Bad Riot Gates

I was walking across East 6th Street, about eight days ago, when I saw this decrepit riot gate, half-way raised:

Decrepit riot gate.

Always make sure your riot gates are in good condition. What if, heaven forbid, there's another riot?! When the insurance company investigator comes, he'll notice that the riot gate was defective, and disallow your claim for property loss!

This has been a public service announcement from the National Association of Riot Gate Manufacturers, and the insurance industry.

#eastvillage #riotgates #6thstreet #publicserviceannouncement

Unhappy Ending Update

Seventeen days ago, I told you about the beloved Nie's Service Center, on East 4th Street, being closed for prostitution.

I passed by there this morning, and saw that the Marshal's notices were gone and the riot gate was up:

Back to normal?

Here is what it looks like inside now:

Through the door.

Through right side of window.

Through left side of window.

It's possible, even likely, that someone was inside there, remembering the good old days!

#eastvillage #bestchinesefootbackrub #4thstreet #niesservicecenter #riotgates #marshalslegalpossession

Big Lee And Sasha's

Something is afoot at the formerly-beloved Spanky & Darla's!

I was walking down First Avenue, oh, about seventeen days ago, when I saw this solitary square of white almost perfectly centered on a black riot gate:

Almost perfectly centered.

What could it be, I wondered?

I took a look.

It turned out to be a request for a liquor license, by the soon-to-be beloved Big Lee and Sasha's Inc.:

Big Lee & Sasha's Inc.

Big Lee and Sasha's? That sounds strangely similar to Spanky & Darla's!

Taped to their open door was a shower curtain:

Shower curtain.

Naturally, I took a peek inside:

A peek inside.

I hope they get their liquor license. Now that the beloved First Avenue Wines is about to become formerly-beloved, that section of the block will be critically devoid of alcohol!

#eastvillage #eastvillagewines #firstavenue #liquorlicense #riotgates #signs #spankyanddarlas

Activity At East Village Bikes

I guess the riot gates being raised at the formerly beloved East Village Bikes on Avenue C was not just a fluke — they were up again this past Sunday!

It's still hard to tell what's going on, except that they're selling paintings and used air conditioners:

Painting and used air conditioner.

…and Elmo is guarding the cellar doors:

Guarding the cellar doors.

This time, the door was open:

Open door.

Here is a close-up of the inside:

Close-up of inside.

It's a mystery!

#eastvillage #avenuec #eastvillagebikes #riotgates #cellardoors #elmo

Einstein On A Bike

Not much has happened at the formerly-beloved East Village Bikes since they closed last month.

Until now!

I was walking down Avenue C last night, when I saw that the riot gates were up, revealing a couple of Einstein banners covering the windows:

Covering the windows.

It's fitting that he's riding a bike! You know, with this place having been a bike store, and all.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

And another:

Another.

I just thought of something: What if there's a riot? Those Einstein banners aren't going to be any help!

#eastvillage #avenuec #einstein #riotgates #banners

Plywood Board

Eleven days ago, this plywood board showed up, propped against the wall of the beloved RCN Cable building mural on Avenue C:

Plywood board.

The funny thing is, it's pretty much the same size as the painted-over riot gate beside it!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #avenuec #murals #plywood #rcncable #riotgates

Out In The West Texas Town

Sometimes, when I walk around the East Village, I am reminded of the gunfighter ballads and trail songs of Marty Robbins — last week was one of those times!

I was walking up Avenue C, when I saw this sign above the black, riot-gated door of the beloved Fine Fare:

Prohibido El Paso.

Just like the character in the song, El Paso is Prohobido!

Back in El Paso my life would be worthless
Everything's gone in life, nothing is left

#eastvillage #avenuec #finefare #riotgates #signs #elpaso #martyrobbins

Missing Pig

This is the strangest thing: I can't find any of the pictures I took of the Porchetta pig, the pig statue that graced the window of the formerly-beloved Porchetta, on East 7th Street!

Here is a picture of the former Porchetta, taken last week:

The former Porchetta.

…and here is the counter where the pig statue sat (to the right of the For Lease sign, above):

No more pig statue.

Maybe it's not so strange — I never could get a decent shot of that thing, between the riot gates, and people sitting next to it, and the reflection in the window…

#eastvillage #7thstreet #porchetta #pig #statue #riotgates #reflectywindows

New Riot Gates

Four short days after taking pictures of the street vendors who set up shop at the corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place, these riot gate installers installed riot gates in front of the former Chase Bank that stands there:

Installing riot gates.

Here is the new riot gate, fully installed — it blocks a lot of the graffiti!

Blocking the graffiti.

They even installed riot gates on the window:

Riot gates on the window.

These guys mean business!

#eastvillage #chasebank #riotgates #secondavenue #stmarksplace

Hypnotoad on East 2nd Street

I first wrote about this place back when East Village Today was new — today you might say it was East Village Then!

Well, I was walking across East 2nd Street recently, when I saw that the riot gates of this beloved place had changed again:

Riot gates changed.

Wait a second… what's that I see?

Hypnotoad.

East Villagers love Hypnotoad!



#eastvillage #2ndstreet #hypnotoad #awnings #artproject #riotgates

A Peek Inside

I was walking down Avenue C recently, when I saw that the riot gate of the fomerly-beloved Avenue C Deli Corp, previous site of the equally-formally-beloved Los Muchachos Supermarket, was raised!

Somewhat:

Riot gate raised somewhat.

Well, you know what that means: a peek inside!

A peek inside.

Those vertical beams are new, which means the space is being divided, which means not one, but two new shopping emporiums opening soon!

There's never been a better time to live in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenuec #avenuecdelicorp #losmuchachossupermarket #riotgates #renovation #constructionsites

Pigeon on a Gearbox

I know, I know,
It's serious.

Pigeon on a gearbox.

All the more so because it's a riot gate gearbox!

#eastvillage #gearbox #pigeons #riotgates

Wonky Eye

It seems like every post is about murals these days!

You may recall that I wrote about the new mural on the riot gates of the beloved Best Hou ekeeping on Avenue A, first when the original mural was primed over, and then when the new mural was being painted. I even included a video snippet of the work being done!

I passed by the now long-completed mural this past Sunday, and noticed something peculiar. The eyes are wonky:

Wonky eyes.

What's up with this? I wondered, so I took a closer look:

A closer look.

The right eye (on the left side, in the picture) has no sclera — otherwise known as "the white of the eye"!

Weird!

Maybe the model was stung by a bee and her eye is swollen, like in Animal Crossing – City Folk:

Stung by a bee.

Speedy recovery… from the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #artists #avenuea #besthousekeeping #murals #animalcrossingcityfolk #riotgates

Empty Space on Avenue A

I was walking down Avenue A, oh, about a month ago, when I saw this, at the former location of the beloved Alphabets, between East 7th Street and St. Mark's Place:

Former location of the beloved Alphabets.

Here's another shot, without the riot gates:

Without the riot gates.

This looks like the perfect place for an Eastern European restaurant that only serves food at the counter! Or a shoe repair shop! Or even a CD store! They would barely have to renovate!

Turning back the clocks… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenuea #riotgates #7thstreet #stmarksplace