South-Facing Crusties

The funny thing about crusties on St. Mark's Place is: When they sit on the north side of the street, they face south, but; when they sit on the south side of the street, they face…

Crusties facing south.

…south!

I wonder why that is? Maybe they were hoping for some free food from the beloved Khyber Pass Restaurant?

#eastvillage #khyberpass #crusties #stmarksplace #south

Shrouded Detour Sign

What is there to say about a shrouded Detour sign, at the Second Avenue and East 6th Street bus shelter on Second Avenue?

Shrouded Detour sign.

Shroudy.

#eastvillage #secondavenue #busshelters #signs #detour

Store East

Everyone knows the East Village is the coolest place for shopping. Some stores are so cool, they don't even look like stores!

One such store is called (the beloved) Store East, on East 1st Street:

Store East.

It even has a peep hole, to peep through:

Peep hole.

This store is so "underground", it makes you feel sorry for Store West!

#eastvillage #1ststreet #storeeast

Nail Polish Galore

It's been a long time since the beloved East Village Pharmacy moved from their previous location on Avenue A and East 5th Street to their current location on Avenue A and East 3rd Street.

In all this time, nothing else moved into the space they vacated, until now — and for lovers of nail polish, it's not a moment too soon!

Introducing: Appolodine.

(The beloved) Appolodine is their name, and nail polish is their game:

Nail polish.

Don't try looking for them at the web address on their awning though — it's wrong! (Hint: it's .co, not .com)!

Another wacky awning… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #appolodine #avenuea #awnings #nailpolish

Give Me a C

I was walking across St. Mark's Place this past Saturday morning, when I saw the letter C painted onto the glass of the formerly-beloved Kings Court Real Estate Management:

The letter C.

It's my guess that the graffitier known as Cool was here, writing his name, when he was interrupted by, oh, perhaps… John Law!

It's not east being Cool… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #graffiti #cool #kingscourt #stmarksplace

Don't Blink or It Will Disappear

What can anyone say but "Wow!"?

A mere sixteen days ago, I wrote about a new mural painted on the side of the beloved Foot Gear Plus, at the corner of First Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

At that time, I wrote: "…this new mural will delight East Villagers for months to come."

On Saturday, I passed by the location again, only to find this:

The mural is gone.

The mural is gone!

Well, on the bright side, there's no doubt that a new mural will soon be painted here, one that will delight East Villagers for… any number of… units of time to come!

#eastvillage #firstavenue #footgearplus #murals #stmarksplace

Open For Business

After much anticipation, the Alphabet City Deli & Grill, at the corner of Avenue C and East 4th Street, is now beloved — I mean open:

Beloved.

Oddly enough, there were no Grand Opening banners to mark this occasion — just a sign taped to the door saying: Come in we're open.

Here's something interesting: the chip shelves on the right are full, but the candy shelves on the left are almost bare, and the few products they hold — AirHeads Xtreme Bites, Starburst, Sweet Tarts, Wonka Chewy Spree, and David Original Sunflower Seeds — are isolated and right-aligned (as you look at them from the outside).

There's also what looks like a funhouse mirror beside them!

This deli & grill should be the source of many interesting stories for years to come!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #alphabetcitydeligrill #avenuec #funhousemirror

Better Call Ana

At the beginning of the month, I wrote about the appearance in the East Village of the very cool VW microbus pickup truck. At that time, I speculated that its owners might already be in Mexico!

If they did go to Mexico, they're back now, because yesterday I saw it on St. Mark's Place again, this time parked mostly in front of the beloved Physical Graffitea, but partly in front of the beloved Big Steve's Fun City:

Back on St. Mark's Place.

Seeing how much space there was in front of it, I took a picture of the front of it:

Front of it.

Here is a picture of the load it was carrying: an air conditioner, and a shopping bag that matches the color of the truck:

Air conditioner and shopping bag.

What's in the shopping bag, you ask?

Ribbon.

Ribbon!

By now, you must be wondering: "Where can I find a cool pickup truck like this in the East Village today?"

Well, wonder no more!

Where to find a truck like this.

For the coolest car since the cool old pickup truck… better call Ana!

#eastvillage #bigstevesfuncity #coolcars #physicalgraffitea #pickuptrucks #stmarksplace #vwmicrobus

The Local McDonald's

England is about as far away as you can get from the East Village, but that is where you will have to look to fully understand why East Villagers love their local McDonald's!

There are three McDonald'ses in the East Village: the beloved East 14th Street McDonald's:

East 14th Street McDonald's.

…the beloved First Avenue McDonald's:

First Avenue McDonald's.

…and the beloved Third Avenue McDonald's:

Third Avenue McDonald's.

One thing you can always count on is that McDonald's will have a Sanitation Inspection Grade of "A":

"A".

McDonald's — it's the glue that holds the East Village together!

#eastvillage #14thstreet #firstavenue #mcdonalds #sanitationinspectiongrade #thirdavenue

Graffiti Kids Graffiti

By this time, East Villagers who don't look only at their shoes when they walk have seen the Graffiti Kids Summer Program 2016 signs taped up onto lampposts and such:

Graffiti Kids sign.

Interestingly enough, on the other side of this lamppost, in the very same color as the sign itself, was a sample of the graffiti'ing to be done:

Sample.

Well, what do you expect from K–5?!

#eastvillage #signs #lampposts #graffiti #graffitichurch

Coincidences

The thing about coincidences is that they're either uncanny, or they're completely meaningless.

I was walking up Avenue A this past Tuesday morning, when I saw this, chalked on the sidewalk:

Chalked on the sidewalk.

I had just been thinking about pores, and how without them, matter would have no way of passing through membranes.

Uncanny!

Blandalism

I was walking up Avenue B recently, past the More Orgasm, Less Wargasm graffiti and accompanying trash bags, when I saw this bit of commentary written on the wall beside it:

Blandalism.

Fighting fire with fire — that's the East Village way!

#eastvillage #graffiti #trashbags #avenueb #vandalism

Abandoned Books

I was walking through Tompkins Square Park this past weekend, when I noticed something that looked like abandoned books, at the base of the pee tree:

Abandoned books.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

It seems someone abandoned four copies of KRSNA, with dots beneath the R and the S and the N.

If you didn't get yours quickly, it's too late now — by this time, they'll all have been pee'd on!

#eastvillage #abandonedbooks #peetree #tompkinssquarepark #krsna

It's Only A Matter of Minutes Now

The clock is rapidly ticking down to the Grand Opening of the soon-to-be-beloved Alphabet City Deli & Grill, on Avenue C.

Earlier in the week, the doors were open, offering passers-by an eyeful of the delectable wares soon to offered for sale:

Delectable wares.

Are those Entenmann's cakes?! East Villagers love Entenmann's cakes!

*faint*

#eastvillage #alphabetcitydeligrill #avenuec #entenmanns

Festive Scaffolding

Christmas is just a few months away, and the beloved Exit9 Gift Emporium on Avenue A is already decorating!

Behold:

Decorating for Christmas.

Either that or something else!

One thing is certain: their scaffolding sure is festive!

Promoting awareness of Exit 9 Gift Emporium… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #exit9giftemporium #christmas #decorations #scaffolding #avenuea

The Ash Bucket

Almost all East Villagers will recognize what this is chained to a tree outside the beloved Kikoo All You Can Eat Sushi & Sashimi restaurant on First Avenue:

Chained to a tree.

For those born in the East Village, who probably don't know, it's an ash bucket — it's where you put the ashes (and hot coals) from the fireplace before taking them outside!

Here is a closer view:

Closer view.

Here is a close-up of the lock, and the label telling you what it is that's supposed to go here:

Lock and label.

You'd have to be on the ground before you even saw that Cigarettes label!

Here is an aerial view:

Aerial view.

Plastic cups with straws are almost like cigarettes, which are almost like ashes and hot coals… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #ashbuckets #chains #cigarettebutts #firstavenue #kikoosushiandsashimi #labels #locks #plasticcups #straws

Edgy Graffiti

Some are born edgy, some achieve edginess, and some have edginess thrust upon them.

Edgy graffiti on First Avenue.

East Village graffitiers say: We won't paint inside the lines!

#eastvillage #graffiti #firstavenue #cool #edgy

Recycling Poetry

I was walking across (you guessed it!) St. Mark's Place one recent Saturday morning, when I saw this lone book on the stairs of a building:

Lone book.

On closer inspection, it turned out to be an uncorrected proof of Kenneth Koch's finest collection of poems: New Addresses:

New Addresses.

East Village Today leaves things as they're found, but not everyone does. When I passed by again later that morning, the uncorrected proof was gone!

Book gone.

You might say it found a new address!

#eastvillage #books #kennethkoch #recycling #stairs #newaddresses #poetry #uncorrectedproofs #stmarksplace

Sign Up, Sign Down

When East Villagers want to communicate quickly with other East Villagers, they do so by hanging up a sign.

A flea market, a punk jamboree, a lost cat, another lost cat — hanging up signs on lamp posts and traffic light control boxes is time-tested and true!

However, no one wants to go back out and take down the signs once the event is over, so there are people whose job it is to do just that.

Here is a sample of their handiwork, as seen this past Monday afternoon, at the corner of St. Mark's Place and Avenue A:

Handiwork sample.

You can see where once a mass of tape and adhesive held up all sorts of important information, now are just their tattered remains.

And what do you suppose happens on Tuesday? If you guess that another sign goes up, you're right!

Another sign.

The cycle continues… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #trafficlightcontrolbox #signs #stmarksplace #avenuea

One More Go Round

It's been one beloved venue after another, here on East 6th Street, next to the beloved Sidewalk Bar and Restaurant, but no one has been able to make this place work!

Won't work.

This past Saturday, I passed by and saw this sign taped onto the door:

Attention residents & neighbors.

Soon the beloved Cholo Noir will give it a go — I hope someone warns them about the gypsy curse!

#eastvillage #sidewalkcafe #6thstreet #restaurants #cholonoir

The Smell of Victory

East Villagers love the smell of fresh paint in the morning — it smells like victory!

I was walking across St. Mark's Place two Saturday mornings ago, when the smell of victory reached my nose.

I didn't have to look far before finding the source:

The source.

It was the site of the formerly-beloved Sushi Lounge!

I took the picture, and thought that I would write another story about how East Villagers love paint, but then this past Saturday morning, I walked by the site again, only to see a sign hanging where before there was none:

Restaurant for lease.

So this is a story not just about new paint, but a new beloved restaurant to boot!

#eastvillage #sushilounge #stmarksplace #paint #restaurants #signs

Clean Walls

East Villagers love a clean wall — they go to great lengths to keep them that way!

This past Saturday, I saw this fellow installing a video camera on East 4th Street side of the building on Avenue A and East 4th Street:

Installing a video camera.

Here is the wall they hope to keep clean:

Messy wall.

Further down the block is the ugliest building in the East Village, so they have their work cut out for them!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #avenuea #graffiti #videocameras

Refilling McDonald's

Saturday morning is the best time to walk around the East Village — not only is it quiet, but it's the time when deliveries are being made to all the local, beloved shopping establishments!

I was walking up First Avenue this past Saturday morning, when I happened upon this scene, at the local McDonald's:

Delivering something good!

Where is it going?

Down the hallway.

What is it?

What it is.

I'm not sure what it is, but it sure comes in a large canister!

There's always something going on… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #firstavenue #mcdonalds #delivery #opendoors

PMS 472 Tree

The East Village is, without a doubt, the most color-coordinated neighborhood in all of New York City!

So when this tree on St. Mark's Place died, instead of cutting it down and leaving an empty space, once seeing that the color of the dead leaves was PMS 472, they left it in place:

Dead tree left in place.

Just image how it will look with snow!

With snow!

#eastvillage #deadtrees #stmarksplace #trees #pms472 #snow

Some Statues

I was walking across East 6th Street this past week, when I saw some statues on the sidewalk:

Some statues.

The one on the right looks like a combination of images from tarot cards: the wand, the cup, and of course the tower!

The middle one looks like a troll. It just does.

And of course there's Mary — Mary is very popular in the East Village!

I don't know why these statues were on the sidewalk this way. Were they for sale? Free for the taking? Lost? No one knows.

UPDATED 6/19

After receiving the first comment below, I went back to this picture and made a close-up of the statues:

Close-up.

Mary is still Mary, and the middle one still looks like a troll, but…

The tarot-card statue is St. Barbara, the patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners, and others who work with explosives, and also of mathematicians!

So now we know: They were lost!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #statues #cultofmary #tarotcards

Duct Tape Can Fix Anything

"My old man taught me duct tape could fix anything…"
                          —Sturges, Sanctuary Hills

The beloved Caffé Bene on St. Mark's Place seems to have taken Sturges's words to heart, that duct tape can fix anything, as could be seen this past Saturday:

Duct tape can fix anything.

Soon the tape will turn the color of the sidewalk, as pedestrians track their feet on it, and no one will even know it's there.

East Villagers love quick and dirty repairs!

#eastvillage #caffebene #ducttape #sidewalks #stmarksplace