Expanding

Back in June, the LinkNYC kiosk on Second Avenue between East 7th Street and St. Marks Place was cramped!

Today, the space has expanded!

Behold:

Expanded living area.

In a squat, you would have to knock down a wall to expand your living area!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #linknyc #secondavenue #crusties #stmarksplace #abandonedcouches

NSFK

I was walking across East 9th Street nine days ago (what a coincidence!) when I saw this banner on the fence of La Plaza Cultural, announcing what looks like the least kid-friendly Kids Halloween Party in the history of halloween parties:

Banner on fence.

Here is a close-up of the person being strangled:

Close-up.

I passed by there again last night, and saw that they've made progress on decorations:

Decorations.

More decorations.

It's fitting that the graveyard is where the weeping willow tree stood until recently — see how much more room there is now?!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #avenuec #laplazacultural #communitygardens #kidshalloweenparty #nsfk #weepingwillows

Duelling Graffitiers

Lo, these seventeen days ago, I was walking across East 6th Street, approaching the local Dunkin' Donuts, on First Avenue, when I saw this bit of graffito:

Bit of graffito.

Well, duh — East Villagers don't need to be told how to spell NYC!

Because my blogging duties take me all over the East Village, I was not able to return to this site until nine days later, when this is the mess I beheld:

What a mess!

Here is what I think happened: One person, with a can of white spray paint, crossed out "NYC not NYU", then wrote "NYU is NYC", "Columbia is NYC", and "CUNY is NYC". Then, another person, with his own can of white spray paint, crossed out all of those and wrote "SMU is NYC". Then, as an afterthought, wrote "Sorry".

Why do I think that, you ask? Because the writing of the NYU, Columbia, and CUNY messages is the same; the SMU is different, it's doubled-up, and the "i" in "is" is lower-case.

East Village Today: a forensic blog if ever there was one!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #columbia #cuny #dunkindonuts #firstavenue #graffiti #nyc #nyu #smu

Rats > Frats

It's rare that graffitiers spray-paint public service announcements, but it's not unheard of!

Here is one example, seen on the side of a solar-powered trash can on the corner of Avenue A and East 7th Street:

Spray-painted PSA.

Rats are indeed a greater problem than frats — I don't think there even are frats in the East Village.

Unless F-Rats are a thing!

#eastvillage #avenuea 7thstreet rats #trashcans #graffiti #publicserviceannouncement #frats

After The Miracle

I was walking across East 4th Street — oh, about 17 days ago — when I saw this overturned wheelchair:

Overturned wheelchair.

No doubt, earlier, this was the scene of a miracle, where some wheelchair-bound individual stood up and walked, and didn't bother to return his wheelchair for someone else to use, or get his deposit back!

Either that, or someone popped a wheelie and rolled off the back, and kept on rolling, which is pretty miraculous itself, if you ask me!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #wheelchairs #miracles

Yeeehaw

I was walking across East 5th Street a couple of weeks ago, when I saw this Open Studio information painted on a window:

Open Studio information.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

The event itself has already passed; what's important is that "Yeeehaw" was written in big letters on a window.

Yeeehaw!

#eastvillage #5thstreet #signs #yeeehaw #windows

Chi Chi

St. Mark's Place is the chichiest street in the whole East Village.

Here is one of the chis:

Chi Ken.

…and here is another:

Chi Snack Shop.

Pokemons and astroturf cellar-door covers — trés chichi!

#eastvillage #chiken #chisnackshop #stmarksplace #chichi #astroturf #cellardoors

99 *Chinese Symbols*

I was walking across St. Mark's Place — oh, about eighteen days ago — when I saw this new signage in the window of the beloved 99 <Chinese Symbols>:

New signage.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered something peculiar:

Peculiar.

Which is it? 99 Favor Taste (or close approximation), or 98 Favor Taste? Do Chinese readers get one more favor taste? I wonder what it is?!

Upon even closer inspection, I discovered that the vinyl (?) was applied in a sloppy fashion.

Behold:

 A crease.

There's a crease in it!

Maybe the 99th favor taste was the tip of the owner's boot!

#eastvillage #99favortaste #stmarksplace #signs

Dangerous Ramp

You are no doubt aware of the sidewalk repairs taking place throughout the East Village. One such repair was taking place outside the newly-beloved Starbucks, on Avenue A:

One such repair.

You might think the ramp is dangerous because it isn't fixed to the ground, or because it's splintering, and could give someone a splinter, but no — it's because there are nails sticking out of it!

Behold:

Nails sticking out of it.

At very least, they could make you trip!

#eastvillage #avenuea #nails #orangebarrels #ramps #sidewalkrepairs

Inside A Call Box

Have you ever seen inside an East Village call box?

Me neither!

Until now.

Behold, the inside of a call box, on Avenue B and East 8th Street:

Inside a call box.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Is it what you expected?

Me neither!

#eastvillage #8thstreet #avenueb #callboxes #inside