East Village Warming

As many things as there are cool about the East Village, one thing that is not cool is East Village Warming!

Recently, the New York City Department of City Planning released their Community District Profile, which shows how the East Village will be affected by global warming — it's not a pretty site!

Pretty colors, but not a pretty site.

The blue shows where the water goes when it floods now, such as during a hurricane. The aquamarine shows where the water is predicted to go by 2050.

At least the new entrance to the FDR at Houston Street is safe!

#eastvillage #houstonstreet #fdrdrive #eastvillagewarming #globalwarming #floodplain

Chained-Up Luggage

It's hard to know what's going on with all this luggage, chained up to a street sign on East Houston Street, but here it is:

Chained-up luggage.

There's more than one location of it too!

Here's another, not too far from the first:

Not too far.

Dirty, chained-up street luggage — what does it mean?

#eastvillage #luggage #houstonstreet #chains #streetsigns

Buskers Abound

Sunday was certainly the day for busking!

I saw this guitar fellow at the First Street Green Cultural Park, on Houston Street:

Guitar fellow.

He was behind a fence (similar to the one in the picture, on the left), so people passing by couldn't give him any money.

Maintaining the cred — a true East Village artiste!

#eastvillage #buskers #musicians #firststreetgreenculturalpark #houstonstreet

The First Snowfall of 2017

East Villagers were excited to wake up this morning to the first snowfall of 2017!

Here is a picture:

Some kind of snow-covered sculpture thing.

It's some kind of snow-covered sculpture thing, in First Park, on East 1st Street.

Pictures of the East Village covered in snow remind me of… the last time it snowed!

Here is a picture from the last time it snowed, back in mid-December:

A snowman.

It's a snowman! This was also taken in First Park.

East Villagers hope for more snow days, with lots of snow — it's a Winter wonderland!

#eastvillage #1ststreet #firstpark #houstonstreet #sculptures #snow #snowman

Teeny-Tiny Garage

I was walking across East Houston Street — oh, about fifteen days ago — when I noticed this extremely narrow building:

Extremely narrow building.

Why would such an extremely narrow building exist, I wondered, let alone have a door?

I was not to be left wondering for long! When I got to the other side, I found the answer:

The answer.

So the rear-door entrance is for loading the trunk, and the front entrance is for getting into the car and driving away.

I would have made it a bit wider, so the doors can open on both sides without hitting the walls. In a way, this is like parking in a public garage and having someone park too close to you!

#eastvillage #cars #parking #garages #houstonstreet

Theft-Proof Tide

You might not think so, but the East Village is full of thieves!

They don't just steal beer mugs or hearts, they even steal laundry detergent!

The beloved Duane Reade, at the corner of East Houston Street and Avenue D, has a solution:

Anti-theft devices.

Anti-theft devices!

The row beneath this lone bottle was full of bottles of laundry detergent, also with anti-theft devices attached — I just liked the way this group looked, by itself.

#eastvillage #antitheftdevices #avenued #duanereade #houstonstreet #laundrydetergent #tide

Dumpy Abandoned Building

As I wrote earlier, I was walking along East Houston Street last night. Along the way, I noticed this dumpy, abandoned building:

Dumpy, abandoned building.

It looks like a half-drawn peace-sign painted onto the front, and of course a lot of plywood windows — but it has its own ATM!

You're never too far from your cash… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #abandonedbuildings #atms #houstonstreet #peacesigns

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

Tha 6th Boro

I was walking up Avenue D this past weekend, having just visited the local Walgreens Pharmacy on Houston Street, when I saw this mural:

Tha 6th Boro.

It's so true — the East Village really is the sixth borough!

The residents of Avenue D have it figured out, even if they're not the best spellers!

#eastvillage #avenued #graffiti #houstonstreet #murals #walgreenspharmacy

Music & Paint

Early in the afternoon this past Saturday,  I was walking across East Houston Street. As I approached Second Avenue, I saw this an art gathering!

Behold:

This fenced-in area is called First Street Green Cultural Park (that's a mouthful!). When I try to connect to their website from work, I get this:

First Street Green Cultural Park FortiGuard malicious website warning.

So be careful — music and paint offer no protection from malicious websites… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #artists #communitygardens #firststreetgreenculturalpark #fortiguard #houstonstreet #maliciouswebsites #musicians #painters #secondavenue

Sidewalk Psychics

Gypsy psychics are very common in the East Village. People here are anxious to know if they're going to come into money, or who they will fall in love with.

Most psychics operate out of small storefronts, but times must be getting tough, because yesterday, on the corner of First Avenue and East 1st Street, I saw this:

Sidewalk psychic.

I've never seen a psychic operate on the sidewalk, except for directly outside their storefront.

If she's there again today, I'm going to ask her: When will the construction on East Houston Street be finished?!

#eastvillage #gypsies #psychics #firstavenue #1ststreet #houstonstreet

When Gas Stations are Deserted

There was a gas station on the corner of East Houston Street and Avenue C that was deserted some time ago:

Deserted gas station.

Well, it's not actually deserted, it's just not a gas station any more.

However, when they moved out their belongings, someone forgot to take these shrubs:

Abandoned shrubs.

One of them, as you can see, did not survive.

The unintended consequences of change… in the East Village Today.

(This is my first-ever post with no exclamation points!)

#eastvillage #houstonstreet #avenuec #gasstations

Duane Reade Comes to Avenue D

This past Sunday, I was coming back into the East Village, after spending the day in the country.

Getting off the FDR at Exit 5, I was driving across Houston Street, when I saw it: the new Duane Reade on the corner of Avenue D:

Duane Reade on Avenue D.

When I got home, I took my camera and went back to get pictures. The store had quite a few people in it — one woman was sitting eating ice cream! It was like a Norman Rockwell painting!

Something I noticed about this building that I hadn't noticed before is how beautiful it is reflecting the evening sunlight:

Reflecting the evening sunlight.

Duane Reades all have Chase ATMs in them too. Finally, I don't have to walk all the way over to Avenue B when I need cash!

#eastvillage #avenued #houstonstreet #duanereade #atms

Structural Failure

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about the uncool gas station on Houston Street and Avenue C. This afternoon, I passed by it again, only to find this:

Point of failure.

My guess is that the air pressure grew inside the enclosed area, to the point where the plywood boards could no longer contain it, and it burst at its weakest point, which was towards Avenue C.

This is what it looks like from the inside, looking eastward:

Looking eastward.

Because the air pressure was now equalized, it was safe for me to go inside — East Village Today goes where others fear to tread!

#eastvillage #avenuec #gasstations #houstonstreet

Breaking News

No pun intended!

This just happened at the Pay-O-Matic, on East Houston Street, north side (the East Village side!), between Avenues A and B:

Broken glass.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up of broken glass.

My detective abilities tell me that the force came from the inside. 

The store was still open for business — stores don't close for minor repairs, in the East Village!

#eastvillage #houstonstreet #avenuea #avenueb #payomatic

Bus Riders vs. The Polar Vortex

The Polar Vortex was no match for the M15 bus, nor these intrepid bus riders, waiting at the Houston Street stop on First Avenue:

M15 bus arrives, during Polar Vortex.

It takes a lot more than adverse weather caused by climate change to stop these East Villagers!

#eastvillage #citybus #firstavenue #houstonstreet #m15 #polarvortex

Building a New Houston Street

I will end this little excursion down East Houston Street with some photos of the construction of what will surely be a far better Houston Street for us all:

Construction on East Houston Street between Avenue A and First Avenue.

As always, East Village artists love to turn large, flat surfaces into a canvas:

Pipes and stuff beside painted trailers.

More pipes, more trailers.

Finally, we arrive at First Avenue:

East Houston Street at First Avenue.

The entire project causes only minor inconvenience, and should be completed in the next two years. We'll have more pedestrian areas, bike lanes, and reduced traffic.

Houston Street could conceivably become one of the coolest streets in the East Village!

#eastvillage #houstonstreet #firstavenue #avenuea #artists

Signs Old and New

Above the Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins stores on East Houston Street is a sign sculpture:

Rooftop sign sculpture.

East Village artists love this juxtaposition of old and new, found and… unfound — any kind of juxtapositions!

#eastvillage #dunkindonuts #baskinrobbins #houstonstreet #artists #sculptures #signs

Red Square

Oh look, balconies!

But that's not what this is about.

This building on East Houston Street near Avenue A is called Red Square.

Red Square, Houston Street.

It's named after the square in Moscow called Red Square:

Red Square, Moscow.

It even has its own statue of Vladimir Lenin!

Statue of Vladimir Lenin on Houston Street.

Communism is still cool in the East Village!

#eastvillage #redsquare #lenin #moscow #houstonstreet #communism

The Balconies of East Houston

Balconies are cool. Every new building should have a balcony!

These balconies overlook East Houston Street:

East Houston Street balconies.

If I had a balcony, I'd be out on it right now, writing this, with my coat and gloves on, and a light…

Probably at this point I'd get up and come back inside. It's cold out there!

#eastvillage #houstonstreet #balconies