New ATMs

It's been almost a year since the Chase Cash Mob, to help keep Chase banks in the East Village. At that time, two branches had closed, and the Chase ATMs removed from the local Duane Reade drugstores!

I am happy to report (to holders of Citibank accounts) that the Allpoint machines have been replaced with new Citibank ATMs!

Behold, in the Duane Reade on Avenue B and East 2nd Street:

Citibank ATM.

Naturally, I had to visit the Duane Reade on Avenue D and East 1st Street also:

Citibank ATM.

It doesn't help people with Chase accounts, but we still have one branch in the East Village, on Second Avenue and East 10th Street — Citibank account holders don't have any!

#eastvillage #1ststreet #3rdstreet #atms #avenueb #avenued #citibank #duanereade

Dummytree

There's a new name in graffiti stickers in the East Village, and that name is Dummy Tree!

I was walking across East 6th Street back in late September, when I saw this sticker on the back of a construction sign:

Stockholm Symdrome.

Of all the syndromes, Stockholm is my favorite!

A little further down the block, I saw another green sticker fixed to this ATM hood:

Another green sticker.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Lick that toad?! Gross!

East Village Today strongly advises our readers not to lick any toads!

#eastvillage #dummytree #graffitistickers #atms #stockholmsyndrome

Inside an ATM

Have you ever wondered what the inside of an ATM looks like?

Me neither!

And yet, there it was on East 9th Street, for all the East Village to see:

Inside an ATM.

That's just the outside of an ATM. Here is the inside:

Inside.

At this rate, with the Chase banks leaving, and ATMs being gutted, East Villagers won't have access to cash any more. We might have to return to the barter system soon!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #atms

Chase Cash Mob

When businesses in the East Village start to fail, residents come to their aid by fomenting a cash mob. What this means is that people go to that business on a designated day and spend money, cash, to help the owners.

The beloved Chase Bank is one such business that needs our help!

During the past year, two branches of Chase Bank closed, leaving only the one on Second Avenue and East 10th Street.

Fortunately, there were still Chase ATMs at the beloved Duane Reade drugstores on Avenue B and Avenue D.

Recently, this changed.

Behold, at the Avenue B Duane Reade:

Chase ATM replaced by Allpoint ATM.

…and at the Avenue D Duane Reade:

The same thing.

Why this matters is that the Allpoint ATMs charge a $3.00 fee for withdrawals!

$3.00 fee.

If this keeps up, the East Village will be inundated with payday loan, pawn shops, and other shady establishments!

This is why East Village Today is organizing a cash mob for Chase Bank!

Go to the Chase Bank on Second Avenue and East 10th Street this Saturday, February 25 — open a checking account, sign up for a credit card, get an auto loan…

Free coffee and Dum Dum Pops!

Help keep Chase Bank in the East Village!

#eastvillage #chasebank, #10thstreet #avenueb #avenued #atms #allpoint #cashmob #duanereade

Chi Snack Shop

What first struck me about the new, beloved Chi Snack Shop, on St. Mark's Place, was their personalized ATM cover:

Personalized ATM cover.

Why have "ATM" twice on the same side? I would have made my snack shop's name larger and taken the space of the bottom "ATM".

The storefront is nice — the white wood is actually affixed to the brick!

It's hard to know what Chi means. It could mean: 1) energy force; or 2) a traditional Chinese unit of length, approximately ⅓ of a meter; or 3) a surname; or 4) a dragon in Chinese mythology!

I'm going to go with dragon!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #chisnackshop #atms

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

Cigarette Price War Resumes?

Back in early 2015, I wrote about a cigarette price war taking place on lower Avenue A. By April, as if on cue, all participating stores had taken down their cigarette-price signs!

Fast forward to June 2016, and this forgotten-beloved store on East 9th Street:

Forgotten, but beloved.

This is what it looks like inside now:

Inside.

But that's not why I'm writing this. If you look above the ATM in the top picture, you will see two signs.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Why did they only advertised Marlboros and Parliaments? And why did they separate the red Marlboro pack from the other Marlboro packs? And, since all the prices are the same, why not put them all on one sheet, horizontally, with one price?

You know, this isn't a story about cigarette price wars, this is a story about bad execution!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #atms #cigarettes #pricewar #signs

The ATMs of St. Mark's Place

While taking the picture of the new signage outside the beloved St. Mark's E-Smoke & Beer this past Sunday, I noticed something peculiar. There were two — two! — ATMs outside the store!

This got me to thinking: Just how many ATMs are there on St. Mark's Place (between Second and Third Avenues)?

So I counted them:

The ATMs of St. Mark's Place.

Nine ATMS!

You will never be short of cash in the East Village, if you have it in your account to begin with, and don't mind paying the ATM fee, and the fee your bank charges for using a not-your-bank ATM!

It makes you wonder though: Are these tee-shirt, hat, sunglass, drug paraphernalia, e-smoke, and beer stores cash-only?

Hmmm…

#eastvillage #atms #stmarksplace

East Village Dilemma

For East Villagers standing at the corner of Second Avenue and East 9th Street, who need to go to a local Chase ATM, there is a real dilemma: which branch to use?!

To the left, there is the beloved branch at East 10th Street:

Beloved Chase branch at Second Avenue and East 10th Street.

To the right, there is the beloved branch at St. Mark's Place:

Beloved Chase branch at Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place.

It's like the Rebecca Black song: Which one do I choose?!

However, this dilemma won't exist for much longer — the beloved branch at St. Mark's Place is closing soon:

ATM screen inside beloved St. Mark's Place Chase branch.

The East Village is in danger of becoming an under-served neighborhood!

#eastvillage #10thstreet #9thstreet #atms #chase #secondavenue #stmarksplace #underserved

Duane Reade Comes to Avenue D

This past Sunday, I was coming back into the East Village, after spending the day in the country.

Getting off the FDR at Exit 5, I was driving across Houston Street, when I saw it: the new Duane Reade on the corner of Avenue D:

Duane Reade on Avenue D.

When I got home, I took my camera and went back to get pictures. The store had quite a few people in it — one woman was sitting eating ice cream! It was like a Norman Rockwell painting!

Something I noticed about this building that I hadn't noticed before is how beautiful it is reflecting the evening sunlight:

Reflecting the evening sunlight.

Duane Reades all have Chase ATMs in them too. Finally, I don't have to walk all the way over to Avenue B when I need cash!

#eastvillage #avenued #houstonstreet #duanereade #atms

Whatever

I was walking down St. Mark's Place the other day, when I noticed these whacked-out signs:

Whacked-out signs.

The A in the ATM sign has only three lights lit, the same for the T. Only the M has enough lights on to know what letter it is. If I were at the end of the block and wanted a tattoo and didn't have any cash, I would have to remain tattooless!

Of course, this is St. Mark's Place, home of numerous tattoo and other body-mutilation venues, not to mention drug paraphernalia parlors! I wouldn't have to walk far before I found a place to scar myself, in my drug-induced state.

Whatever… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #whatever #tattoo #stmarksplace #atms

Jennifer Cafe

Back in early September, I wrote about a tiny little shack that sells stuff on East 1st Street. Today, while walking across East 4th Street, I discovered another such shack, called Jennifer Cafe, that specializes in breakfast, lunch, and juices:

Jennifer Cafe.

Jennifer even has her own ATM! And if you can't wait, you can call in your order in advance and perhaps your food will be ready and waiting for you! (I can't say for certain that it will be — I haven't done this.)

I don't know how people get a license to operate one of these shacks. Do they call 311 and say "I'd like to open up a cafe against the side of a building. Who do I contact about that?"

But they do it. Jennifer (not Jennifer's) Cafe is proof!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #jennifercafe #atms

A Scam of Almost Epic Proportions

This past weekend, East Village Today became aware of a scam of almost epic proportions. Look!

This laundry (I'm not afraid to say it was a laundry) advertises that you are able to get $10 bills from their ATM, but what they don't tell you is that the charge for using their ATM is the same — $2.00! That means you are paying a 20% fee for withdrawing that $10 bill, apart from what your bank charges for using a non-Yourbank ATM.

Shocking.