Public Art Award

Art for art's sake is all well and good, but art for recognition's sake is even better!

Just such recognition recently took place at the La Plaza Cultural community garden, on Avenue C and East 9th Street.

Behold:

Public Art Award sign. 

No doubt this sign is to recognize the discarded refuse from thirty years ago that adorns the fence surrounding the garden:

Discarded refuse.

This just goes to show you what you're up against in the public art arena. Sewer artists have some stiff competition!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #avenuec #communitygardens #laplazacultural #publicartaward #signs

Sidewalk Damage

Even when trees die and are carted away, the damage they leave behind remains.

Behold, outside La Plaza Cultural community garden, on East 9th Street and Avenue C:

Sidewalk damage.

I am the Larox. I speak for the sidewalks!

#eastvillage #trees #laplazacultural #9thstreet #avenuec #sidewalks #communitygardens

No More Dumping

Speaking of signs outside the El Jardin del Paraiso community garden, since they took down the No Dumping sign, there's been no dumping!

Behold:

Nothing dumped.

East Villagers are so oppositional!

#eastvillage #eljardindelparaiso #4thstreet #signs #oppositionaldefiantdisorder #communitygardens

New Signs

There are a couple of new signs on the fence of the El Jardin Del Paraiso community garden, on East 4th Street:

New signs.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Our legacy of lead? WTF?

As if being built on a swamp wasn't bad enough!

#eastvillage #eljardindelparaiso #communitygardens #4thstreet #signs #lead

Winter Wonderland of Snow

East Villagers woke up this morning to discover… it was snowing!

Behold:

East 5th Street, in the snow.

Sixth Street and Avenue B Community Garden, in the snow.

Avenue B and East 7th Street entrance to Tompkins Square Park, in the snow.

Water fountain, in the snow.

Some trees, in the snow.

Women's Christian Temperance Union fountain, in the snow.

Some more trees, in the snow.

A row of benches, in the snow.

Where the church lady preaches, in the snow.

During the past two officially-declared winter storms, Winter Storm Skylar and Winter Storm Toby, we got almost no snow. Today, with no official designation, we got all this!

I declare this: Winter Storm East Village Today!

#eastvillage #5thstreet #7thstreet #avenueb #benches #chairs #communitygardens #sixthstreetavenuebcommunitygarden #snow #stmarksplace #tompkinssquarepark #waterfountains #wctu #winterwonderland

Another Miracle

It's no secret: the East Village is the place of miracles!

Here is evidence of a miracle, outside the Secret Garden on East 4th Street:

Evidence.

It's not as impressive as getting up out of a wheelchair and walking, but to the cripple hobbling along on these crutches, it's just as real!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #communitygardens #crutches #miracles #secretgarden

Very Stonehengey

I was walking past the Lower East Side Ecology Center Community Garden on East 7th Street, back in December, when I saw these stones stacked like some kind of henge:

Some kind of henge.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

I'm sure it's some a shrine to some chair goddess — East Villagers are way into that kind of thing!

#eastvillage #pavingstones #lowereastsideecologycentercommunitygarden #communitygardens #7thstreet #chairs #henges

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

No More Weeping

About ten days ago, the weeping willow tree inside the community garden La Plaza Cultural, that was scheduled to be cut down, was cut down.

Here is a sign announcing the down cutting:

She is sick.

RIP? Thank you?

Weird!

Here is what La Plaza looks like now, from Avenue C and East 9th Street:

Whoa — the sky!

Here is the new view of the building across East 9th Street, from inside the garden:

Across East 9th Street.

The lumberjacks did such a good job of carting everything away, you'd never know there was a tree there to begin with!

With the tree down, these signs were now visible:

Take a peace.

Wood chips and even branches were available to take home! Can you imagine having a tree branch in your apartment?!

They should have had a bonfire instead — that would have been great! People could have cooked vegan hotdogs, vegan marshmallows, made vegan s'mores…

Here is another sign that is now visible:

Now visible.

I wonder if the cat died from tree poison, or if someone abandoned their already-dead cat there, and with the tree now gone, it was discovered?

Sure, blame the tree!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #abandoneddeadcats #avenuec #communitygardens #laplazacultural #signs #trees #weepingwillows

Solar System vs. Universe

I was rounding the corner at Avenue C and East 9th Street yesterday, when I saw these two signs on the fence outside the La Plaza Cultural community garden:

Two signs.

Garbagia Universe was some sort of event taking place inside the garden — I didn't go inside to see.

Our Solar System? I don't know if the two were connected, but I can tell you this: That's an old map of the solar system — it still shows Pluto as a planet!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #avenuec #communitygardens #garbagiauniverse #laplazacultural #pluto #signs #solarsystem

Disco Wind Chime

East Villagers are not really known for their disco dancing — they're more the pogo'ing type!

So this disco wind chime thing seems out of place at the Secret Garden community garden, on East 4th Street and Avenue C:

Out of place.

Here's a close-up:

Close-up.

I'm not even sure it's a wind chime — it's more of a decoration than a chime.

Still…

#eastvillage #4thstreet #avenuec #communitygardens #secretgarden

Tent Camping

East Villagers are not known for their outdoorsiness — nature is scary, and it's far!

That's why we have community gardens!

So when an East Villager responds to the call of the great outdoors, there's no better place to pitch their tent than in one of those community gardens — barring that, on the sidewalk outside of one!

Behold, the sidewalk outside the Sixth Street & Avenue B community garden:

Outside Sixth Street & Avenue B Community Garden.

Since the door was open, I took a peek inside:

Inside.

…and since the roof was open, I took a peek inside there too:

Inside the roof.

There's no plumbing, and campfires are not allowed, but at least there's no bears!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #avenueb #tents #inside #communitygardens #sixthstreetavenuebcommunitygarden

Big Ol' Wood Pile

I was walking across East 4th Street, oh, about eleven days ago, when I saw this big ol' wood pile stacked outside El Jardin del Paraiso community garden:

Stacked outside.

My first thought was to jump on top of it, to see if I could kick up a rabbit, but then I remembered I didn't have a shotgun!

#eastvillage #eljardindelparaiso #4thstreet #pileofwood #communitygardens

Countdown to Treemageddon

While not an occasion for communing with one's inner goddess, the imminent demise of a weeping willow tree in La Plaza Cultural community garden, on Avenue C and East 9th Street, cannot pass unnoticed at East Village Today.

Here is probably the last picture of the doomed weeping willow tree with a chair in front of it:

Weeping willow tree with chair.

Here is probably the last picture of the doomed weeping willow tree with someone sleeping under it:

Weeping willow tree with sleeper.

East Village Today will follow events here as they take place.

#eastvillage #9thstreet #avenuec #communitygardens #laplazacultural #treemageddon #trees

Appeal To EVT Readers

My contact at La Plaza Cultural community garden, at Avenue C and East 9th Street, tells me there will be some type of crazy ceremony there today at 4:00pm — on par with the crazy ceremony in Tompkins Square Park back in October, 2014!

I will be doing normal-people things today, so I can't go.

If you're in the mood for some silliness this afternoon, please take photos or videos and send them to me!

No close-ups, please — East Village Today is all about context!

That is all.

#eastvillage #laplazacultural #avenuec #9thstreet #communitygardens

Peer Into The Garden

Everyone loves the binoculars at tourist sites like the Grand Canyon, and at the top of the Empire State Building, that you put a quarter into and can peer far into the distance.

Here in the East Village, we have our own version of this, outside the community garden El Jardin del Paraiso, on East 4th Street:

Our own version.

It's DIY!

Here is what it looks like, in use:

A tree, larger than life.

You don't even have to pay!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #communitygardens #eljardindelparaiso #styrofoamcups #trees

Liming the Path

Farmers are known for putting lime on soil to decrease its acidity, providing calcium and magnesium for plants.

Gardeners at El Jardin del Paraiso on East 4th Street were recently seen to have been liming the path leading into the garden:

Liming the path.

It's hard to say why, unless they are trying to promote the growth of plants on the pathway in anticipation of closing this entrance permanently.

They also limed the soil in the tree bed outside the garden:

Outside the garden.

Calcium and magnesium are good for humans too. They work together to regulate blood pressure and maintain a steady heartbeat!

East Villagers don't have to eat lime though — calcium/magnesium supplements can be purchased in many beloved, local stores!

#eastvillage #communitygardens #eljardindelparaiso #4thstreet #treebeds #lime

Dirt Bug

You have to be paying attention, when walking around the East Village, to see dirt bugs.

Fortunately, East Village Today pays very close attention!

Behold, as seen in Orchard Alley community garden on East 4th Street:

Dirt bug.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Some people call them Roly Polies, other people call them Pill Bugs, still other people call them Doodle Bugs. Their Latin name is Armadillidiidae.

Insect armadillos!

#eastvillage #dirtbugs #orchardalley #communitygardens #armadillidiidae #4thstreet

Rhubarb

It's not always easy to grow your own fruits and vegetables in the community gardens of the East Village — some gardens don't allow it, and the ones that do have limited space, and a waiting list of people who want plots.

Why wait, when you can grow your food in a tree bed?!

Behold this rhubarb, outside the beloved El Jardin del Paraiso, on East 4th Street:

Rhubarb.

Just remember to not eat the leaves — they're poisonous, and probably pee'd on!

#eastvillage #communitygardens #eljardindelparaiso #rhubarb #treebeds

A Moveable Wreath

Regular readers of this blog will surely remember the picture of the abandoned Christmas wreath — even more will wonder what happened to it!

Back in March, I was walking across East 5th Street, when I saw it inside El Jardin del Paraiso:

Inside El Jardin del Paraiso.

That would surely be its final resting place, I thought — mulched and mixed with rotting kale to become compost — but was I wrong!

Behold, this past Saturday on the East 2nd Street graffiti wall:

Christmas wreath graffiti.

Either that or it's a different one.

Still, what are the odds of seeing two dying Christmas wreaths hanging in the same neighborhood? Pretty remote, I'd say!

#eastvillage #2ndstreet #5thstreet #christmaswreaths #communitygardens #eljardindelparaiso #graffitiwall