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

Dubious Response

Winter Storm Toby left in its wake a trail of dubious responses.

One such dubious response was this, at the corner of Avenue C and East 5th Street:

Dubious?

This makes no sense at all!

#eastvillage #5thstreet #avenuec #donotenter #trashcans #snow #dubious #winterstormtoby

Discarded Books

What do East Villagers do with books they don't want?

Balance them over the opening of a trash can, of course!

Over the opening.

That's quite an assortment!

Some of the books slid off, it looks like:

Off of the lid and into the can.

There was a time when books no one read would gather dust on the shelves of used bookstores. These days, East Villagers collect the books they don't read on Kindles!

#eastvillage #abandonedbooks #trashcans #books

Wacky Trash Can

Some trash cans in the East Village look worse on the outside than they do on the inside.

Case in point:

Ugly trash can.

The strange thing about this trash can is its position, in the middle of the block, next to nothing, and yet not so far from a regular trash can:

Regular trash can.

That's wacky!

#eastvillage #avenuea #trashcans

Disposable Suitcases

I was walking up Avenue B recently, when I saw these two suitcases beside this trash can:

Two weekend bags.

All I could think was that whoever just moved to the East Village declared, upon arrival:

"I have arrived"!

Why else throw away perfectly-good suitcases, unless you know you'll never need them again?

Where did this new East Villager come from, you ask?

Texas.

Texas!

Better not mess with this woman!

So, on my way I walked, across East 7th Street, where I saw this:

Another discarded suitcase.

Another discarded suitcase! (And a discarded Christmas Tree!)

Where is this person from, you ask?

Texas.

Texas!

Maybe.

When did suitcases become disposable?

#eastvillage #7thstreet #avenueb #discardedchristmastrees #suitcases #texas #trashcans

Knocked-Over Trash Can

I was walking up Avenue C recently, when I saw this knocked-over trash can at the corner of East 6th Street:

Knocked-over trash can.

It was probably some anarchist…

Good thing he didn't knock over the El Especialito newspaper box — that would have been a real mess!

#eastvillage #avenuec #6thstreet #trashcans #elespecialito

Keep District 2

Walking around the East Village, you are likely to see many art projects: some recognizable as such, others not.

This one, on the corner of Avenue A and East 4th Street, is clearly recognizable:

Barbie On A Trash Can.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

It's nice to see Barbie involved in the effort to keep District 2!

#eastvillage #avenuea #4thstreet #barbie #trashcans #councildistrict2

Second Avenue Bike Lane

Back in late September, I was walking down Second Avenue, when I saw that the bike lane had been resurfaced:

Resurfaced bike lane.

Being avid bicyclists, East Villagers are always happy with bike-lane improvements!

Alas, it was not meant to last long.

Behold, as seen eight days ago:

Open trash can door blocking bike lane.

An open trash can door, with trash can protruding, was obstructing the bike lane!

Bicyclists had to think quickly to avoid hitting it:

Thinking quickly.

Maybe it was left open deliberately, to prevent bicyclists from riding through the puddle!

#eastvillage #bikelanes #secondavenue #puddles #trashcans #cautiontape #orangebarrels #bicyclists

Rats > Frats

It's rare that graffitiers spray-paint public service announcements, but it's not unheard of!

Here is one example, seen on the side of a solar-powered trash can on the corner of Avenue A and East 7th Street:

Spray-painted PSA.

Rats are indeed a greater problem than frats — I don't think there even are frats in the East Village.

Unless F-Rats are a thing!

#eastvillage #avenuea 7thstreet rats #trashcans #graffiti #publicserviceannouncement #frats

Mailbox vs. Trash Can

In the days of Snapchat, very few East Villagers are left who remember mailboxes.

These days, they're seen as blank slates to paste over with graffiti stickers, such as this one, on Avenue A and East 7th Street:

Pasted over with graffiti stickers.

Solar-powered rat-proof trash cans, on the other hand, every East Villager knows that those are!

No graffiti stickers on those — they're well respected!

#eastvillage #mailboxes #trashcans #avenuea #7thstreet #graffitistickers

Pull Up A Seat

Wherever you go in the East Village, you will almost always find a place to sit down!

Behold, as seen on Second Avenue at East 12th Street:

Seating for one.

The view is nothing to write home about, but you can throw away any litter you have easily enough!

#eastvillage #12thstreet #abandonedchairs #secondavenue #trashcans

New Trash Cans

The East Village has new trash cans!

Behold, on the corner of Avenue B and East 7th Street:

New trash can.

I like that handle!

In the East Village, the more things change, the more they sometimes change, and sometimes stay the same.

Here is a sign pasted onto the new trash can:

This is why we can't have nice things.

The best thing about it is: it's solar powered!

Solar-powered.

Now, you can help save the environment, just by throwing away your trash!

#eastvillage #trashcans #avenueb #7thstreet #signs

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

Trash Can Hole Of Doom Update

Every major East Village story deserves a name — I designate this: The Trash Can Hole Of Doom!

I passed by the trash can hole of doom in Tompkins Square Park Sunday afternoon, and saw that repairs have begun.

Behold:

Repairs have begun.

As you can see, the trash can was removed from the hole, and a particle board was laid down beside it. Also, some broken ceramics were placed along the fence.

Here is a bird's-eye view of the trash can hole of doom:

Bird's-eye view.

For being in the East Village, it is remarkably free of litter!

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #trashcanholeofdoom #trashcans

Trash Can From The Sky

East Villagers were surprised to wake up one morning last week to discover that a trash can fell out of the sky and landed in Tompkins Square Park!

It was soon cordoned off by… someone. Parks Department people probably:

Cordoned off.

The sign says the entrance is closed "due to repair", but in all honesty, I'd say the entrance is closed due to a massive hole in the sidewalk!

Entrance closed.

Here is what most people see, from behind the barricade:

From behind the barricade.

Here is what East Village Today sees, from past the barricade:

From past the barricade.

I measured the diameter — 50 inches — which would make the circumference approximately 157 inches, give or take a few inches for irregularities in the shape.

It's hard to know how the trash can got so high up in the air that it could make such a big hole when it hit. They usually stay close to the ground, like this one:

Close to the ground.

#eastvillage #8thstreet #avenueb #tompkinssquarepark #trashcans #trashcanholeofdoom

Trash Wars

East Villagers are famous for guarding their trash, and protecting it from contamination by other trash.

Here is one example, seen on East 9th Street yesterday:

One example.

How is this trash protected, you ask?

No 435 Trash.

My first thought was that the superintendent was identifying these trashcans as for exclusive use by residents of building 435, using the traditional abbreviation for "number" (No.), but forgetting the period.

However, this building is not 435 East 9th Street, but rather 447 East 9th Street, as can be seen in this close-up of the numbers above the door:

Numbers above the door.

My curiosity aroused, I set out to find building 435.

My search did not take long — I found it here, a quarter of a block away:

A quarter of a block away.

It's the beloved Pat Crystal Shop!

Evidence of 435ness:

The number 435.

Is building 447 afraid of gypsies?

East Villagers are superstitious people!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #gypsies #patcrystalshop #superstition #trashcans

More Fluorescent Dumping

Less than a month since the fluorescent-light dumping on Avenue C and East 5th Street, which I now attribute to East Village Bikes, since they're no longer open, comes this:

This.

It's hard to guess where this might have come from… until you turn around!

Behold, the beloved Manhattan Laundry Center, on the corner of Avenue C and East 8th Street, with a fluorescent lightbulb missing:

Fluorescent lightbulb missing.

At least they don't just throw it into the street, like in the bad old days!

#eastvillage #avenuec #fluorescentlights #trashcans

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

Avoiding Tetanus

If you've been thinking about avoiding tetanus, then you will want to steer clear of this torn-apart metal shelf, discarded beside a trash can at the corner of Second Avenue and East 7th Street:

Torn-apart metal shelf.

By the looks of it, this metal shelf is almost as old as the East Village itself!

#eastvillage #7thstreet #metalshelves #secondavenue #tetanus #trashcans

Cymbal Bag

Many young people move to the East Village with dreams of becoming famous rock musicians like Lou Reed or Patti Smith — neither of whom lived here!

That said, I just don't know what to say about this abandoned cymbal bag I saw on Avenue A, back when there was still snow on the ground:

Abandoned cymbal bag.

OK, here's something: It certainly is well-placed between that trash can and fire hydrant!

It's not perfect, but what is?!

#eastvillage #avenuea #cymbalbag #trashcans #firehydrants