3-in-1

Just the other day, I wrote about how the East Village is falling apart, and about urban farming, and about drug addicts.

Little did I ever expect to find all three example in one photograph, on East 4th Street, but here it is — can you spot them?

Falling-apart tree fence.

Mushrooms.

Abandoned syringe.

Good citizen that I am, I called 311 right away, and the Sanitation Department came and removed the syringe!

Sanitation workers certainly have a dangerous job… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #4thstreet #abandoned #hypodermicneedles #disrepair #urbanfarming #sanitationdepartment #workers

Free Trial Class

East Villagers love dancing, and they love free things!

So this offer for a free dance class, at the beloved Avenue C studio, on Avenue C, hits just the right note:

Free dance class.

Of course, it's for youths only, but there's a lot of youths on Avenue C!

#eastvillage #avenuec, #avenuecstudio, #dancing #freeclasses

Dear UPS

I was walking across East 9th Street this past Saturday, when I saw an old Nader/Gonzalez bumper sticker above this door:

Nader/Gonzalez bumper sticker.

With my eyes already pointed in this direction, I couldn't help but notice a note beneath the buzzers, beside the door:

Dear UPS note.

I wonder if the UPS guy read this? I wonder what the nasty turn of events was?

Wonder, wonder, wonder… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #ups #9thstreet #notes #bumperstickers

Saving Money at McDonald's

This past Saturday, I made a trip to the local McDonald's, on Third Avenue.

As you can see, the inside was very clean:

Very clean.

After breakfast, I had time to read the placemat:

The Hunger Games: The Exhibition.

Save $5 per ticket? What a bargain!

I noticed there was printing on the back of my receipt, so I turned it over:

Madame Tussauds Ghostbusters Experience.

Save another $5?

I can save more than I spent on breakfast — it's like free food!

#eastvillage #thirdavenue #mcdonalds 

Chi Snack Shop

What first struck me about the new, beloved Chi Snack Shop, on St. Mark's Place, was their personalized ATM cover:

Personalized ATM cover.

Why have "ATM" twice on the same side? I would have made my snack shop's name larger and taken the space of the bottom "ATM".

The storefront is nice — the white wood is actually affixed to the brick!

It's hard to know what Chi means. It could mean: 1) energy force; or 2) a traditional Chinese unit of length, approximately ⅓ of a meter; or 3) a surname; or 4) a dragon in Chinese mythology!

I'm going to go with dragon!

#eastvillage #stmarksplace #chisnackshop #atms

Repaired Awning

For as long as this blog has existed, the awning above the doorway of The Saint, an apartment building on St. Mark's Place, has been damaged.

Every time I pass by, I check to see if it's been repaired. For a year and a half since I wrote about it, it hasn't been.

Well, this past Saturday, I passed by again:

Awning repaired.

It's hard to say if it looks better — I guess they were out of smoked glass at the glass factory!

#eastvillage #thesaint #stmarksplace #awnings #smokedglass

Abandoned Hypodermic Needles

When people think of the East Village, first they think about the shopping, then they think about the nightlife — finally, they think about drug addicts!

I was walking across East 9th Street when I saw these hypodermic needles abandoned inside a wooden tree guard:

Abandoned hypodermic needles.

It's my guess that someone left these hypodermic needles for passing drug addicts, the way people leave out clothes or food.

Even the cutest block in the East Village has its dark side!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #abandoned #hypodermicneedles

Urban Farming

When people think of the East Village, they don't usually think about farming. All that's about to change!

This past July, I saw this corn, that had been planted beside a tree sapling, on East 9th Street:

Corn.

Either they didn't plant it early enough, or they didn't fertilize it sufficiently, because it's pretty short for a corn plant in July!

This past weekend, I passed by again, on my way to the 9th Street Block Party. Most were gone, but the one remaining plant looked like it should, for mid-September.

Looking like it should.

Urban farming is the way of the future… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #9thstreet #corn #urbanfarming

The Moving Chair

I was walking across East 4th Street this past Friday, when I saw this abandoned chair in front of the El Jardin del Paraiso:

Abandoned chair.

Fast forward one day, and it's half way down the block, united with another abandoned chair!

The chair couple.

If they keep up this pace, they'll probably be on Avenue D by tonight!

#eastvillage #eljardindelparaiso #4thstreet #abandoned #chairs

BingBox

I was walking up Second Avenue yesterday, when I passed the beloved bingbox snow cream co.:

bingbox snow cream co.

We used to make snow cream when I was a kid. We'd mix snow, sugar, milk, and artificial vanilla flavoring in a large bowl, then eat it.

In the East Village Today, someone does it for you — what will they think of next?!

#eastvillage #secondavenue #bingboxsnowcreamco #snowcream