Bad Kerning Or Nah?

This new doodle by Cool, above the beloved 1st Ave Laundry Center on the corner of First Avenue and East 2nd Street, shows that even graffiti is not immune from the ravages of bad kerning:

Bad kerning.

Unless he considered the two exhaust fans to be Os, in which case: good use of background materials!

#eastvillage #1stavelaundrycenter #2ndstreet #cool #firstavenue #graffiti #kerning

Diskettes

People sometimes ask me, they say: Hey, East Village Today, just how old are East Villagers?

They're so old, they still have 3.5" computer disks in their apartments (until they put them out on their windowsills)!

Behold, on East 7th Street:

Box of diskettes.

In case you don't know what a diskette is, I took one out, so you could see it:

Diskette.

There was more than one in the box (with Cool graffiti behind it):

More than one diskette.

The funny thing is, whoever abandoned these diskettes thinks someone will pick them up and take them home!

#eastvillage #diskettes #cool #graffiti #7thstreet

Cool Graffiti Coverup

Almost a year ago to the day, the graffitier known as COOL graffitied on the front of the formerly-beloved Hop Devil Grill, on St. Mark's Place near Avenue A.

Today, with construction work taking place at that location, the graffiti is covered.

Behold:

Graffiti is covered.

Wait… what's that I see?

Trash bag on construction fence.

It's a trash bag at the top of the construction fence!

My guess is someone dropped the trash bag out of their window, intending for it to land behind the fence, but it landed on the fence instead… and now blocks the fire escape!

It's like the wild west here!

#eastvillage #constructionfences #constructionsites #fireescapes #stmarksplace #trashbags

Sad Candy Corn

What's the first thing you think of when you think of candy corn?
Halloween, right?!

And what's the first thing you do when you think of Halloween?
Smile!

So what's up with this sad candy corn on St. Mark's Place:

I'm sad that I'm on St. Mark's Place.

…and on East 4th Street:

I'm sad that I'm on East 4th Street.

If these candy corns could sing, their song might sound something like this:

Gloom, despair, and agony on me!
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery!
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all!
Gloom, despair, and agony on me!

Smile, you candy corns!

#eastvillage #cool #graffiti #stmarksplace #4thstreet #candycorn

Cool Donkey Boiler

If there's one thing the East Village graffitier known as COOL likes, it's donkey boilers!

Here is his handiwork, seen on St. Mark's Place last week:

Now with more candy corn!

You have to wonder about the buildings on St. Mark's Place — why are their boilers always going kaput?!

#eastvillage #cool #stmarksplace #graffiti #donkeyboilers #candycorn

How Many O's Are in COOL?

I was walking home last night from the Lower East Side, along East Houston Street, on the East Village side, when I saw this enormous COOL painted onto the side of the traffic island that separates the East Village from the world to the south:

10-O COOOOOOOOOOL.

It's too long to get into one picture, so I divided it into two:

9-O COOOOOOOOOL.

You never know how many Os will be in COOL… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cool #graffiti #houstonstreet #trafficislands

Hop Devil Cool

As everyone knows, East Village Today's mission is to promote awareness of East Village coolness, and almost as if by design, there is a graffitier whose work is consistent with that mission.

His name is… Cool.

Well, that's probably not his name, but that's what he paints all over the East Village!

Here is one I saw about eight days ago, at the site of the formerly-beloved Hop Devil Grill, on St. Mark's Place:

Hop Devil Cool.

Is that a silhouette, above the second O?

Silhouette above the second O.

It is!

Of course, no story about a formerly-beloved shopping establishment would be complete without a picture of the inside:

Picture of the inside.

Keeping it cool… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cool #graffiti #hopdevilgrill #inside #silhouette #stmarksplace

COOOOLuca Bar

I was walking across St. Mark's Place back in mid-June, when I saw a bit of graffiti on the windows of the formerly-beloved Luca Bar.

I didn't like the picture I took then, so I decided to take another, which I finally did this past Saturday:

Bit of graffiti.

Naturally, I had to take a look inside:

A look inside.

Someone should open a bar here!

#eastvillage #lucabar #stmarksplace #cool #graffiti

Give Me a C

I was walking across St. Mark's Place this past Saturday morning, when I saw the letter C painted onto the glass of the formerly-beloved Kings Court Real Estate Management:

The letter C.

It's my guess that the graffitier known as Cool was here, writing his name, when he was interrupted by, oh, perhaps… John Law!

It's not east being Cool… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #graffiti #cool #kingscourt #stmarksplace

Edgy Graffiti

Some are born edgy, some achieve edginess, and some have edginess thrust upon them.

Edgy graffiti on First Avenue.

East Village graffitiers say: We won't paint inside the lines!

#eastvillage #graffiti #firstavenue #cool #edgy

COOL-OOOO

Sometimes, East Villagers are so busy doing one cool thing, that they don't have time for other cool things, like keeping up with their blog, for instance!

Such is the case with East Village Today. I can't say I was doing something cooler than this blog — in the East Village, there are no degrees of coolness: there is cool, and there is the abyss!

Fortunately, I took some pictures during this period of awayness, to help keep people grounded:

Co…

You know what's coming next, don't you?!

OL…OOOO

Woah, what's that? Cool…oooo?

The East Village is cool-oooo!

#eastvillage #eastvillagetoday #cool

A New Cool

When we last visited Cool at this location (First Avenue and St. Mark's Place), he had decorated the temporary Walk/Don't Walk signholder base outside the beloved V Bar with Christmas trees!

Time has passed, the temporary Walk/Don't Walk signholder base was removed, and a new Cool has appeared a short distance away, in front of the beloved Sweet Generation:

A new COOL.

This post has been brought to you by Orange Cones, the official warning sign of open cellar doors… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #cellardoors #cool #firstavenue #graffiti #orangecones #stmarksplace #vbar

The Reclamation

I'm not an expert in the graffiti arts, but it seems to me that graffitiers are a lot like dogs!

No, I don't mean that they're friendly, or howl when a firetruck goes by — I mean that they claim, and re-claim, their territory!

You may remember from such posts as The Same Coin, that the fence beside the formerly-beloved Yaffa Cafe, on St. Mark's Place, was claimed by the graffitier Cool.

But gaze upon this:

Formerly-beloved Yaffa Cafe, with construction fence.

Cool's territory-marker is gone!

Lucky for him, the boiler went kaput in the building next door, requiring an external heating source (called "donkey boilers!) be brought in:

External heating source.

Which is better: white with orange, or orange with white?

Vote for your favorite in the comments below!

#eastvillage #constructionsites #cool #graffiti #stmarksplace #yaffacafe

The Same Coin

East Village coolness is like the two sides of a coin.

One side is heads:

Heads.

and the other side is tails:

Tails.

If you look carefully, you'll see that this is the same spot, taken from two different angles!

Only one of these pictures would make it onto a brochure promoting East Village coolness — if you guess Tails, you're right!

East Villagers love squalor!

#eastvillage #cool #graffiti #squalor #stmarksplace #yaffacafe

Cooool Christmas Trees

East Villagers love graffiti! They especially love the graffitier who goes by the name of "Cool", responsible for such cool works as COOOOOOOOOOOL scaffolding, and C…O…O…L obelisks!

This past Christmas season, East Villagers were treated to these Cooool decorations outside the beloved V Bar, on First Avenue at St. Mark's Place:

Cool Christmas tree, facing East.

Cool Christmas tree, facing West.

What's even better is that these will stay all year!

#eastvillage #cool #firstavenue #graffiti #stmarksplace #vbar

Cool Time

I've been thinking lately of including people in my pictures. What's the point of showing how cool the East Village is, if I don't show people having a good time here?! Eh?

These two women, on First Avenue and East 9th Street, are different heights. In order to see eye-to-eye, the taller one stands in the street while the shorter one stands on the curb:

"Do you think that photographer is from East Village Today?"

Not every picture will show people doing wild and crazy things — sometimes, all you have to do is stand and absorb the coolness, even from a mailbox!

Cool is as cool does… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #cool #firstavenue #graffiti #ps122

Cool Anagram

What better way to start the new year than with a reminder of how cool the East Village is?

I was this while walking across — hmmm… East 7th Street? I think so — when I saw this:

COOL trash cans.

You would think the superintendent would have put the trash cans back in their proper order! There was even an introductory and closing swoosh!

Even the trash cans are COOL… in the East Village!

#eastvillage #cool #trashcans #7thstreet

The East Village is What?

Everywhere you go in the East Village, there are reminders of how cool this place is. Some are subject to interpretation. Others…

Directly behind this…

Give me a C!

Give me an O!

Give me another O!

Give me a L!

What's that spell?!

I'm glad there weren't eleven Os this time!

#eastvillage #cool #ps122

Rockin' The Ramparts

Give me a C!

Give me 11 O's!

Give me an L!

What's that spell?

Cool.

The East Village is coooooooooool.