Shmadvertising

Construction fences in the East Village are always changing — advertising one day, shmadvertising the next.

On this fence, on St. Mark's Place at Second Avenue, on this day, it was shmadvertising:

Shmadvertising.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

It's interesting and all, but what is it selling?

#eastvillage #constructionfences #stmarksplace #secondavenue #posters

No More Dumping

Speaking of signs outside the El Jardin del Paraiso community garden, since they took down the No Dumping sign, there's been no dumping!

Behold:

Nothing dumped.

East Villagers are so oppositional!

#eastvillage #eljardindelparaiso #4thstreet #signs #oppositionaldefiantdisorder #communitygardens

New Signs

There are a couple of new signs on the fence of the El Jardin Del Paraiso community garden, on East 4th Street:

New signs.

Here is a close-up:

Close-up.

Our legacy of lead? WTF?

As if being built on a swamp wasn't bad enough!

#eastvillage #eljardindelparaiso #communitygardens #4thstreet #signs #lead

Flamingo & Watermelon

The beloved Chi Snack Shop, on St. Mark's Place, has come a long way since their humble beginnings back in 2016.

Today, with their pink storefront, and their inflatable outdoor seating, there's even more to love!

More to love.

Sporting the colors of East Village Today, no less!

#eastvillage #selfpromotion #chisnackshop #stmarksplace #outdoorseating

The Scrawny Dog

I was just about to take a picture of a very scrawny dog in Tompkins Square Park, when suddenly a man started hailing a taxi!

"Taxi"!

There are no taxis in Tompkins Square Park!

What a scrawny dog though, right?

#eastvillage #tompkinssquarepark #dogs

Foodie Hats

East Villagers love tasty food, and they love to wear hats. So what could be better than a collection of hats… in the shape of tasty food?!

Behold, the tasty food collection at the beloved East Village Hats, on East 7th Street:

Tasty food collection.

If you can't buy a hat, the next best thing is to take a picture of one.

Again, behold:

"This looks like something East Village Today would photograph"!

This photographer is like a differently-dressed echo of me!

#eastvillage #eastvillagehats #7thstreet #photographers

Roof Parties

Now that the weather is getting warmer, East Villagers are starting to reappear on their rooftops, a favorite site for parties.

Here is one such party, on East 7th Street:

One such party.

In the bad old days, people used to have roof parties too — it's a time-honored tradition!

#eastvillage #roofparties #7thstreet

The Unhelpful Door

I know I wrote about this door on East 9th Street once, a long time ago — I just can't find the post!

Anyway, it sure has a lot of locks, doesn't it?

A lot of locks.

You might think, with this many locks, this building would be pretty safe.

Behold:

Boarded-up building.

Back in April, there was a fire here that rendered the building unlivable.

First Sushi Park now Yakiniku West. At least Stage Restaurant didn't burn down!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #boardedupwindows #doors #fire #locks #yakinikuwest

John Shaftway

This cat Shaftway (on East 9th Street) is a bad mother…

Shut your mouth!

But I'm talkin' about Shaftway:

Shaftway.

Then East Villagers can dig it!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #shaftway #lasalleparking #parkinggarage

Another Punk Rock May Day

This past Sunday, April 29, was East Village anarchist May Day. For the rest of the world, it's today, May 1!

To celebrate, local celebrity Chris Flash sponsored another of the Tompkins Square Park punk rock extravaganzas he's famous for.

When I got there, this guy was speaking:

This guy.

This year, his speech was given in a single breath, in a format known as "word association".

It went something like this:

"Scott Pruitt religious fascist fracking Oklahoma earthquakes native Americans original inhabitants tens of thousands of years ago broken treaties Leonard Peltier no clemency Trump Obama man of the people Clinton August Spies May Day all political prisoners thank you."

As soon as he finished, the band began to play. The band's name was either Haram, or Headsplitters, or Junta, or Rubber. It was not Olor a Muerte.

This was them:


When they finished, some kid in a face mask got on stage and told us all about how terrible the police are.

"The policeman is not your friend."

Chris Flash got up afterward and told everyone that while other policemen were bad, today's police were fine people. They were from Midtown South — he didn't understand why they were here in the Ninth Precinct, but they were fine people indeed!

Then it was time for more music, and the band Olor a Muerte went on.

This was them:


East Village punks don't care if they stand in a puddle:

Standing in a puddle.

I didn't seen any crusties at this show. It is early for them — they don't arrive en masse until Memorial Day!

#eastvillage #anarchists #chrisflash #mayday #oloramuerte #paulderienzo #police #thisguy #tompkinssquarepark