The doDo Bee

I was walking across East 6th Street, oh, about nine days ago, thinking to myself: "What can I write about the abandoned cup with a straw in it that I saw on top of a trash can receptacle on East 7th Street yesterday?"…

Abandoned cup with straw.

… when suddenly I saw this:

What's that?!

"I've seen that face before", I thought to myself, and then I knew: "I don't have to worry what to write about the abandoned cup, I can write about the doDo bee graffiti off to the side of the cup, that appears here as well!"

So, this is a post about the doDo bee graffiti.

If you look closely at the doDo bee, you'll see that its body is a heart:

Heart.

And the signature is hard to read. Maybe it's JeDo. Or deDo. I don't know. For now, I'm calling it doDo!

Then tonight, I saw this, also on East 6th Street:

This.

I announced to my Snapchat followers that this was another doDo bee, but on closer inspection, I see that this is not the doDo bee, but an imposter!

The doDo bee graffitier is going to have to start putting a registered mark beside his work.

Sound advice, from East Village Today®!

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UPDATE 4/29

After discussing this in the comments below, I am prepared to say that the last picture is a genuine doDo bee!

#eastvillage #jodobee #graffiti #abandonedcups #6thstreet #7thstreet #registeredmark

The Final Days of East Village Cheese?

Q: What do 1980s punk-rock clothes and cheese have in common?
A: No one buys them any more.

Well, I don't know if no one buys cheese, but rumor has it that the beloved East Village Cheese on East 7th Street will soon be out of business!

Soon to be out of business?

It's just a rumor — no announcement has been made — but just as with the new location of Trash & Vaudeville, most times the only people in the store are the ones who work there. They've also stopped accepting debit/credit cards!

You won't stay in business for very long in the East Village if you only accept cash — it's positively feudal!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #eastvillagecheese #feudalism

Party Like It's Last Century

Some songs have a built-in expiration date — Prince's "1999" is one of them:

It's one thing for the beloved Good Night Sonny, on First Avenue and St. Mark's Place, to cash in on the death of a celebrity, but to party like it's 17 years ago?

East Villagers would rather party like it's 2016!

#eastvillage #1999 #prince #simone #firstavenue #stmarksplace

Keeping Up With Los Muchachos Supermarket

The formerly-beloved Avenue C Deli Corp, previously the formerly-beloved Los Muchachos Supermarket, has undergone many changes recently!

Around April 16, someone abandoned a load of junk in front of it:

Load of junk.

Then this past week, someone moved the junk — probably so the new graffiti could be added!

New graffiti.

Once the new chicken and ribs restaurant opens here, who will even remember what a dump this corner looked like?!

#eastvillage #losmuchachossupermarket #avenuec #avenuecdelicorp #graffiti #dumping

Crusty: The Gathering

East Villagers have different ways of navigating crusties, as seen in this picture taken last Thursday.

The two entering from the left walked in the gutter to avoid them, while the man in the center (quite possibly reading East Village Today on his phone!), wandered unawares into their midst!

Navigating the crusties.

The lesson here is: If you read East Village Today on your phone, find a place to sit down — you don't want to trip and fall into a nest of crusties!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #noloitering #crusties #jasmart #selfpromotion

Store For Rent

I don't remember if I already posted a picture of this store for rent on East 7th Street. It's possible that I did. Just as it's difficult to remember what occupied a space once it's empty, it's also difficult to remember which empty spaces I've posted pictures of!

In any case, I'm sure I didn't post a picture of this empty store with a guy taking out his trash!

Store for rent, with guy taking out trash.

One thing is for certain: if I did post a picture of this store, I posted a picture of the inside as well:

Inside as well.

Look — a window in the back! Not the little square window all the way back, but the one on the left side, that opens into a pit.

Those pit windows help make the East Village what it is… Today!

#eastvillage #inside #windows #forrent #7thstreet 

DIY Grannies

When walking around the East Village, you may notice cars with "boots" on their tires. Some are put there by the police, to prevent the driver from escaping with the vehicle before it's impounded. (It's best to keep your distance from those!)

However, many boots are for civilian use, and are used to prevent thieves from stealing the vehicle!

East Villagers are a do-it-yourself lot, though. For them, a granny-cart does just fine — like this one on East 4th Street:

Anti-theft granny-cart.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Sometimes, just the appearance of an anti-theft granny-cart is enough to deter would-be thieves: the handle of the SUV pulls out — the chain isn't attached to anything!

DIY grannies are leading the way… to a safer and theft-free East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #antitheftdevices #grannycarts #diy

Surveillance on Duty

I was walking down Avenue C this past weekend, when I saw this sign beside the door of the beloved Jolie's NYC:

Sign beside the door.

Surveillance On Duty At All Times… What does that mean?

It really makes you rethink the idea of "on duty"!

#eastvillage #signs #joliesnyc #avenuec

Respectful Graffitier

East Villagers are renown for their respect for others.

So it should come as no surprise that this graffitier wrote his message on the glass (of this building on Avenue B), which is easily cleaned:

Glass, I mean, Class War. 

It's the Snapchat of graffiti!

#eastvillage #avenueb #classwar #graffiti

Let Freedom Ring

I was walking down Second Avenue — oh, about 16 days ago — when something caught my eye, taped to the door of the beloved B&H Dairy Restaurant:

Door of the beloved B&H Dairy.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

But after complaints that "The beloved B&H Dairy hates our freedom!", the offending sign was removed:

Offending sign removed.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

So, let that be a lesson: don't mess with an East Villager's phone!

#eastvillage #bhdairy #freedom #secondavenue #signs #phones

A New Twist

I was walking down Avenue B last week, when I came upon this bit of graffiti:

Graffiti with frame.

The best way to get East Villagers to see your message is to frame it — and the best way to keep the message fresh is to rearrange the frame periodically:

Graffiti with rearranged frame.

An East Village take on the old "Make Love, Not War" slogan from the 1960s.

Groovy!

#eastvillage #avenueb #trashcans #trashbags #graffiti

Record Store Day

One week and one day ago was Record Store Day.

To commemorate that, here is a picture of the beloved Academy Records, on East 12th Street, taken one week and one day ago:

Academy Records.

You can see by the crowd that East Villagers don't buy records. Still, Academy Records is beloved because, you know… it's a store!

#eastvillage #academyrecords #12thstreet #recordstoreday

Opening Soon: Mamoun

After the untimely demise of the beloved Red & Gold Boil née Crabshack on St. Mark's Place, East Villagers were left wondering what new food establishment would take its place.

Luckily, we didn't have to wait long to find out that the beloved Mamoun's Falafel franchise, from the West Village, was chosen:

Mamoun's Falafel franchise.

How many people remember their jingle?

You will not feel awful
When you eat a falafel
From Mamoun's!

Ah, recovered memories!

Here is a picture of the inside:

Inside Mamoun's Falafel East.

Much nicer decor, I must say, than their Macdougal Street location!

#eastvillage #mamounsfalafel #stmarksplace

Mene Mene Tekel Parsin

What is the difference between the old St. Mark's Place location of Trash & Vaudeville and the new East 7th Street location?

Unfortunately for them, nothing!

Here are some pictures from yesterday afternoon:

Old St. Mark's Place location.

New East 7th Street location.

No one is coming and going, or hanging out in front of either!

Compare that to pictures from before the move:

People coming and going.

People hanging out.

Finally, compare that to a picture from 1635:

Translated, this reads: "Sell more Taylor Swift t-shirts!"

Yes, that final character is an exclamation point.

#eastvillage #trashvaudeville #stmarksplace #7thstreet #belshazzarsfeast

Grounded

Have you ever reached out for a metal piece of scaffolding, to balance yourself for some reason, only to be electrocuted?

Well, that won't happen to you on Avenue C, outside the beloved Alex Shoe Repair Watch Repair!

Safe scaffolding.

In case you don't see what I'm talking about, here is a close-up:

Close-up.

This scaffolding is grounded!

Of course, now you have to worry about tripping on this wire, reaching out for the scaffolding to catch your fall, and then being electrocuted!

It's always something… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #alexshoerepairwatchrepair #avenuec #scaffolding

Error 423

Bleh. This morning, I went onto East Village Today's Snapchat account,
and changed the birthday to reflect that of my first blog post:
August 24, 2014.

Immediately, the account was locked, for violation of the terms of service, which require the account-holder to be at least 13 years of age!

I guess it's easier to believe that a baby set up the account than… just about anything else! No warning like: Are you sure you want to change your birthday? If you're really only 1, can you even read this?

I emailed them and received the address of their web page where I can remedy this, so I should be snapping and chatting again soon!

Crazy internets…

=-=-=-=-=

UPDATE 17:03

It's back! Yea!

#error423 selfpromotion #snapchat

A New Cool

When we last visited Cool at this location (First Avenue and St. Mark's Place), he had decorated the temporary Walk/Don't Walk signholder base outside the beloved V Bar with Christmas trees!

Time has passed, the temporary Walk/Don't Walk signholder base was removed, and a new Cool has appeared a short distance away, in front of the beloved Sweet Generation:

A new COOL.

This post has been brought to you by Orange Cones, the official warning sign of open cellar doors… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cellardoors #cool #firstavenue #graffiti #orangecones #stmarksplace #vbar

The Culprit

All signs point to this dog:

Oh yes, and: I was walking down St. Mark's Place yesterday, when I saw this sign covered in arrows… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #dogs #signs #stmarksplace

OCDumpster

What else can you call such a neatly-packed dumpster, on St. Mark's Place?

Neatly-packed dumpster.

OK, fine… Art!

#eastvillage #art #dumpsters #ocd #stmarksplace

Hole in The Wall

When I last visited Avenue C, and got pictures of the insides of the new shopping establishment under construction there, I noticed this hole in the wall on the side of the building:

Hole in the wall.

All sorts of speculation arose as to its reason for existing, but before I got around to posting about this, the answer appeared, in the form of…
an exhaust duct!

Exhaust duct.

…rising up to the top:

To the top.

I vote chicken and ribs!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #avenuec #constructionsites #exhaustducts

Instagram

If you're a part of the 21st-century crowd, you probably already know this: Since about February 23, East Village Today has been on Instagram!

The pictures are the same as what's posted here, except they're square, sometimes with a filter, and have no back-story — but they have lots of hashtags!

Still, if you love the East Village, you can never have too many ways to follow East Village Today!

#eastvillage #instagram #selfpromotion

Snapchat

East Village Today is now on Snapchat!

Scan this code to follow East Village Today on Snapchat!

Once I figure out the nuances of Snapchat, there will certainly be stories that are unique to my Snapchat followers.

Living in interesting times… in the East Village Today!

#snapchat #selfpromotion

Goodbye Mac & Cheese

East Villagers love macaroni and cheese. Who doesn't?!

So when the beloved New York Macaroni Co. on St. Mark's Place closed, a great cry went up:

New York Macaroni Co. closed.

Of course, every closure is an opportunity for a picture of the empty insides:

Empty insides.

Empty insides, just like bellies without macaroni and cheese… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #newyorkmacaronico #closed

Sales Gallery

Back in November, I wrote about a public art project outside the building being constructed on Avenue A called, appropriately enough, 100 Avenue A!

Last week, as I was walking down Avenue A, I passed by their beloved sales gallery (of course it's a gallery — this is the East Village!):

Sales gallery.

Naturally, I took a peek inside:

A peek inside.

Gallery-goers dressed in black — in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #100avenueasalesgallery #allblack #artgalleries #avenuea #signs

Nothing Succeeds Like Success

Hoping to build on the success of their recent No Loitering campaign, someone recently affixed No Smoking signs to this spot on St. Mark's Place:

No Smoking signs.

Adding to the list of practices forbidden in the area where no one gathers… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #noloitering #nosmoking #signs #stmarksplace

A Peek Inside

I was walking down Avenue C recently, when I saw that the riot gate of the fomerly-beloved Avenue C Deli Corp, previous site of the equally-formally-beloved Los Muchachos Supermarket, was raised!

Somewhat:

Riot gate raised somewhat.

Well, you know what that means: a peek inside!

A peek inside.

Those vertical beams are new, which means the space is being divided, which means not one, but two new shopping emporiums opening soon!

There's never been a better time to live in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenuec #avenuecdelicorp #losmuchachossupermarket #riotgates #renovation #constructionsites

Rat Breeding Area

No visit to the East Village is complete without a rat sighting — they are second only to their squirrel cousins in popularity at Tompkins Square Park!

What many people do not know though, is that in order to keep the rat population high enough, special breeding areas have to be set up and maintained. 

As with drug-rehabilitation residences and steam-generating facilities, they are not in the most touristed areas — you really have to look for them. They are marked however, such as this one on Avenue D:

Rat breeding area.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Feel free to toss food to them, but you might want to tie up the legs of your pants first — rats do love to climb up people's legs!

#eastvillage #rats #avenued

CHKA

You could be forgiven for thinking the beloved CHKA, located on Avenue A, is an abbreviation of Chaka Khan (Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan!)

But it isn't! It's an abbreviation of Chinese Hawaiian Kenpo Academy!

Not only that, but if this tweet I received is correct — and there's no reason to suspect that it isn't — tomorrow, April 15, the East Village Independent Merchants Association is having a free self-defense and safety training class at the very same CHKA (Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan!).

@zybkgex Tomorrow night! #free #selfdefense #evima #smashbychka #eastvillageloves https://t.co/xunHOsqmXO

— CHKA (@CHKANYC) April 14, 2016

So, if your competitor is getting too big for his britches, maybe this is the class for you!

#eastvillage #chka #avenuea #independentmerchantsassociation #twitter

This is Not a Blog Post

I was walking up Avenue B recently, when I saw this graffito:

Graffito.

Not a tag, on the side of not a mailbox!

Brought to you by Cameo Tag — call Cameo, for all your tagging needs!

#eastvillage #avenueb #cameotag #graffiti #mailboxes