from a split in Zeus's head!

In case you're wondering (as well you should be!), when I finished taping this, I picked up the bug and tried to put it onto a tree branch in the tree area of the very groovy Earth School, but it just fell back to the ground. At least it was off the sidewalk, and able to continue its metamorphosis!

Save the critters!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #cicadas #athena #zeus #earthschool

The Deceivers, Kind Of

This is the last video of the bands from this past weekend's punk rock concert in Tompkins Square Park.

The Deceivers:


#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #punkrockshow #riotreunion

Pictures From a Punk Rock Exhibition

I didn't just shoot videos at this weekend's punk rock concert, I took pictures too!

If there's a punk rock concert in Tompkins Square Park, you can be sure there will be crusties in attendance:

Crusties in attendance.

J.R. "Bob" Dobbs and the guy from Schizo:

J.R. "Bob" Dobbs and the guy from Schizo.

What does his jacket say? Here is a close-up [NSFW]:

F**k the Mall.

I guess he doesn't like the mall!

East Villagers are always introducing new fashions — here's one you're sure to see more of soon: canes for couples!

Canes for couples.

These days, even punk rockers need glasses:

Punks with glasses.

Finally, while not an East Village celebrity, he is a celebrity — introducing: Aron Kay:

"Look! I'm on East Village Today!"

Hey hey, my my, punk rock and roll will never die!

#eastvillage #aronkay #jrbobdobbs #punkrockshow #punks #riotreunion #schizo #tompkinssquarepark

Punk Rock Concert — Day 2

Yesterday was the second day of the two-day punk rock concert in Tompkins Square Park.

I didn't get there until, oh, about 6:00pm! I don't know what I did all day — I took a nap at one point. East Villagers need their beauty rest!

Anyway, here are some video clips of what I saw. This is Nihilistics:


Generally, East Villagers don't dance — yesterday was an exception! The Deceivers brought people (executives, joggers, crusties) together in a way no other band ever has in the history of the East Village:


Next year, I think this should be held in September, after the New York University students are back. They would be dancing too!

#eastvillage #dancing #nihilistics #punkrockshow #riotreunion #tompkinssquarepark #businessexecutives #crusties

Punk Rock Concert — Day 1

Today was Day 1 of the punk rock concert in Tompkins Square Park that, as organizers of both events agree, has nothing to do with the Tompkins Square Park Sleep-Over occurring in the same place, at the same time!

They finally put up posters around the park:

Punk rock concert poster.

I  was fashionably late to the concert, but it turns out the concert was fashionably late starting! When I arrived, the first group, Schizo, was playing:


After them was a band called Simon and the Bar Sinisters. They were so rockin', people started dancing!:


There were more bands after this one, but I left fashionably early, so I didn't see them.

A good time was had by all… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #riotreunion #tompkinssquarepark #simonandthebarsinisters #schizo #dancing #punkrockshow

The Hazards of Bike-Riding

East Villagers love to ride their bikes, be it Citibikes, or their own!

One of the hazards of riding, I have found, is that when you come to a stop at a red light, oftentimes you find yourself sitting beside a trashcan:

Stopped beside trash.

The best way to avoid this, when approaching a red light, is to stop your bike before your reach the pedestrian crosswalk, which is where the trashcans are.

Reducing the proximity to trash… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #trashcans #bicycles

Tompkins Square Park Sleep-Over – Day 1

After a false start, due to the wrong start date/time being advertised on the organizers' Facebook page, the Tompkins Square Park sleep-over began last night!

The event opened with a shopping trip to the beloved Ray's Candy Store, on Avenue A:

Ray's Candy Store, where people bought ice cream and french fries at midnight.

I'm not sure how many people slept overnight on East 7th Street — the organizers' Facebook page said 314 people would attend. This was the scene this morning:

East 7th Street, towards Avenue B.

East 7th Street, towards Avenue A.

Practicing the principle of "leave no trace"… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #avenuea #campnewyorkpost #rayscandystore #tompkinssquarepark

Stage to Partner with Pinkberry?

Rumor has it that the beloved Pinkberry, that used to be on St. Mark's Place before it closed:

St. Mark's former Pinkberry, with couch.

is partnering with the beloved Stage Restaurant, on Second Avenue:

Possible new signage.

It would be the best of both worlds… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #pinkberry #secondavenue #stagerestaurant

Tree Branch Assemblage

I was walking across East 4th Street the other evening, when I saw this assemblage:

Tree branch assemblage.

It was immediately clear to me that these branches did not gather themselves into this pile. No, they had help; they were put there by someone!

I looked up to see if I could discover their origin, and saw this:

The origin of the fallen branches.

It just goes to show: you never know when tree branches might fall… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #trees

Free Chair

If you're thinking of attending the punk rock concert this weekend, or visiting the people sleeping on East 7th Street, but you don't want to stand, you might be interested in this chair, on the corner of Avenue A and East 7th Street:

Free chair.

There are two things you should always do when you have the chance: use the restroom; and sit down — because you don't know when you'll have the chance again!

East Villagers love sage advice!

#eastvillage #chairs #avenuea #7thstreet #abandoned

Fashionably Late

East Villagers are always fashionably late. If you say something starts at 1:00pm (a punk rock concert, for example) people will not show up until 2:00.

Likewise, if you say something starts at midnight Friday morning (a sleep-over along East 7th Street, for example), no one will show up until Friday night!

This was the scene on East 7th Street this morning:

East 7th Street, toward Avenue B.

East 7th Street, toward Avenue A.

This was the only campsite:

The only campsite — unfashionably on time!

The Parks Department must have thought more people would show up, because they locked the entrance on 7th Street:

East 7th Street entrance to Tompkins Square Park, closed.

I'm sure a lot of people will show up tonight though — it's a lot easier to wake up on the sidewalk when you don't have to go to work!

East Villagers love to go to work refreshed!

#eastvillage 7thstreet #sleepover #tompkinssquarepark #campnewyorkpost

Punk Rock Concert This Weekend

Just as with the Sleep-Over, the annual Tompkins Square Riot Reunion punk rock concert is getting zero promotion!

This is all I saw today, at First Avenue:

Sharpie pen notice.

And this:

Flyer on the bulletin board.

In case you can't see it, here is a close-up:

Close-up.

As with most cool East Village events, you have to learn about it by word of mouth… or from this blog!

#eastvillage #firstavenue #riotreunion #tompkinssquarepark

Tompkins Square Park Sleep-Over Tonight

Tonight is the first night of the big Tompkins Square Park sleep-over! According to earlier pronouncements, it starts at midnight Friday and goes till Sunday morning.

I wrote about this back in July, and I thought there would be more promotion, but there really hasn't been any. There's a Facebook page, but you'd already have to know about the sleep-over to know about the page, and there haven't been any signs at all!

I passed by this morning, thinking people would be staking out their claims to prime sidewalk space, but nothing:



I thought I saw a campsite, but it turned out to be garbage dumped overnight:

Not a campsite.

Then again, East Villagers love to procrastinate!

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #sleepover #7thstreet

Paint It White

There's a song by the Rolling Stones that's very popular in the East Village, called Paint It White:

I see a red door and I want it painted white
No colors any more, I want them to turn white

East Villagers love to paint things white!

The beloved Best Hou ekeeping appliance store on Avenue A is painting their riot gates white:

Paint it white.

It's probably primer — I'm sure some wonderful new mural will be painted over it, to replace what was there before:

Google view of wonderful old mural.

Best Hou ekeeping is a source of many jokes. Here are a few of them:

Best Hou ekeeping's sign is so old!
(How old is it?!)
It's so old, the phone number doesn't have an area code in it!

Best Hou ekeeping's sign is so old!
(How old is it?!)
It's so old, the letter S fell out of the name!

Best Hou ekeeping's mural is so old!
(How old is it?!)
It's so old, the paint has faded!

All in good fun… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenuea #besthousekeeping #paint

Another Leany Tree

There's not a whole lot to say about this leany tree on St. Mark's Place — it's on St. Mark's Place, and it leans:

Leany tree.

These things seem to all lean toward the street. That's probably a good thing — its probably worse to lean toward the buildings!

#eastvillage #leanytrees #stmarksplace #trees

Day Trips Near the East Village

I am starting new feature today, called: Day Trips Near the East Village!

If you've ever been of the mind to take trips outside of the East Village, I have the perfect suggestion for you: Dairy Queen, on West 14th Street! (I had this idea yesterday, when I saw this abandoned DQ cup):

Abandoned Dairy Queen cup.

It's easy to get to by city bus from the East Village — just take a look at this map:

Bus map to Dairy Queen.

The circles are transfer points, if you take the M15 bus.

Get the Peanut Buster Parfait — it's an East Village favorite!

#eastvillage #14thstreet #dairyqueen #daytrips #peanutbusterparfait #citybus

Abandoned Couch

I was walking across East 4th Street yesterday, when I saw this couch, which someone abandoned on the sidewalk outside Orchard Alley community garden:

Abandoned couch.

Last night, Orchard Alley hosted the first film of a festival sponsored by the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. The name of the film-festival is "I (Heart) NRCHY"!

The arrival of this couch couldn't have been timed better — East Village anarchists love found objects! I bet they took it inside the garden and had a front-row seat for the movie!

Down in front!

#eastvillage #filmfestival #abandoned #couches #orchardalley #communitygarden #museumofreclaimedurbanspace #4thstreet

Christmas Treecycling Comes Early

East Villagers all know the area in Tompkins Square Park where Christmas trees are taken to be mulched. It's almost as festive a ritual as buying the tree — helping it to rejoin the circle of life!

Here is a picture from this past January:

Treecycling area in January.

This year, however, the Parks Department has erected the fence early — fine months early, to be precise! This picture is from last week:

Treecycling area in July.

Last week, the Terrahawk Mobile Utility Surveillance Tower was parked here. It's gone now, but they left the fence.

It's never too soon to treecycle… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #christmastrees #tompkinssquarepark #recycling

New Citibike Stanchions

East Villagers were very excited recently to find a new type of stanchion installed in local Citibike stations!

The new stanchion is different from the old in two important ways: 1) the key is inserted horizontally, instead of vertically; and 2) when the bike is released, it rolls back slightly, eliminating the necessity of having to release it by lifting the seat up and back!

Here is a picture of the new stanchion, outside the beloved Yuca Bar on East 7th Street:

New Citibike stanchion.

Bike sharing just because easier… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #citibike #yucabar