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

Spitfire x 2

If you were to guess how many Triumph Spitfires there were in the East Village, "one" would be a pretty good guess.

One Triumph Spitfire, on St. Mark's Place.

What if I were to tell you that the number was actually twice that?

Behold:

Second Triumph Spitfire, on Avenue C.

And both of them parked in the same direction — what're the odds of that?!

#eastvillage #avenuec #coolcars #mazdaspitfire #stmarksplace

Punks and Rogues

One of the signs on the construction fence in Like Share Comment jumped out at me.

It was this:

Punks and Rogues Presents sign.

What's special about this sign is that, well, it exists! East Village punk rock shows never advertise. You either have to know someone involved, or pass by accidentally when they're playing. And when they do, it's usually only around the stage area!

Fun Fact: "No Future" (just above the word Brooklyn, in the sign) is from a song called God Save The Queen, by a punk rock band called The Sex Pistols. They were very popular in the East Village, back in the bad old days.

Next year will be the 40th anniversary of "No Future"! Still going strong!

#eastvillage #signs #punkrock #stmarksplace

Like Share Comment

I was walking across St. Mark's Place this past Saturday, when I noticed something peculiar on the construction fence outside the formerly-beloved Chase Bank, at Second Avenue:

Peculiar.

East Villagers are so tuned in to social media, they write "Like, Share, and Comment" even on their chalk graffiti!

#eastvillage #chalk #chasebank #constructionfences #graffiti #secondavenue #stmarksplace

Another Runaway Tomato

It was twelve short days ago that I first reported on the case of the runaway tomato.

Yesterday, while walking across East 7th Street, diagonal from the last siting, I saw another in front of the beloved Golden Food Market:

Another.

(Unless it's the one from twelve short days ago!)

If this happens again, I think we're going to have an epidemic on our hands!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #firstavenue #goldenfoodmarket #tomatoes

Storewide Sale

I was walking across East 7th Street, when I saw this sign in the window of the beloved Trash & Vaudeville:

Thanksgiving Day Sale sign.

If you're in the market for some warm pleatherette (in the window), or maybe a Nancy Spungen t-shirt, you can save 30%!

Nothing screams "East Villager" like saving money on punk-rock fashions!

#eastvillage #trashvaudeville #7thstreet #punkrockfashions

Abandoned Pizza & Butter

I was walking down Second Avenue this past Saturday, when I saw this abandoned pizza and butter on a bench in the beloved Abe Lebewohl Park, outside the beloved St. Mark's Church on the Bowery:

Abandoned pizza and butter.

Who eats butter on their pizza? — no wonder they abandoned it!

#eastvillage #stmarkschurch #abelebewohlpark #abandonedfood #secondavenue

Standpipe & Hose

This is just weird:

Hose inside stand pipe.

It's on Second Avenue.

What else can you really say about this?!

#eastvillage #standpipe #secondavenue #hoses

Crashed Motor Scooter

I was walking down Avenue C this past Thanksgiving Eve when I saw this crashed motor scooter, at the corner of East 5th Street:

Crashed motor scooter.

You can see pieces of it in the intersection.

It's hard to tell what happened, other than the motor scooterist hit something. Maybe he stole it, crashed it, and ran away?

Who knows?!

#eastvillage #avenuec motorscooters

Second Avenue Bagels

Since I first wrote about the beloved Tompkins Square Bagels opening a new location on Second Avenue, people who were not even conceived yet were conceived, born, and celebrated their six-month birthdays without the new location opening!

This past Wednesday, riding my Citibike as I was, on the sidewalk, I noticed that they finally opened:

Finally opened.

Here is what it looks like inside:

Inside.

If this were my bagel store, I would call it Second Avenue Bagels — it's more appetizing!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #tompkinssquarebagels

Serious Inconvenience

I was riding my Citibike down the Second Avenue bike lane this past Thanksgiving Eve, when I saw this major blockade, just below East 12th Street:

Major blockade.

Talk about inconvenience — I had to ride my Citibike up onto the sidewalk to get around it!

What was the cause of this havoc, you ask?

Cause of the havoc.

East Villagers appreciate infrastructure maintenance as much as the next villager… but oh, the inconvenience!

#eastvillage #bikelanes

One Baby Step Forward

A mere eleven days ago, I wrote how sockless East Villagers were urgently awaiting the opening of the beloved The Sock Man, on St. Mark's Place.

Since that time, one baby step forward has been taken, with the addition of the name over the door — I predict the re-opening is imminent:

Name over door.

It certainly is a festive-looking place — the beloved East Village Books looks rather homely in comparison!

UPDATE 11/25 13:51

dnainfo is reporting that The Sock Man is in fact now open!

#eastvillage #thesockman #stmarksplace #eastvillagebooks

Trash Tire

It's hard to say what happened to this tire, that I saw on Avenue D yesterday morning. I can only guess it was some kind of massive explosion:

Massive-explosion tire.

In no time, however, East Villagers began to fill it with trash.

At least it won't get washed away in a rain storm!

#eastvillage #avenued #tires #trash

Ben Ari Arts Ltd

This past weekend, I was walking down Avenue A, when I passed by the former location of the then-beloved Ben Ari Arts Ltd.

Ben Ari Arts Ltd.

What are religious articles? A? The? I know of religious pronouns (thee, thou, etc.) but articles?

This is what it now looks like inside:

Inside.

I wonder if Ben Ari is any relation to Mount Ari?

#eastvillage #benariarts #avenuea #constructionsites

Another Abandoned Shopping Cart

It seems like only eleven months ago (almost to the day!) that I wrote about the abandoned shopping cart on East 4th Street, outside of El Jardin del Paraiso.

Here we are again, all these months later, and another shopping cart has been abandoned in the same location, wheelless at that!

Wheelless shopping cart.

Here is another view, that highlights the accumulated litter:

Accumulated litter.

There's no telling how this got all the way over here from the West Village, the site of the nearest (no doubt beloved!) Citarella location.

Citarella must be a child-friendly store — with no place for children to sit in the shopping cart, they must be permitted to wander the aisles!

No place for children to sit.

Now that it's in the East Village though, this sign takes on a whole different meaning!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #eljardindelparaiso #shoppingcarts #westvillage #citarella #litter

American Deli & Grocery

Sometimes people think that the East Village is so transgressive that it's anti-American. Au contraire, pi…

Um, hold on a minute.

That ain't true, mister!

First was the beloved 'Merica, on East 6th Street. Now, on First Avenue, there's the beloved American Deli & Grocery!

American Deli & Grocery.

If you're looking for dairy, or beer, or ice cream, or deli, or organic products, or coffee, or (from the side of the awning) smoothie, or soda, or beer again, or sandwiches, or vegetarian products, with a red, white, and blue flare, the American Deli & Grocery is for you!

Even their litter is patriotic!

Patriotic litter.

#eastvillage #americandeligrocery #awnings #firstavenue #litter

The Headless Scarecrow

Speaking of severed heads, I was walking this past Saturday, when I noticed again (this time with my iPhone battery charged!) the headless scarecrow of East 3rd Street!

Headless scarecrow.

What's up with those mits? They look like berets!

Hawnh hawnh hawnh!

#eastvillage #3rdstreet #scarecrow

Sinking into the Swamp

Speaking of decrepit tree guards, this one, on East 7th Street, isn't bad at all:

Sinking into the swamp.

In fact, its intact-ness allows us to see how the East Village is sinking into the swamp it's built on!

Better prep your Go Bag!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #swamp #treeguards #gobag

Seven Severed Heads

I was walking up Avenue B, oh, I don't know, some time ago, when I happened upon this collection of severed heads outside the beloved Parlour:

Collection of severed heads.

Parlour is the place for hair-dos — just take it from these former customers!

#eastvillage #avenueb #parlour

The Sorry State of the Tree Guards

Back in September, I wrote about a tree guard that was in very bad condition.

Since that time, I noticed that there were many tree guards in the same state!

Here are but a few of them:

On East 7th Street.

On East 2nd Street.

On East 4th Street.

Yes, the tree guards of the East Village are a sorry lot.

#eastvillage #2ndstreet #4thstreet #7thstreet #treeguards

Home Sweet Home

As many people know, the East Village is always in a state of disrepair.

Here is an example that I saw on East 9th Street:

Disrepair.

A dismembered bicycle, a rickety, falling-down gate, strewn trash…

Home Sweet Home!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #bicycles #disrepair #trash

Demolished Orange Cone

I was walking around the East Village, back on Halloween Eve, when I saw this demolished orange cone, on East 4th Street:

Demolished orange cone.

How could something like this happen? I wondered.

I didn't have to wonder for long, though. When I got to East 9th Street, I found my answer:

My answer.

This is why we can't have nice things!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #9thstreet #orangecones

Revolting

East Villagers are revolting!

Revolt!

See what I mean?

#eastvillage #graffiti

Jeremiai 29:11

East Villagers love their Old Testament graffiti, but they can't spell for doo-doo!

Behold, outside the beloved Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, on The Bowery, last Sunday:

Bad spelling.

What does it mean, you ask?

For I know the plans I have for you — declares the Lord —
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Now that's encouraging!

#eastvillage #jeremiah #thebowery #cooperunion #graffiti #biblepassages