Park Reclamation

Recently, the Parks Department workers at Tompkins Square Park sealed off the area heretofore occupied by crusties, brought in wood chips, and started the process of reclaiming the ground the crusties defiled.

Here is a picture of the spread-about wood chips:

Spread-about wood chips.

Here is a picture of the fence that keeps the crusties out:

The fence.

Crusties don't go onto this side of the grassy area because they don't like the sun. I mean, they're probably OK with the sun itself, but they don't like sunlight to touch them.

It's almost that time of the year when the crusties will be heading south for the Winter — just like the ducks!

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #crusties #woodchips #reclamation #parksdepartment #ducks

Av. D & 8 St. Deli Corp.

I was riding my Citibike up Avenue D this past weekend, on my way up to where no other blogger dares to go, when I passed by the beloved Av. D & 8 St. Deli Corp., on Avenue D and East 8th Street:

Av. D & 8 St. Deli Corp.

This was no ordinary day at the Deli Corp. — this was awning-changing day!

Awning changing day.

With all the renovations and construction going on on Avenue D, Av. D & 8 St. Deli Corp. doesn't not want to be left behind — it's out with the old and in with the new… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenued #avd8stdelicorp #awnings #renovations #orangecones

St. Emeric School + Church

East Village Today is the only blog that goes where no other blogger dares to go, to bring you the pictures of all of the East Village!

I will start with St. Emeric School, on Avenue D and East 12th Street:

St. Emeric School.

The view from East 13th Street:

From East 13th Street.

Here is the Church of Saint Emeric, on East 13th Street:

Church of Saint Emeric.

Here is a close-up of the stained glass window:

Close-up.

It's more broken than stained!

The East Village is not always pretty.

#eastvillage #12thstreet #13thstreet #avenued #church #saintemeric #stemericschool

Progress on Avenue D

Just two months ago, I wrote about the activity taking place on Avenue D between East 6th and 7th Streets, where the ugly, abandoned buildings had been torn down. This past Saturday, I went to check on the progress, and found these orange Jersey barriers:

Orange Jersey barriers.

You can see a pile driver against the building above. Here is a picture of another pile driver:

Another pile driver.

This is what the area looks like from the opposite corner:

From the opposite corner.

At this pace, it should be finished by Christmas!

#eastvillage #avenued #piledrivers #jerseybarriers #constructionsites #renovations

Dumpy Abandoned Building

As I wrote earlier, I was walking along East Houston Street last night. Along the way, I noticed this dumpy, abandoned building:

Dumpy, abandoned building.

It looks like a half-drawn peace-sign painted onto the front, and of course a lot of plywood windows — but it has its own ATM!

You're never too far from your cash… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #abandonedbuildings #atms #houstonstreet #peacesigns

How Many O's Are in COOL?

I was walking home last night from the Lower East Side, along East Houston Street, on the East Village side, when I saw this enormous COOL painted onto the side of the traffic island that separates the East Village from the world to the south:

10-O COOOOOOOOOOL.

It's too long to get into one picture, so I divided it into two:

9-O COOOOOOOOOL.

You never know how many Os will be in COOL… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cool #graffiti #houstonstreet #trafficislands

Jodo Bee Mural

Last night after work, I took a trip outside the East Village, to the Lower East Side!* I had been invited through Instagram to see the new mural by the illustrious JodoNYC!

It's not easy finding one's way around outside the East Village, but after putting my sleuthing skills to work I eventually found the beloved Stanton Social. I asked the greeter inside if she knew where the bee was, and she showed me — and now I will show you:

Giant Jodo Bee.

They grow so quickly — I remember when this bee was knee-high to a grasshopper!

______
* This is in an area known as Hello Square — people here are so friendly, they welcome you with a resounding Hello!

#daytrips #greeter #hellosquare #instagram #jodobee #lowereastside #murals #stantonsocial

Another Unicyclist

Wow — I can't believe I never posted this picture!

I was walking up Avenue A — back in March! — when I saw this overflowing trash can at the corner of East 4th Street:

Overflowing trash can.

But wait! That's no ordinary overflowing trash can — there's a unicyclist behind it!

The unicyclist rode up onto the sidewalk and right past me:

Right past me.

You just never know what you're going to see when you go walking around… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #avenuea #trashcans #unicyclists

The Sunflower

The community garden El Jardin del Paraiso, on East 4th Street, is known for many things, but sunflowers is not one of them!

Sunflower at El Jardin del Paraiso.

The seed for this one probably dropped out of a package of sunflower seeds purchased at a beloved bodega, and grew where it fell!

Hopefully, it won't overtake the ecosystem, like the toads in Australia!

#eastvillage #communitygardens #eljardindelparaiso #sunflowerseeds #sunflowers

Hangy Thing

I was walking down Second Avenue this past Monday evening, when what should I see on the lamppost at the corner of East 7th Street but some kind of hangy thing:

Hangy thing.

You don't see too many of these around these days!

Guerrilla mobiles, challenging the status quo… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #7thstreet #lampposts #mobiles

Abandoned Double Gulp

I was walking across East 4th Street, oh, about 29 days ago, when I saw this abandoned half a Double Gulp:

Half a Double Gulp.

Why would someone order a Double Gulp and then abandon half of it? Why not just order a Big Gulp instead?

Waste not, want not… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #doublegulp #4thstreet #abandoneddrinks

A Bunch O' New Places

While walking around the East Village this past Saturday, I saw a whole bunch of new places to eat that I hadn't seen before!

Here is one of them, the beloved Secchu Yokota, at the site of the formerly-beloved Meskel Ethiopian Restaurant, on East 3rd Street:

It looks a bit foreboding, no?

They only offer "tastings":

(I wonder if they have the same riot gates?)

Here is another new restaurant: Agios:

Agios Greek Rotisserie, on Agios Mark's Place.

Agios means Saint!

If you're looking for chocolates and coffee, there's Rose and Basil, on East 7th Street, complete with AstroTurf!

Rose and Basil for chocolates and coffee.

According to their web site, they sell breakfast in a jar!

And they open eearly:

Open Eearly.

Ubba-dee, ubba-dee, ubba-dee… That's all folks!

#eastvillage #3rdstreet #7thstreet #agiosgreekrotisserie #astroturf #meskel #ethiopian #restaurants #roseandbasil #secchuyokota #signs #stmarksplace

The Fly Stick

I was walking across East 7th Street this past Saturday, when I saw this Pic fly stick hanging from a tree branch:

Pic fly stick.

You might not be able to see this, but only one fly is real. The others are illustrations, meant to deceive passing flies into thinking it's safe to land here!

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #flies #flystick #7thstreet #pic

The Final Days of Trash & Vaudeville?

Late Summer is the time for taking a look at the state of some of the stores that East Villagers belove so much.

One such store is the beloved Trash & Vaudeville, on East 7th Street:

Trash & Vaudeville.

I can't bring myself to go inside this store. Whenever I pass by, they are empty, and I don't want to raise hopes that I'm going to buy something, when I only want to take pictures of the empty store.

I predict that very soon this store will close, and since most of the merchandise will be shipped off to sunny San Diego to be sold online, the only thing available for the Going Out of Business Sale will be what no one wants, like when St. Mark's Bookshop closed.

Of course, they could expand their inventory to include newer fashions!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #stmarksbookshop #trashvaudeville #tweets

The Sock Man Update

When we last checked in on the beloved The Sock Man, he was walking out of the store, talking on his cell phone.

At that time, I predicted that the store, in its new location on St. Mark's Place, would open in August:

Opening in August?

Judging by the look of the storefront this past Saturday, that's not going to happen.

I hesitate to guess again, but I will — I now predict The Sock Man will reopen in October, just in time for a Grand Opening Wooly Winter Sock Sale!

East Villagers love sales!

#eastvillage #thesockman #stmarksplace

Samuel Sullivan Cox Sign Returns

When I first saw the Samuel Sullivan Cox sign beside the Samuel Sullivan Cox statue on the southeast corner of Tompkins Square Park this past Saturday, I thought it was new.

New sign?

As you can see from the date, however, the sign is from May 2014!

May 2014.

By my photo records, as early as September 2014, this sign was not here. There's no telling why it was removed, or why it took so long to return — but it's back, that's all that matters!

It sure is long in its description, no? Compare that to the sign describing the Harry Greenberg, Park Supervisor tree, along the East 9th Street corridor:

Harry Greenberg, Park Supervisor sign.

There can only be one explanation: like all the best East Villagers, Samuel Sullivan Cox was from Ohio!

#eastvillage #harrygreenberg #ohio #ohioans #samuelsullivancox #signs #statues #tompkinssquarepark

Bike Hazards

Back in late-Spring/early-Summer, I was riding my Citibike down Second Avenue, on my way home from work. Like all Citibikers, I stopped when the light turned red, at the intersection of East 10th Street.

Suddenly, a bird sitting above me pooped!

Luckily, I am charmed, so it missed me. Still, I am wary now, each time I stopped at this light.

Recently, they removed the old payphone that stood at this corner, and replaced it with this hole, and some reinforcing rods, and orange barrels, and caution tape:

Hole, reinforcing rods, orange barrels, and caution tape.

A day or two later, they replaced the hole with this cement covering:

Cement covering.

It probably won't have any effect on birds pooping, though. You still have to be wary… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #orangebarrels #10thstreet #birdpoop

Career Opportunities

I was walking up Avenue C this past weekend, when I saw these yellos signs taped to a lamp post:

Yellow signs.

On closer inspection, I saw that they were advertising new opportunities in the exciting field of international arms dealing!

New opportunities.

East Villagers are hoping this is legitimate, and not some kind of guerrilla marketing ploy for some upcoming movie!

#eastvillage #avenuec #signs #internationalarmsdealing #guerrillamarketing

The Dog That Got Away

I was walking across East 7th Street this past Saturday, approaching Avenue A, when a medium-sized, black-and-white dog ran past me and into the street, at this intersection:

Avenue A and East 7th Street intersection.

A van was turning right, onto Avenue A, and almost hit the dog, but it skittered sideways and avoided being hit. It then continued across the street, and ran down the sidewalk along Avenue A.

I suspected that it was returning home, the way it knew.

Let's hope so, or we'll be seeing some new Lost Dog signs soon!

#eastvillage #dogs #avenuea #7thstreet

Ray's Candy Store Update

Speaking of the beloved Ray Candy Store, I was walking up Avenue A this past Saturday, when I noticed something new about their new awning. Specifically: Ray is possessive again!

Possessive again.

It's not the way I'd have done it, and it only affects the name of the store — the fried oreos are still plural!

I also noticed that the awning is taking on the corroded look that the old one suffered from:

Corroded look.

You just can't win for losing!

#eastvillage #rayscandystore #awnings #avenuea #signs

The New Ray Candy Store

Now that the shock has begun to subside, it's time to examine the recent changes wrought upon the beloved Ray Candy Store on Avenue A.

I'll start by saying that I don't dislike the green, but why oh why did they have to paint everything the same color?!

With all the artists that reside in the East Village, they should have had a contest to submit ideas for the renovation. People would have lined up for the chance to do this, and not charged a dime!

I hate to say this, but it was better before. It was shabby, but it was a calm shabby — it looks like a giant Sour Patch Kids package now!

Well, there goes my chance of being unbanned from their Twitter feed!

#eastvillage #avenuea #rayscandystore #renovations #twitter #shabby

The Next Level

Since being out of the East Village for over a week, I have returned with new focus — it's time to take this blog to the next level!

Abandoned beans.

So stay tuned to find out what exciting things lie ahead… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #abandonedfood #4thstreet

Abandoned Walker

I was walking down Avenue C the other day, when I saw this abandoned walker on the corner of East 4th Street:

Abandoned walker.

It's strange that the back wheels were removed. I bet they were taken by anarchists!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #abandoned #walker #anarchists #avenuec

Too Hot To Boogie

August is a good month to leave the East Village — it's hot, and there's nothing going on!

One exception is the annual Tompkins Square Riot Reunion Weekend!! show.

Here is a sign I saw last night, on Avenue B and East 6th Street:

Tompkins Square Riot Reunion Weekend!! sign.

It seems that the turnout was not great though, according to my source.

What do you expect, with 100-degree temperatures? — even anarchists stay in the A/C!

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #riotreunion #anarchists #avenueb #6thstreet

Regular As Clockwork

Just as the 17-year cicadas regularly appear, East Village Today regularly disappears!

Except it's every six months, and not every 17 years.

And I don't really disappear — I just travel far, far away… to the hinterland!

What's out there? I'm glad you asked! Here are some pictures:

Location signs.

Yonder cemetery.

Sunset.

Do you know what's not out there? Pokémon!

No Pokémon here.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the world outside the East Village!

#hinterland #signs