Falling Down

It seems the beloved 10 Degrees, a bar on St. Mark's Place, is falling down!

Behold, moving east to west:

Column 1, pretty bad.

Column 2, also pretty bad.

Column 3, terrible.

Maybe this is part of their marketing strategy: appealing to older East Villagers with nostalgia for the bad old days!

#eastvillage #10degrees #stmarksplace #bars #disrepair

Bad Bricklaying

I was walking across East 2nd Street recently, pondering the hole-in-the-wall situation in the East Village, when I noticed this area of bricks beneath some painted cement that was falling off the building:

Area of bricks.

The strange thing about these exposed bricks is that they're not the same color or size as the bricks above them; they're not even the same size as the painted bricks beneath them; they're not even the same size as the other bricks in their assemblage!

If you look at the bricks directly above the lintel, you'll see that some are broken, while others are turned sideways.

It's a wonder half of the buildings in the East Village are still standing!

#eastvillage #lintels #bricks #2ndstreet #cement #disrepair

Home Sweet Home

As many people know, the East Village is always in a state of disrepair.

Here is an example that I saw on East 9th Street:

Disrepair.

A dismembered bicycle, a rickety, falling-down gate, strewn trash…

Home Sweet Home!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #bicycles #disrepair #trash

Festive Yellow Chain

East Villagers are very clever at disguising building disrepair!

Walking across East 2nd Street yesterday, I saw this yellow chain blocking the entrance to this building:

Blocking the entrance.

At first glance, I thought it was just a festive, yellow chain, but on closer inspection I saw that there were no supports for the handrails!

No support on the right side.

No support on the left side.

I wonder if anyone tried to get out, saw the chain, and went back inside? They might still be there!

#eastvillage #2ndstreet #chains #disrepair #steps #yellow

3-in-1

Just the other day, I wrote about how the East Village is falling apart, and about urban farming, and about drug addicts.

Little did I ever expect to find all three example in one photograph, on East 4th Street, but here it is — can you spot them?

Falling-apart tree fence.

Mushrooms.

Abandoned syringe.

Good citizen that I am, I called 311 right away, and the Sanitation Department came and removed the syringe!

Sanitation workers certainly have a dangerous job… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #abandoned #hypodermicneedles #disrepair #urbanfarming #sanitationdepartment #workers

Falling Apart

When you walk around the East Village, one of the first things you notice is that the area is falling apart.

Here is one example, that I saw outside the local Duane Reade on Avenue B this past weekend:

One example.

As if the falling-apart tree guard isn't enough, there's a dismembered bicycle right next to it!

At least it's locked to a bike corral so no one can steal it!

#eastvillage #avenueb #duanereade #disrepair #bicycles #bikecorrals #treeguards

Smashed Awning

I was walking across St. Mark's Place last Sunday, when I saw this, at The Saint:

Smashed awning.

Here's a close-up:

Close-up.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I thought this building had an auto-repair mechanism, but it seems I was wrong!

What's more, this awning has been in this condition for a long time. You can see it in this post about this building's balconies.

Living with dilapidation… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #disrepair #thesaint

The Post… is Gone

I was walking down East 9th Street this evening, on my way home from work, when I saw… this:

The post… is gone.

The post, outside the 9th Street Haberdashery, about which I posted many times, is gone!

I have to say, it looks much nicer. The bench actually looks inviting now!

I predicted back in February that 2015 would be "the year of The Great East Village Fix‑'Em‑Upper", and it's turning out that way in spades!

It's kind of scary, really. What will I have to write about, in the East Village Today?

#eastvillage #9thstreet #9thstreethaberdashery #disrepair

One Step at a Time

Most times, the pictures I take have stories already attached to them. Other times, they have what I'll call "story receptors", where the story is as yet unknown.

This ramshackle bottom step on East 9th Street was one of those story-receptor pictures:

Ramshackle step.

I took this picture back in early March, but other than calling attention to its ramshackleness, I couldn't think of anything to say about it.

And then…

Ramshackle step, repaired.

…it was repaired! Not only that, but the staircase it's a part of was cleaned!

They should get some paint that matches the brown of the other steps, and paint it. Or maybe they can paint the entire set with another color — anything but that seafoam green that seems to be so popular on East 9th Street!

Fixing up the East Village… one step at a time!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #disrepair

Rickety Old Fence Gone From East 9th Street West Virginia Building

Stop the press!

I almost didn't walk down East 9th Street this morning. I wanted to see if the cool old pickup truck was back home yet, and I saw right away that it wasn't. But I didn't want to backtrack to First Avenue, so I continued down 9th Street, where I saw this:

The rickety old fence is gone!

The rickety old fence is gone!

For those new to the East Village today, this is what this building has looked like almost since the beginning of time:

West Virginia building with rickety old fence (taken back in November).

Who is responsible for this, I wondered? The answer was immediately obvious:

IA sign fastened to window bars.

It's IA, otherwise knows as Interior Alterations.

First, they removed the rickety old gate and fixed the broken concrete steps, now they removed the rickety old fence. I mean, there's really no reason to call it the East 9th Street West Virginia building any more!

I wonder what they have in mind to do with the space?!

My mission to restore the East Village to its once-pristine glory continues!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #disrepair #fences #renovations #westvirginia

Good Beer

East Villagers love good beer. If you ask an East Villager, "Do you like bad beer?" they'll tell you, "No, I do not!"

Good beer is the idea behind Good Beer, a beer store on East 9th Street popular with the good-beer-drinking crowd:

Good beer had here.

Their sign is in keeping with the dilapidated look that's so popular on East 9th Street! Once this Winter is over though, I'm sure they'll have a spiffy new sign hanging on their dangerous-looking sign hanger!

Careful you don't poke your eye out on that thing — East Villagers like to see the beer they're drinking!

#eastvillage #goodbeer #9thstreet #disrepair #signs

East 9th Street West Virginia Begins Repairs

It seems like just yesterday I was pointing out the positive effects this blog has had in the East Village, when shockingly, this happens:

Bottom step repaired, rickety old gate removed.

The East 9th Street West Virginia building has begun repairs on the stoop! They removed the rickety old gate, and fixed the bottom step.

This is truly remarkable — there is no question that East Village Today had something to do with this!

Here are previous stories about this building:

East 9th Street West Virginia

East 9th Street West Virginia Revisited

East Villagers love to be prodded into action!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #disrepair #westvirginia #renovations

Uliana

I was walking across East 9th Street yesterday, when I noticed this place, underground:

Underground.

It's not uncommon for stores to be underground in the East Village. I looked closer, to see what this was:

Uliana ~ Hair • Makeup.

I wasn't sure if I was reading this correctly: "U…l…i…a…n…a", so I Google'd it.

It turns out Uliana is quite famous, and by the looks of her web site, quite an accomplished color specialist and makeup artist! Which naturally leads me to the question: What's up with that sign?!

I get the whole understated thing. I'm not saying she should move above ground, or into a fancier place, I'm just saying: replace that sign! And do something with those electrical wires — it's not safe to have those plugs exposed like that.

#eastvillage #uliana #9thstreet #signs #disrepair

Wither Lumé?

While walking up Avenue C yesterday, I spotted these stairs, leading into a bar (now out of business) called Lumé:

Dilapidated stairs.

Inside the door was this chalkboard sign:

10% off for all locals.

How could a place like this close? It had all the right ingredients — dilapidated stairs, a discount for local residents — everything needed for success in the East Village!

Some mysteries are just not meant to be solved.

#eastvillage #avenuec #lumé #inside #disrepair #bars

Third Time's… Almost A Charm

At the beginning of November, I wrote a follow-up story on the 9th Street Haberdashery's need for paint.

Today, I passed by there again. As I noted in my follow-up, they had taken my advice, but in the wrong way. This time, they're coming around:

No more paint can.

One small step at a time — by this time next year this place will be in top form!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #9thstreethaberdashery #paint #disrepair

Inside Former Snack Dragon

On November 12, I took pictures of the inside of the former Snack Dragon, a hole-in-the-wall (literally) eating place on East 3rd Street. Today, it's empty, and looks like this:

Tiny little place.

You have to wonder how anyone operated out of this place!

Whoever moves in will have some fixing up to do, although they might not fix anything — East Villagers love this kind of motif!

#eastvillage #snackdragon #inside #3rdstreet #disrepair

More Posts About Buildings and Paint

This is the last of my posts about my trip across East 9th Street yesterday. It ends with this store, which oddly enough is painted the same color green as the 9th Street Haberdashery. I wonder if they're related? Probably they just shared the same can of paint! East Villagers are resourceful!

Linger on, your pale green… storefront.

What is that thing, anyway?

Mystery thing.

If you look closely, you'll see that there are hinges on top, so at one time the top opened, but when I tried to open it, I discovered that it was nailed shut.

It seems to cover an entrance to the basement. Maybe it was a coal chute?!

Here's a close-up:

Close-up.

Again, I must say: A little bit of paint, people! Not only would it protect this… thing, it wouldn't be such an eyesore!

But ugly sells, in the East Village!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #paint #disrepair

Another Post About a Post

In my first post about this wooden post in front of the 9th Street Haberdashery on East 9th Street, I wrote:

How much would a can of paint and a brush cost?

It looks like someone over there took this seriously! But I think they misunderstood my meaning:

"East Village Today was right! This paint can is perfect!"

Wuddaya gonna do?!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #9thstreethaberdashery #disrepair #paint

Rickety Old Gate of Love

I was walking across East 9th Street yesterday. Each time I pass this fence/gate that I call "East 9th Street, West Virginia", I take a picture of it. There's always a new angle, the light is different, cars aren't blocking the view, something…

Why do I do this? I do it out of concern, I do it out of love. I'm like Linus with Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. So with that in mind, let's begin.

I didn't intend to examine this gate, I opened it to walk up the steps and get a picture of what's behind the picket fence, when it started.

The gate doesn't just look rickety, it is rickety! When I went to open it, both sides shook!

If you look at the first step, where the gate meets the railing — those supports do not go into the step! The connection between them is completely severed! The diagonal braces are the only place where the gate is embedded in the step!

The diagonal brace is the only support.

Likewise for the other side:

Likewise.

The only difference is that the supports are slightly less corroded at the bottom (even though the step is more damaged), so they don't move as far out of place, as on the other side, when you touch them.

Here is a close-up (top row = right side, bottom row = left side):

Close-up.

Here is a picture of the braces:

Right-side braces are all that holds this up.

Likewise with the left-side braces.

The base of the railing on the left side is even worse. Much of it is completely missing, and what remains is hanging on by just a thread (wire):

Hanging on by just a thread (wire).

It's no exaggeration to say that this gate is the very soul of the East Village Yesterday: old, decrepit, hanging on by a thread, but still hanging on. Do not go gentle into that good night!

This is where the comparison to Charlie Brown's Christmas tree ends, and Sydney Pollack's movie "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" begins. This gate cannot be revived — it will only get worse. One day soon, those braces will weaken (or the steps themselves), and the gate will crash onto the sidewalk.

What lesson can we learn from this? Everything falls apart? Yes. But also: metal and wood can be preserved with paint! Paint doesn't just make something look better, it forms a protective seal that keeps out the elements: rain; sun; noxious gasses; particulate matter; etc. This gate fell apart because of neglect.

If you want something to last, you have to take care of it… in the East Village!

Oh, and here's the picture I wanted, that started all of this:

Behind the picket fence.

It's not even that interesting!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #disrepair #paint #westvirginia

East 9th Street, West Virginia Revisited

Back in September, I posted pictures of a building, and the dilapidated picket fence in front of it, over on East 9th Street.

I've been by there many times since, but each time, as with that first time, I could never get a shot of the entire fence. This past Sunday, I passed by, and the old Model A had been taken off its blocks and moved behind the barn! Voila!

Rickety old fence.

My task is complete.

#eastvillage #9thstreet #disrepair #westvirginia