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

Disaster Tourism

People are, no doubt, familiar with the fire on Second Avenue that burned down four buildings back in late March. It was a terrible fire, and pointed out the danger so many people face in the East Village, as the tenement buildings age.

Things have returned to normal for those who were not displaced, and that means tour busses are starting to include the site on their routes. These pictures are from yesterday evening:

Tour bus at fire site.

People lined up outside the beloved B&H Restaurant for some dairy food:

Cheese blintzes, anyone?

Meanwhile, others lined up outside the beloved Enz's for the chance to buy some rockabilly clothing:

Move it on over, Stray Cats!

Others took in the plywood poster fence, now behind a chainlink poster fence:

Plywood poster fence behind chainlink poster fence.

Cashing in… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #bhdairy #enz #fire #secondavenue

311 Emergency

I was walking up Second Avenue yesterday morning, when I saw this:

Wastewater dumped onto the sidewalk.

In New York City, it's against the law to dump wastewater "directly or indirectly … into a street that drains into a sewer or catch basin".

The East Village is like the Wild West: anything goes, pardner!

#eastvillage #bhrestaurant #dumping #secondavenue #311