Falling Down

You might not think so to look at it, but the East Village is built like a house of cards!

Evidence of this can be seen at this construction site on East 6th Street, where an I-beam is the only think preventing the building on the left from falling into the empty lot:

I-beam to the rescue.

I wonder if the owner of the building on the left paid the developer to prevent his building from collapsing? If I were the developer, I'd make him pay!

And if I were the owner of the building on the right, I'd make the developer pay to use my building as a support!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #constructionsites #ibeams

Teeny-Tiny Garage

I was walking across East Houston Street — oh, about fifteen days ago — when I noticed this extremely narrow building:

Extremely narrow building.

Why would such an extremely narrow building exist, I wondered, let alone have a door?

I was not to be left wondering for long! When I got to the other side, I found the answer:

The answer.

So the rear-door entrance is for loading the trunk, and the front entrance is for getting into the car and driving away.

I would have made it a bit wider, so the doors can open on both sides without hitting the walls. In a way, this is like parking in a public garage and having someone park too close to you!

#eastvillage #cars #parking #garages #houstonstreet

Christmassy Standpipe

Bless me, readers, for I have sinned — it's been ten days since my last post!

Well, you know, East Villagers get all caught up in the Christmas thing.

Speaking of Christmas, check out this Christmassy standpipe, that I saw on one of my jaunts into the Lower East Side:

Christmassy standpipe.

Notice the way the sidewalk slants. That's something they have down there in the Lower East Side: slanty sidewalks.

Weird!

#lowereastside #christmasdecorations, #daytrips, #standpipes

Back to the Street

I was walking across St. Mark's Place yesterday afternoon, when I saw this beautiful work of art:

Beautiful work of art.

If you are familiar with the East Village, you probably think that I'm referring to the trash and graffiti, but… no, no, no!

I am referring to this:

This.

Look back at the first picture, it's just to the left of ATM.

This is part of a series of photographs called Back To The Street.

Keep an eye out when you're walking around the East Village — you might find some yourself!

#eastvillage #trash #stmarksplace #graffiti #backtothestreet #photography

Soup of the Day

I was walking up First Avenue yesterday, when sign sign figuratively jumped out at me:

Soup of the Day.

Soup of the Day? Whoa!

So not only does the beloved Classic Gourmet Deli sell coffee, hot bagels, panini, wraps, burgers, philly steaks, sandwiches hot & cold, tossed salad, and organic product, but they sell Soup of the Day as well!

You can get anything… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #classicgourmetdeli #firstavenue #signs

Model Mayhem

I was walking across East 2nd Street about nine days ago, when I saw these enlargements of mug shots plastered to these doors:

Mug shots.

It turns out to be advertisements for Model Mayhem, done by photographer 1penemy!

Usually, they're placed side-by-side, but because there was already graffiti on these doors, they had to be staggered!

Graffiti that you can't read, I might add!

#eastvillage #1penemy #2ndstreet #doors #graffiti #modelmayhem

Legibility

East Villagers have long been frustrated by the fact that, oftentimes, they cannot make out what is being written by graffitiers when they do their graffiti.

For example, who can read any of this?

Scribbly mess.

So East Villagers were pleasantly surprised to finally find a graffitier whose name they can read, on East 13th Street:

Steve.

No hieroglyphics, no dribbly paint, just a simple message of hope: Steve.

There's something indecipherable scrawled above it, but… baby steps, baby steps!

#eastvillage #13thstreet #graffiti #steve

SantaCon 2016

What can you say? East Villagers love SantaCon — it goes without saying!

It's the second-most popular event on the East Village social calendar — second only to Halloween because, you know… those dogs are so cute!

So with no further ado, here are some pictures of SantaCon 2016:

The beloved V Bar, on St. Mark's Place and First Avenue:

There are no bad Santas.

On the corner of Second Avenue and East 9th Street:

Who is he interviewing?

A bunny!

Along Second Avenue:

Staying in the Santa lane.

On East 9th Street:

Rockin' the snowman suit.

Santa must work out at Gold's Gym!

Back on Second Avenue, outside the beloved The 13th Step:

Woe, the fallen bicycle.

Mugging for the camera:

Someone lost their Santa hat!

Santas ascending.

A splendid day was had by all!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #firstavenue #secondavenue #stmarksplace #the13thstep #vbar

New Album Out Now

East Villagers are accustomed to seeing the new Missing Foundation meme with a smiley face in the center of the triangle.

But this one, that I saw today on East 9th Street, had no smiley face:

No smiley face.

Just the message: New album out now on CD Baby.

Just in time for Christmas!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #missingfoundation

Crossing Device

I was walking up Avenue D this morning, when I saw this crossing device at the corner of East 3rd Street:

Crossing device.

Crossing the street just got a whole lot safer!

Of course, you still have the drug dealers to contend with!

#eastvillage #avenued #3rdstreet #crossingdevices

Through the Cellar Door Hole

Have you ever been walking down the sidewalk — Second Avenue, for instance — when you see an opening in a cellar door where maybe a handle should be…

Opening where maybe a handle should be.

…and wonder to yourself: "I wonder what's down there?"

Well, wonder no more — I give you: the view through the cellar-door hole:

View through the cellar-door hole.

It's very primitive looking, no? I'm surprised it's not flooded, what with a swamp directly beneath us!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #cellardoors

Citibike Kickstands

This isn't specific to the East Village, but since East Villagers love Citibikes, it's still relevant.

Not too long ago, Citibike changed some of the features of its bikes: they changed the gear shifter; they changed the seat; and they changed the kickstand.

Here is a picture of the old-style kickstand:

Old-style kickstand.

Here is a picture of the new-style kickstand:

New-style kickstand.

East Villagers don't really like this one. It's hard to get into place, and even harder to get back up (you have to lift the bike to do it) — and it doesn't hold up the bike when putting a bag into the basket.

Well, now they've gone and updated the kickstand again!

Here is a picture of the even-newer-style kickstand:

Even-newer-style kickstand.

It's a variation on the new-style, now with more falling!

East Villagers say: "Bring back the old kickstands, please!"

#eastvillage #citibike #kickstands

Bird Food

I was walking across East 4th Street this week, when I saw something people outside the East Village probably never see:

Cole slaw bird food.

Cole slaw bird food!

The East Village has a lot of people of Eastern (naturally!) European decent — and why would birds not like cole slaw?!

When taking this picture, I noticed something else — namely, this:

Medium tag.

A Medium clothes tag!

Whoa, you know what — I think I might have put that there, a long time ago!

{{{Weird}}}

#eastvillage #4thstreet #birdfood #coleslaw

Welcome to East River Park

Recently, I ventured over the Franklin Delano Roosevelt highway (the eastern-most border of the East Village) to the East River Park.

In recent years, the East River Park has undergone tremendous changes — it's such a great park now!

Here is the welcome sign that greets you at the East 6th Street entrance:

Welcome sign.

There are so many things to do in the new East River Park: there's an amphitheater, ball fields, comfort stations, a mini soccer field, more ball fields, tennis courts, more comfort stations, basketball courts, a track, more comfort stations, a children's playground, and a BBQ area!

There's so much to do, you can't possibly do it all in a single day!

Park closes at midnight.

#eastvillage #daytrips #eastriverpark #signs

Cool Donkey Boiler

If there's one thing the East Village graffitier known as COOL likes, it's donkey boilers!

Here is his handiwork, seen on St. Mark's Place last week:

Now with more candy corn!

You have to wonder about the buildings on St. Mark's Place — why are their boilers always going kaput?!

#eastvillage #cool #stmarksplace #graffiti #donkeyboilers #candycorn

It's Practically Here!

At the time of this screen shot, there were fewer than seven days until the second-most important event on the East Village social calendar: SantaCon!

This year, as an added bonus, some SantaCon revellers are going to meet Friday, December 9, at 6:00pm, at the southwest corner of Second Avenue and East 9th Street, to welcome the new SantaCon!

Wear your festive Santa hats and come out for the fun!

Southwest corner of Second Avenue and East 9th Street.

#eastvillage  #9thstreet #santacon #secondavenue

Barricaded Log

Even though there is a tree guard in this picture, this is not a story about tree guards.

This is story about how some East Villager put a log into a tree bed outside the beloved Social Security Administration office on East 12th Street, and how some other East Villager (probably) put a barricade beside the log, to keep people from tripping over it!

Don't trip over the log.

If they had put string or ribbon across the tree guard, that barricade wouldn't have been necessary!

#eastvillage #12thstreet #barricades #logs #socialsecurityadministration

The Christmas Tree Artist

In the East Village, artists approach their Christmas Trees like they would a canvas.

Behold, on Second Avenue and East 6th Street, this past Saturday:

Standing back, mulling.

Adjusting the placement of a light.

Pretty soon he'll become disgusted, call himself an impostor, and head for the nearest bar — it's the East Village way!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #artists #christmastrees #secondavenue

Three, Three, & Three

I was walking across St. Mark's Place this past Saturday, when I saw these pay phones, across the street from the beloved Gem Spa:

Pay phones.

Three pay phones, three abandoned cups perched on top of them, and three dangling receivers — it's a work of art!

You just can't make this stuff up.

#eastvillage #payphones #stmarksplace #gemspa #artproject

Alicia Is Here

In the recent post Even More About Tree Guards, you may have noticed something on the sidewalk beside one of the trees that looked like a giant bird poop.

It was this:

Alicis is here.

(Maybe the white stuff is a giant bird poop!)

Anyway, if you've been looking for Alicia, now you know where she is!

#eastvillage #graffiti #7thstreet #aliciaishere

Organic Christmas Trees

East Villagers are trendy eaters: gluten-free, vegan, fruitarian — you name it!

So it makes perfect sense that they would want their Christmas Trees to be organic too.

Observe, on Second Avenue and East 6th Street, this past weekend:

Organic Christmas Trees.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Genuine carbon-based Christmas Trees — accept no substitutes!

#eastvillage #christmastrees #secondavenue #6thstreet #organic

The Lonely Citibike

I was walking across East 7th Street this past weekend, when I saw this lonely Citibike, at the corner of Avenue A:

Lonely Citibike.

One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It's the loneliest number since the number one

#eastvillage #7thstreet #avenuea #citibike

Even More About Tree Guards

Earlier today, I showed how East Villagers go about stringing up their tree guards to keep dogs from pooping in the tree bed.

These are even odder — inside the tree guard is… another tree guard!

Let's take a look, shall we?

This one, on Avenue A, has an elevated, inner tree guard — a pretty flimsy-looking one, at that:

Elevated, inner tree guard.

This one, on East 12th Street, could have been in my even earlier post about decrepit tree guards:

Decrepit tree guard, with inner tree guard.

This is an inner tree guard without an outer tree guard, on East 7th Street. What's the point?

No outer tree guard.

This one, on East 3rd Street, has no inner tree guard, and no outer tree guard, but it does have caution tape!

Caution tape.

That's it for now!

#eastvillage #12thstreet #3rdstreet #7thstreet #avenuea #cautiontape #treeguards

More About Tree Guards

Tree guards in the East Village are a fascinating thing — there's just so much you can say about them!

In this installment, I will look at string attachments. Presumably, these are to prevent dogs from defecating in the tree bed.

This one, on Avenue C, is might decorative!

On Avenue C.

This one, on East 6th Street, is more functional.

On East 6th Street.

Even though this is on Avenue C, I give this one a D! Any dog can easily walk to the left side to do his business!

D on C.

That's it for now!

#eastvillage #treeguards #avenuec #6thstreet

Memory Alley

Remember when this blog first started, how I posted so many pictures of open doors in the East Village?

Even though this is not a reminiscing blog, I decided to take a brief trip down memory lane, but because this is the East Village, and because the trip will be so short, I call it… Memory Alley!

Here it is: an open door, on East 7 Street:

Open door.

Thank you.

#eastvillage #7thstreet #opendoors

Art Becomes Trash Becomes Art

In the East Village, trash and art become one another so quickly, your head might spin!

I was walking across East 12th Street this past weekend, when I saw this assemblage of both:

Assemblage.

The Chico mural is art, and the trash cans hold trash, but there are two slashed paintings, now trash, and I took a picture of it, so it's art again!

Only in the East Village!

#eastvillage #12thstreet #murals #chico #paintings #trashcans

Abandoned Bed Frame

I was walking down Avenue D, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, when I saw this abandoned bed frame beside a trash can, at the corner of East 4th Street:

Abandoned bed frame.

Part of the bed frame even extends into the crosswalk!

I wonder if the Sanitation Department workers picked it up, or if some freegan got it first?!

#eastvillage #abandonedfurniture #freegans #avenued #4thstreet #trashcans