Two Cups on a Fence

I was walking up Avenue A this afternoon, when I saw these two cups on the fence that surrounds Tompkins Square Park: 

Two cups on the fence.

Seeing trash discarded so carefully is not surprising; East Villagers are adept at stacking trash.

What is surprising is that the wind, or some passing miscreant, didn't knock them down!

It makes me think these had just been placed there, only moments before.

Free Dishes

I was walking across East 6th Street this past Tuesday, when I saw these dishes abandoned on these decrepit steps:

Decrepit steps.

Someone could have tripped over these, if the bricks gave way and sent them stumbling in that direction!

Let's take a closer look at these dishes, shall we?

A closer look.

If you are in need of three mis-matching plates, they might still be there!

#eastvillage #6thstreet #abandoneddishes #recycling #steps #trash

One East Villager's Art…

…is another East Villager's trash, as can be seen on East 5th Street this past Friday morning:

Art.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Maybe if the owner had hung the painting vertically, s/he would have seen its beauty!

#eastvillage #trash #art #paintings #5thstreet #trashcans

Looks Like The Bad Old Days

In a lot of ways, the East Village still looks like it did back in the bad old days.

Take this scene, for instance, on East 7th Street and Second Avenue:

Big mess.

What a mess! A vacant lot, a full dumpster, trash beside the dumpster, trash beside the vacant lot, a dirty car…

The only thing missing is a freegan rummaging through it all!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #cars #dumpsters #secondavenue #trash #vacantlots

Interesting Trash

It's sort of funny that the people at Neighborhood Square objected to my trash pictures — I was all ready to embark on a new series called "Interesting things in trash cans"!

These pictures from last Sunday show interesting things outside of trash cans, but it's a start!

This first one is from Avenue A and East 11th Street. It's a volleyball.

Volleyball.

This plastic snow shovel and stuffed animal are on Avenue A and East 9th Street:

Plastic snow shovel and stuffed animal.

If you look closely at the trash can, and the lamp post, you'll see two stickers that are very similar:

Similar sticker 1.

Similar sticker 2.

Two different stickers, the first one die-cut with bleed — clearly this fellow is serious about spreading the good news of wallak love!

This next picture is from a block away, on Avenue A and St. Mark's Place. It's an abandoned television set.

Abandoned television set.

As a commenter on Instagram wrote: Someone hung on to that TV way too long!

Only when you get over to Avenue C does the trash begin to resemble trash again:

Real trash.

The more I think about it, the more I think the series should be: Interesting things in and around trash cans!

Maybe… they don't even have to be interesting!

#eastvillage #11thstreet #9thstreet #abandonedtelevisions #avenuea #snowshovels #stmarksplace #stickers #stuffedanimals #trash #trashcans #volleyballs

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

Improper Disposal

No doubt one of the beloved businesses near Avenue C and East 5th Street is responsible for this improper disposal of fluorescent lights, seen this past Saturday:

Improper disposal.

"Dispose of Properly" say the instructions on the box, not "Dispose of Clandestinely in the Nearest Receptacle!

#eastvillage #avenuec #5thstreet #trash #trashcans #fluorescentlights

Big Ugly Mess

Some times when you're walking around the East Village, you come upon something which can only be described as a big, ugly mess.

Such was the case when I was walking across East 3rd Street, one month ago to this very day:

Big ugly mess.

(I don't think it's stopped raining in all this time!)

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Surely this couldn't have come from the beloved Root & Bone! They're… beloved!

#eastvillage #3rdstreet #rootandbone #trash

Aquamarine Trash

It seems like only hours ago, I was commenting on the new paint job at the cool, dumpy building on Avenue C!

How did I know the paint job was new, you ask? Well, for one thing, I don't remember it being that color the last time I saw that building!

The real evidence, however, was this topless can of paint, discarded in the trash can on Avenue C and East 4th Street, a half a block away from the building:

Topless can of paint.

But what's this?! Not only is the paint aquamarine, but so are the plastic bag and Arizona Green Tea can!

Good things come in threes!

#eastvillage #avenuec #trash #aquamarine #4thstreet

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

Garbage Blockade

I was walking down East 7th Street last week, as East Villagers everywhere were preparing for the great Blizzard Stella.

I'm not sure how blocking the sidewalk with garbage was supposed to help, but here it was, larger than life:

Larger than life.

My compliments on the arrangement!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #garbage

Trash Everywhere

It's nice to see, as much as some things in the East Village change, others stay the same.

Behold, a trash-strewn building on East 7th Street:

Trash-strewn building.

Lest you think this is some kind of fluke, behold, outside the beloved Avant Garden:

Not a fluke.

Some people might say this is not trash, but recycling. I say, this is on the same block as the untended break products!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #avantgarden #trash

Back to the Street

I was walking across St. Mark's Place yesterday afternoon, when I saw this beautiful work of art:

Beautiful work of art.

If you are familiar with the East Village, you probably think that I'm referring to the trash and graffiti, but… no, no, no!

I am referring to this:

This.

Look back at the first picture, it's just to the left of ATM.

This is part of a series of photographs called Back To The Street.

Keep an eye out when you're walking around the East Village — you might find some yourself!

#eastvillage #trash #stmarksplace #graffiti #backtothestreet #photography

Trash Tire

It's hard to say what happened to this tire, that I saw on Avenue D yesterday morning. I can only guess it was some kind of massive explosion:

Massive-explosion tire.

In no time, however, East Villagers began to fill it with trash.

At least it won't get washed away in a rain storm!

#eastvillage #avenued #tires #trash

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

The Full Dumpster

I saw a dumpster on East 6th Street, that was so full!

How full was it?!

It was so full, a Coke can fell out of it!

The full dumpster.

#eastvillage #dumpsters #6thstreet #cokecans #trash

Hazard on Second Avenue

East Villager bikers of all stripes have become accustomed to this hazard on Second Avenue:

Hazard on Second Avenue.

It's some kind of covered trash heap. Here's a close-up:

Close-up.

Keeping the trash dry, in the street!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #bikelanes #orangecones #trash

6th Street Dumpsters

As every East Villager knows, when a dumpster arrives on the scene, it's going to be there for a very long time. So long that you might think there was never a time when it wasn't there!

But then, one day, it just vanishes, like this one on East 6th Street, leaving nothing behind but the outline of garbage and leaves:

Outline of garbage and leaves.

Meanwhile, further down 6th Street, another dumpster appears:

Another dumpster.

It's the dumpster circle of life… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #dumpsters #trash #6thstreet

Festive Trash

I was riding my Citibike down Second Avenue recently, on my way home from work, when I stopped at a red light, beside this trash can:

Trash can.

The first thing I noticed was the partially-eaten ice cream cone! Who throws away the cone — a waffle cone at that?!

The next thing I noticed was the festive wrapping paper. Suddenly, I knew the answer: a kid!

The wrapping paper sure makes the trash look festive!

#eastvillage #icecream #trashcans #wafflecones #wrappingpaper #trash

Sewer Grates

I was walking through the intersection of East 4th Street and Avenue A this morning, when I saw this accumulation of trash on top of a sewer grate:

Accumulation of trash on top of sewer grate.

It's a good thing those sewer grates are there, or that trash would have gone into the sewer! And as East Villagers all know from the movie "Finding Nemo": All drains lead to the ocean.

Keeping the ocean clean… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #avenuea #sewergrates #sewers #trash