Hole in The Wall

When I last visited Avenue C, and got pictures of the insides of the new shopping establishment under construction there, I noticed this hole in the wall on the side of the building:

Hole in the wall.

All sorts of speculation arose as to its reason for existing, but before I got around to posting about this, the answer appeared, in the form of…
an exhaust duct!

Exhaust duct.

…rising up to the top:

To the top.

I vote chicken and ribs!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #avenuec #constructionsites #exhaustducts

Instagram

If you're a part of the 21st-century crowd, you probably already know this: Since about February 23, East Village Today has been on Instagram!

The pictures are the same as what's posted here, except they're square, sometimes with a filter, and have no back-story — but they have lots of hashtags!

Still, if you love the East Village, you can never have too many ways to follow East Village Today!

#eastvillage #instagram #selfpromotion

Snapchat

East Village Today is now on Snapchat!

Scan this code to follow East Village Today on Snapchat!

Once I figure out the nuances of Snapchat, there will certainly be stories that are unique to my Snapchat followers.

Living in interesting times… in the East Village Today!

#snapchat #selfpromotion

Goodbye Mac & Cheese

East Villagers love macaroni and cheese. Who doesn't?!

So when the beloved New York Macaroni Co. on St. Mark's Place closed, a great cry went up:

New York Macaroni Co. closed.

Of course, every closure is an opportunity for a picture of the empty insides:

Empty insides.

Empty insides, just like bellies without macaroni and cheese… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #newyorkmacaronico #closed

Sales Gallery

Back in November, I wrote about a public art project outside the building being constructed on Avenue A called, appropriately enough, 100 Avenue A!

Last week, as I was walking down Avenue A, I passed by their beloved sales gallery (of course it's a gallery — this is the East Village!):

Sales gallery.

Naturally, I took a peek inside:

A peek inside.

Gallery-goers dressed in black — in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #100avenueasalesgallery #allblack #artgalleries #avenuea #signs

Nothing Succeeds Like Success

Hoping to build on the success of their recent No Loitering campaign, someone recently affixed No Smoking signs to this spot on St. Mark's Place:

No Smoking signs.

Adding to the list of practices forbidden in the area where no one gathers… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #noloitering #nosmoking #signs #stmarksplace

A Peek Inside

I was walking down Avenue C recently, when I saw that the riot gate of the fomerly-beloved Avenue C Deli Corp, previous site of the equally-formally-beloved Los Muchachos Supermarket, was raised!

Somewhat:

Riot gate raised somewhat.

Well, you know what that means: a peek inside!

A peek inside.

Those vertical beams are new, which means the space is being divided, which means not one, but two new shopping emporiums opening soon!

There's never been a better time to live in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #avenuec #avenuecdelicorp #losmuchachossupermarket #riotgates #renovation #constructionsites

Rat Breeding Area

No visit to the East Village is complete without a rat sighting — they are second only to their squirrel cousins in popularity at Tompkins Square Park!

What many people do not know though, is that in order to keep the rat population high enough, special breeding areas have to be set up and maintained. 

As with drug-rehabilitation residences and steam-generating facilities, they are not in the most touristed areas — you really have to look for them. They are marked however, such as this one on Avenue D:

Rat breeding area.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Feel free to toss food to them, but you might want to tie up the legs of your pants first — rats do love to climb up people's legs!

#eastvillage #rats #avenued

CHKA

You could be forgiven for thinking the beloved CHKA, located on Avenue A, is an abbreviation of Chaka Khan (Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan!)

But it isn't! It's an abbreviation of Chinese Hawaiian Kenpo Academy!

Not only that, but if this tweet I received is correct — and there's no reason to suspect that it isn't — tomorrow, April 15, the East Village Independent Merchants Association is having a free self-defense and safety training class at the very same CHKA (Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan!).

@zybkgex Tomorrow night! #free #selfdefense #evima #smashbychka #eastvillageloves https://t.co/xunHOsqmXO

— CHKA (@CHKANYC) April 14, 2016

So, if your competitor is getting too big for his britches, maybe this is the class for you!

#eastvillage #chka #avenuea #independentmerchantsassociation #twitter

This is Not a Blog Post

I was walking up Avenue B recently, when I saw this graffito:

Graffito.

Not a tag, on the side of not a mailbox!

Brought to you by Cameo Tag — call Cameo, for all your tagging needs!

#eastvillage #avenueb #cameotag #graffiti #mailboxes