Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

What did I say about blinking? Don't do it — you'll miss something!

Tonight I was walking down Avenue A, when I saw the OSHA graffiti, that I posted a picture of a mere five days ago, was gone!

Behold:

OSHA graffiti gone.

In its place is the very groovy skeleton head we've all come to love, on a plywood board!

A plywood board? Oh yes — the glass is missing too!

Pretty soon, squatters will be living in this place!

#eastvillage #avenuea #graffiti #humenbote #osha #skeletonhead

Good News / Bad News

The recent move of the beloved Choice Cleaners 7 on Avenue B comes as good news to many East Villagers, and bad news to perhaps just as many!

Here are not one, but two signs, detailing the move:

Detailing the move.

If you're a patron of Choice Cleaners 7, you're going to have either less distance to carry your laundry, or more!

Putting the choice in Choice Cleaners 7… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenueb #choicecleaners7 #signs

School For The Dogs

I was walking across East 2nd Street this past Saturday, when I passed by this sign, outside the beloved School For The Dogs:

Shi Tzu meetup sign.

I went to a zoo once, and the only animal they had was a dog. It was a Shih Tzu.

School For The Dogs has classes catering to every need, from Puppy Kindergarten, to Prep School, even Skater Haters and Sidewalk Psychos! (Can you really train your dog to avoid psychos in the East Village?!)

If you become a member, here's an offer exclusively for you: Enter the password, and you can take one of these colorful poop bags!

Colorful poop bags, for members only.

Nothing says East Village like brightly-wrapped dog poop!

#eastvillage #2ndstreet #dogs #poopbags #schoolforthedogs #signs

Crusties & Signs

As I wrote back in early March, the owner of the formerly-beloved JAS Mart on St. Mark's Place prepared for the annual return of the crusties by taping up No Loitering signs inside his store.

Walking across St. Mark's Place this past Sunday, I saw that the signs are not working:

Signs not working.

And yet, a one short block away, the signs are working:

Signs are working.

Proving once and for all: If you want to keep crusties from loitering in front of your establishment, put the signs in the shady areas where they don't sit!

Crusties love sunshine!

#eastvillage #crusties #jasmart #signs #stmarksplace #sunshine #noloitering

Yellowish

I was walking across East 3rd Street this past Sunday, when I happened upon what looks all the world like a relatively new paint job:

Relatively new paint job.

The way the bicycle stood out against the yellowishness of the paint made me take notice.

And the rest is history!

#eastvillage #3rdstreet #bicycles #paint #yellow

The Day After

The day after the blustery day, everything is back to normal on East 10th Street. Everything is back in its place, except…

…the tree is gone:

The tree is gone.

…and the fender is damaged:

The fender is damaged.

…and the kickstand is bent, requiring assistance now from a rock:

The kickstand is bent.

You might think it's weird that the same cars are in the same place,
but — alternate-side parking is suspended on Wednesdays… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #10thstreet #alternatesideparking #cars #motorcycles #trees

Underserved

I was walking down Second Avenue this past Sunday, when I stopped a moment to remember the formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch, at St. Mark's Place:

Formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch.

This building has been a bank for as long as any East Villager can remember. Before there was a bank here, it was just swampland!

You can see by the crack in the façade (that's French for "facade") that the ground is still soft:

Crack in the façade.

After people stopped entering this site, rodents started to take over:

Rodent take-over.

This closed branch reminded me of another formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch, on Avenue A and East 2nd Street:

Another formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch.

This is a map of Chase Bank branches and ATMs in the East Village:

Chase Bank branches and ATMs.

Only D is a branch — C and E are ATMs at local Duane Reades, and A and B are outside the boundaries of the East Village!

It's time to start keeping our money in our mattresses!

=-=-=-=-=

Updated February 20, 2017

#eastvillage #avenuea #chasebank #duanereade #secondavenue #underserved #swamp

T-Plus-2 and Counting

I was walking down Second Avenue this past Sunday, past the formerly-beloved Stage Restaurant, when a thought occurred to me: How long will it be before some intrepid East Villager "liberates" this sign:

Stage Restaurant sign. 

I took a close look at it and it's not held in place by very much — almost anyone could probably take it down!

It won't be worth much, but it might look good in some beloved-artifact collector's living room!

Any wagers?!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #stagerestaurant #signs

The Reclamation

I'm not an expert in the graffiti arts, but it seems to me that graffitiers are a lot like dogs!

No, I don't mean that they're friendly, or howl when a firetruck goes by — I mean that they claim, and re-claim, their territory!

You may remember from such posts as The Same Coin, that the fence beside the formerly-beloved Yaffa Cafe, on St. Mark's Place, was claimed by the graffitier Cool.

But gaze upon this:

Formerly-beloved Yaffa Cafe, with construction fence.

Cool's territory-marker is gone!

Lucky for him, the boiler went kaput in the building next door, requiring an external heating source (called "donkey boilers!) be brought in:

External heating source.

Which is better: white with orange, or orange with white?

Vote for your favorite in the comments below!

#eastvillage #constructionsites #cool #graffiti #stmarksplace #yaffacafe

The Blustery Day

If you were in the East Village during the past, oh, I don't know, let's say 12 hours, you would know just how blustery it's been!

How blustery was it, you ask? It was so blustery, this tree on East 10th Street fell down:

Tree fell down.

It's a lucky thing for those two cars that they parked where they did! Not so much for the motorcycle.

I wonder if Owl is looking for a new home now… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #10thstreet #blusteryday

OSHA was Here

I was walking down Avenue A yesterday evening, when I passed by the former location of the beloved East Village Pharmacy:

Former location of East Village Pharmacy.

Time and teenagers have not been kind to this building!

Despite its trashy exterior, this is what is looks like inside:

Inside.

This is where the soap and shampoo and toothpaste and suntan lotion and other stuff was, as well as the Webkinz animals!

East Villagers love Webkinz!

#eastvillage #avenuea #eastvillagepharmacy #graffiti #osha #teenagers #vandalism #webkinz

Mary, We Hardly Knew Ye

Life in the East Village is fast-paced — if you blink, you're sure to miss something!

In this case, it would be the beloved Mary Sky Gallery, on Avenue B. Three short days ago, I wrote of the opening of this gallery. I passed by there this morning only to find it deserted:

Deserted.

This is now what it looks like inside:

Inside.

You may recall there were artworks on the wall, and the track lighting was on the ceiling, and the table didn't have junk on it, and there were two chairs, and they were facing the other direction, and there was a blue light on in the back.

Now… nada!

Here today, gone tomorrow… that's the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #artgalleries #avenueb #marysky

Eclectic, Intriguing, & Authentic Cement

I passed by the site of the eclectic, intriguing, and authentic condominiums and penthouses going up on Avenue A this morning — there sure were a lot of cement trucks:

 A lot of cement trucks.

This is what all that cement is shaping into:

Shaping into.

East Villagers use New York Concrete Supply for all their eclectic, intriguing, and authentic cementing needs!

#eastvillage #avenuea #cementtrucks #constructionsites #nycon

Bach In The Subway

This past Sunday was the international Bach In The Subway festival. Unfortunately, no one was scheduled to play in any of the East Village's three subway stations:

No one scheduled to play.

Then again, East Villagers would not have registered to perform, nor would they have limited themselves to performing in the subways, nor to playing Bach!

It's quite possible that somewhere in the East Village that day, Bach's birthday was celebrated in true East Village fashion: by banging on plastic and metal buckets, and one of those refrigerator shelves that sounds like a xylophone when you drag a stick across it!

#eastvillage #bachinthesubways

Clever Graffiti

Banksy might have been the first graffitier to work in the style now known as "Clever Graffiti", but East Villagers soon picked up the mantle, and now are very clever themselves!

Here is an example of some clever graffiti, seen this past Sunday on East 6th Street (I think):

Clever graffiti.

What makes this clever is that the boom box is actually a protuberance on the wall! And those two cans of spray paint? They're real cans of spray paint!

Thank you Banksy, and thank you East Village graffitiers, for brightening our days with your clever graffiti!

#eastvillage #banksy #graffiti #6thstreet

Welcome to Valet Parking

I was walking down Avenue C this past Sunday, when I saw this new sign, outside the beloved Jolie's NYC:

Welcome to valet parking.

I'm not sure where the vehicles get parked though — there are no parking facilities!

This is the back of the sign:

The back of the sign.

They're not responsible for bad spelling either, it would seem, but who cares when there's valet parking… in the East Village Today?!

#eastvillage #avenuec, #signs, #joliesnyc #valetparking

New Art Gallery

The East Village is known for its trendy art galleries — it's part of the reason so many people want to live here!

So it came as no surprise to anyone when a trendy new art gallery opened in the location formerly beloved as Tu Casa, on Avenue B and East 6th Street:

Trendy new art gallery.

Look Ma, no riot gates!

Here is a closer look at the artworks in the window:

A closer look.

Is this a gallery? Is the name really Mary Sky? So many questions…

Here is a look inside:

A look inside.

East Villagers can't wait for the first art-glitterati party!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #art #artgalleries #avenueb #marysky

Eclectic, Intriguing, & Authentic

I was riding my Citibike down Avenue A yesterday, when I saw this graffiti on the construction fence at the corner of, you guessed it… East 12th Street:

East 12th Street graffiti.

Naturally, I was curious what was at the end of that URL, so I went to it. It turns out it's the web site of a company that will build and sell… condominiums and penthouses!

Here is a picture from the web site, of what the new building will look like on the Avenue A side:

Avenue A side.

and here is what it will look like on the East 12th Street side:

East 12th Street side.

This is how it's described:

A PRIVATE RETREAT IN THE EAST VILLAGE
One to four bedroom condominiums and penthouses enhanced by over 16,000 square feet of amenities including a 24-hour lobby concierge, 50' long pool, spa, gym, library, playroom, parking, and lush courtyard and rooftop gardens, all ensconced in New York's most eclectic, intriguing, and authentic neighborhood.

(That really should have an exclamation point at the end of it!)

And if that's not enough of an enticement, there's a 7-Eleven a block away from them — talk about eclectic!

If you're interested, click here. But you'd better hurry — with prices starting at $1,100,000, they won't last long!

#eastvillage #avenuea #graffiti #constructionsites

Apartment for Rent

In a recent post titled Right Side or Left? I described two storefronts for rent on East 10th Street, one right next to the other.

In the picture, you might have noticed an Apartment For Rent sign. Here is a close-up of that sign:

Apartment For Rent.

I wonder if it's one of the two apartments visible in the picture? In the apartment on the right, the hole left by a broken window was covered with pieces of plywood; in the apartment on the left, the holes were covered with some other material!

The rugged Do-It-Yourself ethos still lives on… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #10thstreet #diy #signs

Right Side or Left?

It's almost like the current Twix Caramel Cookie Bar campaign: which side of this storefront on East 10th Street would you rent, the right side or the left?

Right and left storefronts for rent.

Unlike Twix however, the two sides are not identical. Let's take a look!

This is the right side:

The right side.

and this is the left side:

The left side.

They both have their charm!

So which would you choose… in the East Village Today?

#eastvillage #10thstreet #signs #twix

Aisle 2

Sometimes people ask me, they say: "Hey East Village Today, where's the best place to get lunch in the East Village today?"

Naturally, I tell them: "Aisle 2 at (the beloved) Key Food", on Avenue A and East 4th Street!

Check this out:

Aisle 2.

You've got tuna, you've got root beer, you've got chips and dip — everything you need for a great lunch — all in one aisle!

Why would anyone go anywhere else… in the East Village Today?!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #avenuea #keyfood

Jacob Riis Houses

As part of my series of "Day Trips Outside (formerly Near) the East Village", I ventured way up North, to Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street, to the Museum of the City of New York!

Why, you ask? Why would I travel so far outside of the East Village? To see the exhibition on Jacob Riis!

East Villagers know the name Jacob Riis from the housing project by the same name, between Avenue D and FDR Drive, and East 8th and 13th Streets:

Location of Jacob Riis Houses.

Here is a picture:

Jacob Riis Houses, at East 10th Street.

In case you can't read the sign, here's a closeup:

Close-up.

According to the New York City Housing Authority web page, the Jacob Riis Houses are named after:

Jacob August Riis (1849-1914) – Danish-born American journalist and reformer whose reports on living conditions in city slums led to improvements in housing and education. His stories in newspapers about slum dwellings and abuses in lower class urban life were collected in "How the Other Half Lives (1890)." Riis dwelled on the city's slum tenements and how the people there lived. His vivid descriptions, often depicted on slides, caused audiences at his lectures to moan, shudder and even faint.

Today, East Villagers revel in the conditions that were once decried — but those who do have a lot more money!

21st-century slumming… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #10thstreet #avenued #daytrips #jacobriis #jacobriishouses #slumming

More Photographers and Models

East Village Today is a very influential blog.

Not long ago, I posted pictures of the formerly-beloved Avenue C Deli Corp., née Los Muchachos Supermarket. A mere two days later, this group of models and photographers was outside it, modelling and photographing:

Modelling and photographing.

Scouting out locations… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenuecdelicorp #losmuchachossupermarket #models #photographers

Trash & Vaudeville Grand Re-Opening

It's back! After 19 excruciating days with nowhere to purchase 1970s-era punk-rock clothing in the East Village, the beloved Trash & Vaudeville is open for business at their new location on East 7th Street:

Trash & Vaudeville on East 7th Street.

I stopped by just before their announced re-opening time of 11:30 a.m., to see if a crowd was waiting outside, but there wasn't — East Villagers aren't out of bed at this hour!

The manager of the store was there, posing for the paparazzi:

Posing for the paparazzi.

Moments later, it was just another day in the East Village — it was as if they had always been there:

Just another day.

East Villagers had been hoping against hope that this new location would not have the treacherous stairs that the last location had, but to no avail. These stairs look to be potentially worse:

Potentially worse.

In closing, East Villagers didn't know it at the time, but when the beloved St. Mark's Bookshop moved from their location on the north side of St. Mark's Place, across the street to the south side, it was the beginning of the end for them.

Let's hope this move doesn't portend the same for Trash & Vaudeville — they don't even carry Sid Vicious t-shirts on their web site!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #paparazzi #stairs #trashvaudeville

Lion of Judah Beer Store

East Villagers love beer, and they love Rastafari — that's why the beloved Lion of Judah Beer Store on Second Avenue and East 4th Street is so popular:

Not the store itself.

You'll notice there are no doors nor windows, only ventilation vents — that's because this is not the entrance!

This is the entrance:

The entrance.

(Not-the-entrance looks much nicer!)

So if you're in the mood to drink some beer, stop in at the Lion of Judah Beer Store. Why not, eh?

#eastvillage #4thstreet #lionofjudah #lionsbeerstore #secondavenue