So Many New Chances

There are so many new chances to have a Chase bank branch open in the East Village, possibly the most Chase-underserved neighborhood in the city!

The site of the formerly-beloved Golden Food Market, on the corner of First Avenue and East 7th Street, seems perfect:

Perfect

This past Sunday, the beloved Three Of Cups closed, making this location on First Avenue and East 5th Street the newest possibility.

Can you just imagine?

Imagine.

I'm not saying each of these should be a Chase branch — any one of them would be fine.

#eastvillage #5thstreet #7thstreet #chasebank #firstavenue #goldenfoodmarket #threeofcups

Another Chance

I was walking home from work last night, when I passed by the beloved Jillery, at the corner of Avenue B and East 7th Street, only to discover that they are closing:

Store closing.

Just as the Chinese word for "crisis" is the same as the word for "opportunity", this store-closing gives us another chance to get a Chase bank branch to open here!

Just imagine, a shiny Chase bank:

Shiny Chase bank.

…instead of this graffiti mess:

Graffiti mess.

It makes my skin tingle just thinking about it!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #avenueb #chasebank #jillery

Bookseller Way

Here is a picture of the sidewalk in front of the formerly-beloved branch of Chase Bank, on the corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place, the day after it snowed:

The day after.

Apparently, the shoveller couldn't be bothered to make a path wider than the shovel itself!

If you are familiar with this corner, you will recall that this is where an East Village street vendor sells books. He was not set up on the day I took this picture, but the very next day, there he was again:

The very next day.

Notice how he set up his table alongside the path, causing people who stopped at his tables to divert foot-traffic into the hazardous area behind them!

#eastvillage #booktables #booksellers #chasebank #secondavenue #sidewalks #snow #stmarksplace

Unqualified Success

Yesterday's cash mob at the Chase Bank on Second Avenue and East 10th Street can only be described as an unqualified success!

Here is a picture taken at 9:52am, of an East Villager who arrived early:

The early bird gets the 0% introductory APR credit card!

Because the ATM vestibule is accessible, people did not have to wait outside — many waited inside, for the doors to open at 10:00am:

Doors open.

Considering that East Villagers don't get out of bed until 2:00pm, for this many people to be here when the bank opens shows just how important keeping Chase in the East Village is!

Thank you to everyone who made this such an unqualified success! It's up to the good people at Chase Bank now, after witnessing this outpouring of support from the community, to open at least one more branch in the East Village.

Their former location on Avenue A and East 2nd Street is still available:

Still available.

#eastvillage #secondavenue #10thstreet #chasebank #cashmob

New Experiences

I was walking down Avenue A recently, when I passed by the beloved New York Sports Club, with its still-vacant storefront:

Still vacant storefront.

East Villagers long for new shopping experiences!

Just down the avenue from this is this still-vacant former Chase Bank:

Still vacant bank.

East Villagers long for new banking experiences!:

#eastvillage #avenuea #chasebank #newyorksportsclub #underserved

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

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 Success

Whenever East Village Today points out a mess that needs to be cleaned, or renovations needed to store fronts, they get fixed!

Back around, oh, October 30th or so, I wrote about an itinerant bookseller outside the formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch on Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place, who put his books on the sidewalk instead of on a table.

No doubt after having read my post, there is now a table at this location:

A table.

Wow — I forgot the Spiderman mosaic was there!

#eastvillage #booksellers #booktables #books #chasebank #constructionsite #mosaics #renovations #secondavenue #spiderman #stmarksplace

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

Itinerant Bookseller

As I wrote in Vandals & Vendors:

Since the closing of our local Chase Bank, the corner of Second Avenue and St. Mark's Place has become a very popular location for vandals and itinerant street-vendors alike.

You might not have noticed from the pictures I showed (especially since I didn't call attention to it), but there is an itinerant bookseller on that corner too:

Itinerant book seller.

Most street booksellers put their books on tables, but this is a no-frills corner!

So if you're looking for something cheap to read, you could probably do worse than buying a book here.

#eastvillage #books #booksellers #chasebank #graffiti #secondavenue #stmarksplace

Busking for Dollars

As I wrote once before, busking is a time-honored tradition in the East Village.

I was walking down Second Avenue one afternoon somewhat recently, when I saw this fellow outside the formerly-beloved Chase bank, on St. Mark's Place:

Busker dude.

Nothing gets East Villagers grooving, and reaching into their pockets for dollars, like a good bongo riff!

#eastvillage #bongos #buskers #chasebank #secondavenue #stmarksplace

Underserved

I was walking down Second Avenue this past Sunday, when I stopped a moment to remember the formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch, at St. Mark's Place:

Formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch.

This building has been a bank for as long as any East Villager can remember. Before there was a bank here, it was just swampland!

You can see by the crack in the façade (that's French for "facade") that the ground is still soft:

Crack in the façade.

After people stopped entering this site, rodents started to take over:

Rodent take-over.

This closed branch reminded me of another formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch, on Avenue A and East 2nd Street:

Another formerly-beloved Chase Bank branch.

This is a map of Chase Bank branches and ATMs in the East Village:

Chase Bank branches and ATMs.

Only D is a branch — C and E are ATMs at local Duane Reades, and A and B are outside the boundaries of the East Village!

It's time to start keeping our money in our mattresses!

=-=-=-=-=

Updated February 20, 2017

#eastvillage #avenuea #chasebank #duanereade #secondavenue #underserved #swamp

Invader 2

As I wrote in Invader 1, Invader is a world-famous artist, who works exclusively in the medium of small ceramic tiles. Recently, he's been working in New York City, including (naturally!) in the East Village!

On Second Avenue at St. Mark's Place, at the beloved, local, recently-closed branch of Chase bank, Invader installed a mosaic of Spiderman, climbing the wall:

Spiderman climbing the wall.

It looks like a whole new mosaic trail is opening up… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #artists #chasebank #invader #mosaics #secondavenue #spiderman #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

East 10th Street Closed

This is sort of late, but that doesn't matter — this is not a news blog, but an East Village coolness blog!

I was walking down Second Avenue the other day, and saw this sign outside the beloved Chase, on East 10th Street:

E. 10th Street will be closed.

This is the street in question:

The street in question.

When I got to the end of the block, I saw the area of concern:

Area of concern.

Behind the fence was a large pit, with a ladder:

Large pit with ladder.

This is what a building looks like, beneath the sidewalk:

Building beneath sidewalk.

There were a lot of pipes. This is a picture taken through a pipe:

Picture taken through pipe.

Here's another, from the other end:

The other end.

Making a better East Village for everyone… Today!

#eastvillage #chase 10thstreet #secondavenue #constructionsites

Tour Groups Stop at Chase Bank

Chase Banks are very popular in the East Village! So popular that tour group leaders have made them a must-see stop on the tour:

Chase Bank on Second Avenue at East 10th Street.

I could hear what was being said, something about 90-day Certificates of Deposit!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #10thstreet #chasebank