Some Filmmakers

East Villagers are accustomed to crusties congregating outside empty storefronts, but sometimes those congregating are filmmakers!

I was walking up Avenue A this past Friday, when I saw these filmmakers congregated outside the formerly-beloved Nino's Pizza:

Congregated filmmakers.

There's nothing like an abandoned storefront to add East Village character to a movie!

#eastvillage #filmmakers #ninospizza #avenuea

Inside The Door of 404

It's been a while since I've written about the Former-East-9th-Street-West-Virginia Building — that's because there's been nothing to say about it!

Recently, I was walking across East 9th Street, when I saw the door open:

Door open.

Here's an HDR-toned close-up:

HDR-toned close-up.

Back in May, it looked like this:

Back in May.

The more things change, the more they're not the same… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #renovations

Mosaic Trail Expands Eastward

I was walking across East 7th Street this past Friday morning, when I saw what could only be described as the newest addition to the Mosaic Trail:

Newest addition to the Mosaic Trail.

It's difficult to know at this time whether this is by Mosaic Man Jim Power, a recent work by the famous Invader, or a new mosaic artist, but one thing is certain: It's a welcome addition to the beloved Mosaic Trail!

East Villagers love mosaics!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #artists #invader #jimpower #mosaicman #mosaictrail #mosaics

The Party's Just Beginning

Back in early November, I wrote about how East Villagers like to reminisce about the bad old days.

Today, while walking up Avenue B, I passed by another El Especialito paper box graffitied with the same meme, this time updated for the 21st century:

Updated for the 21st century.

In case you can't see the modification, here's a close-up:

Close-up.

East Villagers love smiley faces!

#eastvillage #avenueb #elespecialito #graffiti #memes #missingfoundation #smileyfaces #thepartysover

Shepard Does Dallas

The beloved Dallas BBQ, that is!

I was walking across St. Mark's Place the other day when, at the corner of Second Avenue, I saw this:

Dallas BBQ, on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

Here is a close-up of the Shepard Fairey original Drink signs:

Close-up of the Shepard Fairey original Drink signs.

East Villagers love Shepard Fairey!

#eastvillage #dallasbbq #secondavenue #shepardfairey #stmarksplace

The One That Got Away

I was walking across East 9th Street this morning, when I saw this sprung mousetrap in the gutter:

Sprung mousetrap.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

You gotta get up pretty early in the morning to catch an East Village mouse!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #mousetraps

Jokes and Spaghetti

East Villagers love jokes — and they love spaghetti! So what could be better than a restaurant where you can have both?!

I saw this sign earlier this morning, on the corner of Avenue A and St. Mark's Place, announcing this wondrous combination:

Jokes and spaghetti sign.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Yes, you can have both jokes and spaghetti at the beloved Sidewalk Cafe, just two blocks away, on East 6th Street, Tuesday nights at 10pm!

And best of all, it's free! You can't beat that with a stick!

#eastvollage avenuea #jokes #sidewalkcafe #signs #spaghetti #stmarksplace

358 Days Till SantaCon 2016

It seems like almost yesterday that SantaCon 2015 was here, and already East Villagers are preparing for SantaCon 2016!

According to Time And Date Dot Com (accurate to within 0.193 seconds!), there are 358 days until SantaCon 2016:

East Villagers love SantaCon!

#eastvillage #santacon

Exile Gym

East Villagers are all exiles from somewhere, some place where their idiosyncrasies just didn't fit in with the syncrasies of the rest of the people of their town.

Understanding this, someone has seen fit to open a gym to exploit that lack of belonging!

Behold, the beloved Exile Gym, on First Avenue:

The gym for professional exiles.

No need to feel isolated any longer, exiled East Villagers — soon you will be crunching those abs just like John Cena!

East Villagers love John Cena!

#eastvillage #exileprofessionalgym #firstavenue #johncena

Invader 2

As I wrote in Invader 1, Invader is a world-famous artist, who works exclusively in the medium of small ceramic tiles. Recently, he's been working in New York City, including (naturally!) in the East Village!

On Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place, at the beloved, local, recently-closed branch of Chase bank, Invader installed a mosaic of Spiderman, climbing the wall:

Spiderman climbing the wall.

It looks like a whole new mosaic trail is opening up… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #artists #chasebank #invader #mosaics #secondavenue #spiderman #stmarksplace

Invader 1

Invader is a world-famous artist, who works exclusively in the medium of small ceramic tiles. Recently, he's been working in New York City, including (naturally!) in the East Village!

East Villagers love street artists — even more, they love liberating the work of street artists!

At the corner of First Avenue and East 4th Street, above the beloved Guayoyo, is a mosaic of Woody Allen, half liberated:

Woody Allen, half liberated.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

It's hard to know why the liberator stopped where he did, or why he didn't liberate the edge pieces at the top. It's also hard to know if he labelled the pieces, so he could reassemble the mosaic at home.

East Villagers are hopeful that Invader will return to fix the mosaic. This time, he should put up a sign that says:

Please Do Not Steal My Mosaic. Thank You!

You can't mince words with East Villagers Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #artists #firstavenue #guayoyo #invader #mosaics

Mysterious Flashes at Groovy Earth School

I was walking across East 6th Street, oh, some time around December 6, when I saw the most mysterious flashes I've ever seen outside of the desert!

Luckily, I had my video camera with me! Here it is — tell me what you think:

Weird, no?!

Maybe it's time to call the Ghostbusters!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #earthschool #mysteries

SantaCon 2015

SantaCon, by Currier & Ives.

Another SantaCon 2015 has come and gone, and once again it was a rollicking good time, as East Villagers, present and future, came together to celebrate the holidays!

I wasn't able to get out during the daylight hours — pictures I've seen show even more Santas than my video captured!

So with no further ado, I present "SantaCon 2015":

#eastvillage #santacon #currierandives

The Busker

The East Village is famous for its buskers — you can't swing a cat without hitting one!

I was walking across St. Mark's Place last Saturday when I saw this busker in front of the formerly-beloved JAS Mart:

Busker in front of JAS Mart.

To be kind, here's a close-up:

Close-up.

They say that he won't last too long in the East Village — he'll catch a Greyhound bus for home, they all say. But they're dead wrong, I know they are. 'Cause he can play that there guitar. And he won't quit till he's a star… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #musicians #buskers #jasmart

Lost Thong

East Villagers have long been familiar with walking down the street and finding a lost shoe. "How does someone not know they lost a shoe?!" they can oftentimes be heard exclaiming!

Well, recently I was walking across East 6th Street, when I saw this lost thong:

Lost thong.

This had to be shed deliberately — how does someone not know they lost a thong?!

#eastvillage #lostthong #6thstreet #abandonedclothes

The Lone Ornament

Sometimes, all you need is one item to make a costume, or decorated tree!

Just like a single, red nose constitutes a legitimate Halloween costume, a single, hanging pinecone constitutes a legitimate Christmas decoration, like this one that I saw on East 6th Street:

Legitimate Christmas decoration.

Here is a vertical close-up:

Vertical close-up.

East Villagers are the kings and queens of understatement!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #christmasdecorations #understatement #trees

"A" Christmas Stencil

I was walking past the beloved Vazac's bar on the corner of Avenue B and East 7th Street recently, when I saw their Christmas window stencils:

Christmas window stencils.

Vazac's is known for their stencils, which are defaced almost immediately by their customers, who write their names or clever slogans in the Ice Crystals Aerosol Spray!

They won't be able to deface that "A" rating though!

It's comforting to know that the bags of pretzels you can buy at the bar are kept at the right temperature!

#eastvillage #christmasdecorations #icecrystalsaerosolspray #vazacs #avenueb #7thstreet #pretzels #sanitationinspectiongrade

Babies Welcome

I was walking down St. Mark's Place this past Saturday, past the beloved Cafe Mogador, when I saw this baby stroller positioned at a table:

Baby stroller positioned at a table.

The beloved Cafe Mogador has always been known for its young clientelle!

Table for one year old, please!

#eastvillage #cafemogador #stmarksplace #babystrollers

Define Immigrant

I was walking up Second Avenue this past weekend, when I saw this sticker peeling off a lamppost:

Sticker peeling off a lamp post.

Every East Villager is an immigrant, not just from foreign countries like Canada, but foreign states like Ohio, or foreign boroughs like Queens!

The East Village is the 21st-century melting pot of coolness!

#eastvillage #immigrants #secondavenue #lampposts

Christmas and Beer

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens…

Ask any East Villager what their favorites things are (after the Halloween Dog Parade, of course!), and they'll tell you "Beer and Christmas"!

So it should come as no surprise that the beloved East Village Farm, on Second Avenue and East 4th Street, had both on display this past Saturday:

Beer and Christmas trees.

If you're burly enough, you can carry them both home at the same time, one in each hand!

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When they're feeling sad
East Villagers drink up their favorite things
And then they don't feel… so bad…

When decorating their Christmas trees…

In the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #beer #christmas #christmastrees #secondavenue #eastvillagefarm 4thstreet

Old News Is Good News

I've written about the beloved Moishe's Bake Shop, on Second Avenue, many times. This is another one of those times!

Since the time of my last post on Moishe's, the owners finally — finally! — replaced the horrific-looking windows that were scarred beyond repair! The new glass looks so spiffy and clean:

Spiffy and clean.

This is what they replaced:

Scarred beyond repair.

East Villagers love spiffy, clean windows!

#eastvillage #moishesbakeshop #secondavenue #renovations

SantaCon on Extensis

What a coincidence! I was just turning on a font that I didn't have turned on, using Extensis Suitcase, when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a thumbnail of a SantaCon poster, promoting the font Brilliants:

Promoting the font Brilliants.

I clicked on it and it took my to the Extensis Pinterest page, where I saw a larger version, shown here:

Larger version. 

Everywhere you go, SantaCon is in the air… even outside the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #santacon #extensissuitcase #pinterest #brilliants

Abandoned Gingerbread House

I was walking up Second Avenue this past weekend, when what to my wondering eyes should appear, but an abandoned, plastic-wrapped gingerbread house on a mailbox:

Abandoned, plastic-wrapped gingerbread house on a mailbox.

East Villagers are a freegan lot, so I'm sure this didn't stay up here too long before it was eaten!

Free the joy… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #gingerbreadhouses #freegans #abandonedfood

Christmas Corner

There was a time when the corner of First Avenue and East 1st Street was an eyesore — no one would have thought of selling Christmas trees in front of it!

Now, due to the beloved Mars Bar closing, and the beloved TD Bank opening, it's safe for holiday revellers to stroll past, and even purchase a Christmas Tree:

Strolling past the beloved TD Bank.

Not only can you purchase a tree from this corner, but you can even purchase one named after a famous celebrity! Here are some examples:

John [sic] Snow, and Gandalf.

Lieutenant Dan, and more!

The thing about Christmas trees named after famous celebrities is that you need to leave the sign hanging around it once you get it home, so people will know who it's named after! Guess which tree I bought?!

#eastvillage #1ststreet #christmastrees #firstavenue #gandalf #jonsnow #lieutenantdan #taylorswift #tdbank

More Litter

I was walking across East 6th Street this past weekend, when I saw this litter outside the Church of God:

Litter outside Church of God.

Here is a close up.

Close up.

It's a good thing these boards were abandoned here, or this litter would have fallen onto the ground!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #abandonedlumber #churchofgod #litter

Don't Pay the Ransom – I Escaped!

East Villagers have been asking: Where's East Village Today?

Where's East Village Today?

The truth is, two things happened that resulted in my not being able to take pictures: 1) the end of Daylight Savings Time means that it's dark when I get out of work, and my video camera does not take great pictures at night; and 2) my morning routine has changed — I am no longer able to take pictures on my way to work!

A momentary setback, you can be sure — soon enough I'll be back to shooting on weekdays!

At least I wasn't kidnapped!

#eastvillage #eastvillagetoday #whereswaldo

8 More Days Till SantaCon

East Villagers are beside themselves in anticipation of the event that almost rivals the Halloween Dog Parade: Santa Con!

To help get you into the Santa spirit, here is a picture from last year's SantaCon, outside the beloved The 13th Step, on Second Avenue:

East Villagers SantaConners.

If you want to be a SantaConner (not to be confused with Sarah Connor), you still have time to purchase your Santa costume at such local, beloved boutiques as Party City!

East Villagers love SantaCon!