Like A Rorschach Test

What do you see, when you look at this picture?

What do you see?

Some East Villagers see a graffiti mess covering the front of what was once the local McDonald's, on Third Avenue.

Others see signs advertising a Latino Punk Fest, at a place called The (beloved) Glove:

Latino Punk Fest.

Look — it's a benefit show!

A benefit show.

Where is The Glove, you ask?

Ask a punk email!

#eastvillage #theglove #mcdonalds #latinopunkfest #thirdavenue #graffiti #signs #rorschachtest

Or Else

East Villagers, especially East 4th Street East Villagers, are accustomed to losing their lampposts.

A couple of weeks ago, this one disappeared from in front of the beloved Roberto Clemente School:

Disappeared.

East 4th Streeters say "Bring it back, or… ELSE!"

In no time (this past Tuesday), the Department of Lampposts sent a truck to replace it — or so it seemed:

Fixing the lamppost.

They even put an orange cone on top of the stump, so no one would sit there!

When I passed by again, the next day, this is what I found:

New cement.

All of that fanfare, just to put new cement around the stump. They didn't even put it back in the right position!

It may be dark all the way down East 4th Street, at night, but they have some darn fine sidewalks!

#eastvillage #lampposts #cement #sidewalks #orangecones #4thstreet #departmentoftransportation #graffiti #else 

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

Shrouded In A Shroud

This building, on the corner of First Avenue and East 2nd Street, is shrouded in a shroud:

A shroud.

No one knows why, but I'm sure it's for a good reason.

This building is bounded on East 2nd Street by this and on First Avenue by this — it probably has something to do with that!

#eastvillage #2ndstreet #firstavenue #shroud #graffiti

Graffiti On Canvas

Graffitiers in the East Village don't always spray paint on walls, sometimes they spray paint on canvases, just like real artists!

Behold, as seen on Avenue C

Graffiti on canvas.

You know how painters write their name somewhere on their painting? Since most graffiti is the graffitier's name already, there's no need for that!

#eastvillage #avenuec #canvas #graffiti #painters

Place Invaded

This place on East 4th Street was invaded last week by this graffiti van:

Graffiti van.

Place Invaders is their name, and invading places is their game.

The name is a clever play on "Space Invaders", an old-timey video game that East Villagers played in their youth, before moving to the East Village!

Call Place Invaders, for all your place invading needs!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #vans #graffiti #placeinvaders

Artsy Garbage Storage

I was walking across East 4th Street this morning, when I saw this artsy garbage storage receptacle:

Artsy.

At first, it reminded me of leopard print, but then it reminded me of avocado graffiti.

One thing I can tell you: even East Village garbage is artsy!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #garbagestorage #graffiti

The Misfits Liberty Bell

I was walking across East 7th Street this morning, when I saw this sticker of The Misfits insignia in the shape of the Liberty Bell:

Misfits Liberty Bell.

Philadelphia freedom!

The skull reminds me of Spacemen 3's "Dreamweapon: An Evening of Contemporary Sitar Music" CD.

The one above it reminds me of a time I got a fork stuck in my head.

Apart from that, nothing.

#eastvillage #graffiti #graffitistickers #libertybell #themisfits #spacemen3

Izakaya

Walking around the East Village, you are bound to see some strange things.

Take this, for example: the beloved Izakaya restaurant on East 6th Street.

Izakaya.

It hardly looks like a restaurant at all — where's the name?

I don't know if the window is for ordering food to go, but I wouldn't stand on cellar doors to do it.

I think they must keep a motor running inside, since someone wrote on their door:

Written-on door.

They could have ask politely, instead of defacing the door…

#eastvillage #graffiti #izakaya #restaurants

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

A Real Find

The strange thing about this abandoned television set on East 6th Street is not that it was abandoned, but that someone still used it before abandoning it.

Ancient television set.

No doubt, some very old freegan will consider this a real find.

#eastvillage #abandonedtelevisions #6thstreet #graffiti #cellardoors #freegans

Graffiti Boy

Back in February, I was walking across East 4th Street, just past First Avenue, when I saw this scene of a graffiti boy and his graffiti:

Graffiti boy.

He looked pretty young to be a graffitier, but this is the East Village after all!

He didn't hang around for very long though:

Graffiti boy gone.

At least he left us with his artwork, to remember him by!

#eastvillage #graffiti #4thstreet #firstavenue

Art Imitates East Village Today

People sometimes ask me, they say: Hey East Village Today, is your photo blog really influential?

To which I can only reply with a resounding: Yes!

Here is an example of recent posters, on Avenue A, using photography that mimics my phone camera:

Blurry photos.

In case you're thinking that the posters are actually in focus, take a look at the graffiti and the Krypton poster.

#eastvillage #posters #avenuea #selfpromotion #blurry #photography #krypton #graffiti

Probably Gone By Now

At the time I took this picture, back in early February, this addition to the graffiti wall on First Avenue was new.

By this time, it's probably already gone.

New, then.

Here today, gone tomorrow!

Maybe.

Probably.

#eastvillage #firstavenue #graffiti #graffitistickers #graffitiwall

One Brick

Sometimes graffitiers spray paint entire sides of buildings, or walls, and sometimes they spray paint only one single brick.

Strange, no? And yet, here it is, on the corner of East 4th Street and The Bowery:

One brick.

It's not the white one, if that's what you're thinking. It's the one up and to the left of the white one.

This one:

This one.

Either the graffitier painted just this one brick, or the graffiti remover cleaned the entire wall except  this one brick!

Either is just as likely!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #thebowery #brickwalls #graffiti #bricks #spraypaint

Introducing: Lego Lady

East Villagers are familiar with Lego Man, who first made an appearance in August, 2017.

Until now, however, there was no Lego Lady.

Until now:

Lego Lady and Lego Dog.

There's even a Lego Dog!

I wonder if there's ever going to be a Lego Baby?

#eastvillage #4thstreet #greenmailboxes #legodog #legolady #graffitistickers #graffiti

Donald Trump Was Here

It looks like the President of America, Donald Trump, paid a visit to the East Village, and signed the window of the beloved no name Grocery Inc. on Avenue D!

Behold:

D. Trump signature.

It must have happened while I was at work — I'm sure I would have noticed all the fanfare!

#eastvillage #nonamegroceryinc #avenued #graffiti #donaldtrump

Big Ugly Mess

The beloved Minca, on East 5th Street, is a big ugly mess:

Big ugly mess.

This place is just across the street from another place that was a big ugly mess back in 2014. It must have something to do with the orange background.

Sources tell me that the food here is good, but I don't know — I've never eaten here!

#eastvillage #5thstreet #minca #graffiti

Leave LegoMan Alone!

I post about this small piece of wall on East 4th Street so often, I'm thinking of starting a new blog devoted to it!

I think I'll call it: thissmallpieceofwall.com

Everyone knows the LegoMan / IsThatPhoebe / Humen Bote / Eiffel Tower Postcard / graffiti wall, right?

Take a look are what happened to Lego Man:

J.R. "Bob" Dobbs face sticker.

There's a J.R. "Bob" Dobbs face on him! Who even knew sub-geniuses were still a thing?!

Five short days later, the sticker was gone:

Sticker is gone.

But the cat was out of the bag, so to speak — LegoMan can no longer remain unsullied:

Sullied.

It's like My Favorite Martian meets Bender!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #graffiti #humenbote #isthatphoebe #jrbobdobbs #legoman #myfavoritemartian #bender

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