But there are many variables or something. Like! Who the gift is for. Do they live here now? Did they used to live here and are a little nostalgic? Blah blah. (In the reader's case, the gift is for his girlfriend who he shares an apartment with…)
I suggested buying a print from the Museum of the City of New York's archives. As an example. Here is the view to the northwest from the roof of the Christodora House on Avenue B and East Ninth Street circa Feb. 5, 1929.
There are also a few cool things for sale (T-shirts, books, zines, etc.) at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) at 155 Avenue C between East Ninth Street and East 10th Street.
The reader was interested in hearing suggestions from other readers… which might be a really bad idea. Kidding! So does anyone have a suggestion that isn't related to Hoboken hoofs/hooves or isn't blatant Yelp-like shilling for a particular store? (It's OK to name a store, as long as you don't seem spammy or public relationsy about it.)
And sadly, because someone will ask, all the items from the 2010 EV Grieve Last-Minute Gift Guide are thankfully sold out…
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We often get reader queries ... asking for help with, say, donating clothes or books ... or finding an East Village-based caterer... If you have a question for the masses, then try the EV Grieve email...
Previously on EV Grieve:
Reader mailbag: Places to eat that have that old East Village vibe (45 comments)
Reader mailbag: What do I do about my new neighbors who smoke pot all the time? (52 comments)
Reader mailbag: Where is a good place to get a cup of coffee in the East Village before 6 a.m.? (25 comments)
22 comments:
The Jillery store on east 6th and Ave B has handmade stuff and they do gift-wrapping.
My parents were happy to get a gift that they said was "artistic, because you live in an artsy neighborhood."
I am a lifelong East Village resident. Last year I designed a Christmas ornament through zazzle.com as a gift for my friends with a photograph of a neighborhood scene that brought back special memories we shared in the past. It was a big hit.
The East Village Community Coalition published a cute gift guide to the neighborhood: http://evccnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/gift_guide_2013.pdf. i am totally smitten by the knit Metrocard baby rattle at pink olive.
i love Exit 9 for gifts (affordable jewelry, bags, socks, toys, gift books, candles, iphone cases), and they are so supportive of all the underfunded neighborhood public schools. thru 12/12 if you mention The Neighborhood School when you pay, 20% of the purchase price goes to the school! (they do this with different schools every year.) pls patronize them and mention TNS when you pay!
for more expensive jewelry (aka HI MOTHER-IN-LAW) i like j. antonio -- truly old-school neighborhood business.
i am not very imaginative with the gifts for guys -- i usually default to a nice tequila or rye, and you can't beat the prices at warehouse wine & spirits on bwy.
if i were buying flowers, sunny's on 2nd ave/6th st has arrangements that last forever, are packaged beautifully and look like a million bucks while costing barely more than deli flowers.
Brindle Room's hot sauce: http://pgbfood.com/hotsauce
Ray's Candy Store clothing and accessories!
Holiday gifts and crafts at the dba holiday fair and Christmas Bazaar at the Ukrainian Museum.
Souvenir items from Gem Spa.
CBGB shirts from any of the vendors at St. Mark's.
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Participate in SantaCon and get your picture taken hurling and woooooing in front of Tompkins Square Park and have them printed out as Christmas cards, or take videos of it and put them in Betamax.
A gift certificate for stretch limo tour of the East Village.
A print-out of this blog.
I'm glad I got to purchased some of the items from the 2010 EV Grieve Last-Minute Gift Guide. Now off to Las Vegas to hawk them at Pawn Stars. Imma be rich!
But seriously, the first three (maybe four), and definitely Ray's Candy Store clothing and accessories. Go, go, go.
I've given this one some thought since I read it earlier. Gifts that say "East Village" are things that people give who are from somewhere else. They're meant to show where that person is in time and space. People born here, or people who have lived here a while and have done this a few times, no longer associate their gifts with their location.
"East Village" means different things to different people.
So my answer is to buy what represents *you*. Your family and friends are indulgent, no doubt. They don't care about the East Village anyway.
You can buy a CBGB T-shirt at Stromboli to benefit the family of the Pizza worker killed while cycling home.
Can of Bustelo, $3.99 at Compare Foods.
How bout a broken syringe encased in a Cube with snow-flakes for those who long for the broken days of the LES?
There are lots of great gifts for kids at indy store Dinosaur Hill on East 9th between 1st and 2nd.
Veselka gift certificates -- and the Veselka cookbook.
Handmade pottery from Earthworks, East 9th between 1st and 2nd, makes a great gift.
If they visited Mudspot cafe on 9th street, I'll get them an orange mud mug as a souvenir. It's a great gift, but only if they've visited the place.
Good call Bride of 7th!
I love the Ray's merch idea.
If I really liked them, I'd send them a gift basket from Russ & Daughters (they ship, and you can buy packages online). I like the East Village baby onesies at Exit 9 (but yes, for out-of-town babies, because local babies just look STUPID in them). And I think the Economy Candy t-shirts are cute.
How about one of the engraved pavers around the Tompkins Square Park statue?! If for out-of-towners, you could send a photo!
A million times "YES!" to everything I've seen on here, especially the Ray's tees. I would be so happy to open up one of those on Christmas morning.
Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is about to host a first-anniversary fundraiser where they'll be selling items that were donated by local businesses. They're trying to recoup some of the losses of having a ton of their computers and equipment stolen a few weeks ago, so this has that two-fold benefit of helping out a great local institution and supporting small businesses in the neighborhood. I'm not sure of the exact date, but if you call or email them, they will have the info!
Andrew's Local Honey is also an AWESOME idea! He has a rooftop apiary on 4th between B and C (as well as other places nearby), and his stuff is fantastic. It helped me kick my seasonal allergies, too! Pricy, but it's something I can stand behind - http://www.timeout.com/newyork/food-drink/local-honey-25-jars-of-the-sweet-stuff
I love Exit 9 and Alphabets for small gifts, and also find that Love Shine on 6th near B is an often overlooked spot for some truly unique stuff. They sell kitschy posters and knick-knacky art pieces and bags that look awesome.
Buy them a copy of Richard Hell's autobiography 'I Dreamed I Was a Very Clean Tramp'
What's a "holiday gift"?
- East Villager
in that 1929 photo what is the big silo for? water?? gas???
BB: That neighborhood was the Gashouse District and that "silo" is a fuel storage tank, possibly on East 20th Street.
olympiasepiriot, correct you are. And through the magic of Google Images, voila!
https://www.google.com/search?q=20th+street+gashouse+district&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=11CiUuLxOpTIsATyh4HACA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1093&bih=479
The Ray's Candy Store stuff would be better if it just said "Ray's Candy Store" instead of "Save Ray's Candy Store".
How about souvenirs from Russian Souvenirs
http://vanishingnewyork.blogspot.com/2009/12/russian-souvenirs.html
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