Cup On Fence

This is a little something I like to call "Cup on Fence":

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

This post was brought to you by Tompkins Square Park, and by Avenue B, and by McDonald's Mobile Order & Pay, and by litter.

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #avenueb #mcdonaldsmobileorderandpay #litter #fences

The Balancing Cup

It's hard to say what's more amazing: that someone was able to balance a cup on top of a fire hydrant (on East 6th Street near First Avenue), or that no one came along afterward and knocked it off.

Amazing.

It's not amazing at all that someone balanced these two cups in the planter on the corner:

Not amazing.

With all this litter, it looks like they need one of those fancy new trash cans on East 7th Street!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #firehydrants #firstavenue #litter

Egg Mess

Who could have left this mess on the sidewalk, I wondered, as I walked across East 7th Street this past Saturday morning:

Mess on sidewalk.

It could have been anyone!

Literally anyone.

Check this out: from the angle I took this picture, it looks like the yellow sign, outside the beloved Butter Lane Cupcakes, is connected to that pole.

It isn't though — it's a street sign.

#eastvillage #7thstreet #butterlanecupcakes #eggs #litter #signs #trash

Litter In Pickup Truck

One of the hazards of parking a pickup truck in the East Village is that, as with bicycle baskets, East Villagers will fill it up in no time with litter!

This pickup truck on East 7th Street bears witness to this fact:

Witness.

It's hard to tell if the spare time and orange cone and refrigerator shelves were discarded here or were part of the load the driver was hauling!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #litter #orangecones #pickuptrucks #sparetires #refrigeratorshelves

Parliament

I was going through my Drafts folder this morning, when I found a picture from October of 2015, of a litter of Parliament cigarette packs, on East 4th Street:

Litter of Parliament cigarette-packs.

I think that's the right term for a group of cigarette packs thrown into the street: a litter?

Naturally, this reminded me of a band that was very popular in the East Village, back when your grandparents were kids!


This trip down memory lane was brought to you by Parliament: it's a cigarette and a band!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #litter #parliament

Taoist Arts Center

I was walking east across East 9th Street on April 9th, when I noticed something peculiar:

Taoist Arts Center.

According to the sign above the cellar doors, this is the location of the beloved Taoist Arts Center.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

But where exactly is the entrance?! Is it the wooden door to the right? Is it the cellar?

Peculiar!

I looked up Taoism on Wikipedia, and I found this:

The ambiguous term wu-wei constitutes the leading ethical concept in Taoism. Wei refers to any intentional or deliberated action, while wu carries the meaning of "there is no…" or "lacking, without". Common translations are "non-action", "effortless action" or "action without intent".

If you ask me, piling up all the garbage on one side sure is intentional — maybe the Taoists are the ones who littered!

#eastvillage #taoistartscenter #9thstreet #trash #litter

Old-Fashioned Receipt

As modern as the East Village is, there are many ways in which it is still very old-fashioned.

A mere twelve days ago, as I was talking across East 4th Street, I saw this piece of carbon paper on the sidewalk:

Carbon paper.

For those who don't recognize it, it's a credit card receipt, run through a credit card imprinter.

Old-fashioned or new-fangled, it still winds up as litter!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #carbonpaper #litter #oldfashioned #receipt

New Paint

Because so many East Villagers ride Citibikes to work, they don't often get to see the inside of the First Avenue F subway station (the East Village's favorite!).

For this reason, very few are aware of the painting that's been taking place of late.

Behold:

New paint.

Why some areas get paint and others don't is a mystery!

By the way, did you know this?

Litter stops here.

It starts again just outside the station!

#eastvillage #paint #ftrain #trashcans #litter

Protecting The Pizza

East Villagers who venture outside the confines of the neighborhood are no doubt familiar with the barricades that exist to protect famous buildings.

The beloved Two Boots Pizza, at the corner of Avenue A and East 3rd Street, deserves no less!

Guarded by barricades.

As this close-up shows, at least one attempt was made to breach the barricades:

One attempt.

Naturally, someone stuffed litter into it!

#eastvillage #twobootspizza #barricades #avenuea #3rdstreet #litter

Bed Frame Tree Guard

Tree guards in the East Village are a never-ending source of wonder.

Here is one I was wondering about, that I saw on First Avenue a couple of weeks ago:

Add caption

My guess is that some artist got rid of their kid's bed frame, and made an art project out of it — what's up with all that litter, though?!

#eastvillage #firstavenue #treeguards #litter #artproject

Another Abandoned Shopping Cart

It seems like only eleven months ago (almost to the day!) that I wrote about the abandoned shopping cart on East 4th Street, outside of El Jardin del Paraiso.

Here we are again, all these months later, and another shopping cart has been abandoned in the same location, wheelless at that!

Wheelless shopping cart.

Here is another view, that highlights the accumulated litter:

Accumulated litter.

There's no telling how this got all the way over here from the West Village, the site of the nearest (no doubt beloved!) Citarella location.

Citarella must be a child-friendly store — with no place for children to sit in the shopping cart, they must be permitted to wander the aisles!

No place for children to sit.

Now that it's in the East Village though, this sign takes on a whole different meaning!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #eljardindelparaiso #shoppingcarts #westvillage #citarella #litter

American Deli & Grocery

Sometimes people think that the East Village is so transgressive that it's anti-American. Au contraire, pi…

Um, hold on a minute.

That ain't true, mister!

First was the beloved 'Merica, on East 6th Street. Now, on First Avenue, there's the beloved American Deli & Grocery!

American Deli & Grocery.

If you're looking for dairy, or beer, or ice cream, or deli, or organic products, or coffee, or (from the side of the awning) smoothie, or soda, or beer again, or sandwiches, or vegetarian products, with a red, white, and blue flare, the American Deli & Grocery is for you!

Even their litter is patriotic!

Patriotic litter.

#eastvillage #americandeligrocery #awnings #firstavenue #litter

Teeny Tiny Dumpster

I was walking across East 4th Street recently, seeing if there was any activity in the dumping ground that has formed outside the beloved El Jardin del Paraiso, when I saw… a teeny tiny dumpster!

Teeny tiny dumpster.

It's so cute! It's like a tiny little baby dumpster, for tiny little baby garbage!

Maybe if someone hangs a No Dumping sign on the side of it, people will start putting their trash there, instead of on the sidewalk!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #eljardindelparaiso #dumpsters #litter #garbage

More Litter

I was walking across East 6th Street this past weekend, when I saw this litter outside the Church of God:

Litter outside Church of God.

Here is a close up.

Close up.

It's a good thing these boards were abandoned here, or this litter would have fallen onto the ground!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #abandonedlumber #churchofgod #litter

No Dumping

East Villagers love their community gardens — no one would ever think of dumping in one!

So it seems unnecessary to post a No Dumping sign on the fence of El Jardin del Paraiso, on East 4th Street, yet here it is:

No Dumping sign.

Besides, why would someone haul their refuse further than they need to? Curbside is much closer:

Curbside dumping.

Some freegan will scoop up these valuables in no time, garbage bags and all.

Waste not, want not… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #communitygardens #dumping #eljardindelparaiso #litter #signs

Whole Foods Bag

People who shop regularly at the beloved Whole Foods (located just outside of the East Village, on the south side of East Houston Street), are the kind of people who would also buy a Whole Foods grocery bag — to keep with the Reuse part of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle dictum, while at the same time spreading awareness of Whole Foods!

So you would not expect to see one abandoned on the street. Yet, that is exactly what I saw, on Avenue B, this past weekend!

Observe:


The litter inside, you would expect. East Villagers love to put their litter inside containers that are not trash cans!

#eastvillage #wholefoods #grocerybag #litter #avenueb

Discarded Waffle Cone

East Villagers can be finicky eaters — what one finds yummy, another finds yucky.

Still, who orders ice cream in a waffle cone, eats the ice cream, and then throws away the waffle cone? Does anyone do that?

Discarded waffle cone.

At least they threw the cone on the ground, in true East Village fashion!

#eastvillage #wafflecones #litter

Litter Afoot

I was walking across East 9th Street this past Thursday, when I saw this:

Man on phone with litter on foot.

I thought: How can this guy not know that there's litter on his foot?

Too busy playing Candy Crush… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #litter #trash

Abandoned Pizza Update

Two days ago, I told the story of abandoned food at the First Avenue F Train station. It was one of those "slice of life" stories that make the East Village so unique. Little did I suspect then that the story would continue!

Yesterday, I saw this when entering the First Avenue F Train station:

Pizza on a step.

As I suspected would happen, some conscientious East Villager knocked the pizza off the railing and onto the ground, where it belongs. But instead of just lying there and decomposing, it's slowly making its way into the subway! I might even wind up in the track bed, where it will be devoured by a rat!

The circle of life continues… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #litter ftrain #firstavenue

Misplaced Litter

When the town of Herculaneum was excavated, archeologists found evidence of meals being served, that were abandoned when the people evacuated.

Outside the First Avenue station of the F Train, something similar has occurred:

Abandoned pizza, rootbeer, and styrofoam.

This was not an instance of someone walking to the trash can to dispose of a dirty napkin; it was 8:30am, and raining. This food was definitely abandoned in a hurry!

East Villagers are conscientious people though — I'm sure in no time, someone pushed these items off the railing and onto the ground!

Keeping litter where it belongs… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #ftrain #firstavenue #litter