


At least to the entrances at East Seventh Street and Avenue A ... and East Eighth Street and Avenue B ...

Photos via Derek Berg
Updated 6/18
EVG reader Vinny spotted this on First Avenue and East Sixth Street...

I'd become luridly fascinated by a series of before and after photos, taken only seven years apart, highlighting some of the bigger losses. Like the way the Hebrew lettered charm of the 2nd Avenue Deli sign has been replaced by a flat Chase Manhattan Bank facade.
As the trip approached, I was issued warnings by friends who'd visited more recently, "Just realize, our East Village is gone," and "the whole city is pretty much a theme park for rich people now."
Aside from the new bike lanes, nothing looked or felt much different. A few doors past the restaurant Veselka, I noticed the familiar sight of Ukranian letters on that long burgundy awning of the bar, Sly Fox. How had that place survived? And that awful Dallas BBQ restaurant with the turkey burger that once made a friend puke was still on the corner. For God's sake, how could STOMP! still be playing at the Orpheum?
I ducked into my old hardware store for some bungee cords, instinctively heading up the right aisle. The store's familiar glare of fluorescents off linoleum floors made me feel like a pause button on my former life had been released. By my LA tear-down standards, the East Village seemed cryogenically preserved. What was everyone being so melodramatic about? Exactly how little change did they expect from a living city?
But for the time being, Alphabet City seems to be in a golden moment. I wish the complaining locals who say the East Village is ruined would shut up long enough to appreciate what they've got while they still have it.
Rare to the market, this quintessential downtown artist loft in an historic East Village building is now available! This magnificent 3,300-square-foot loft is a celebration of light and spaciousness with soaring 12' ceilings, double exposures, abundant oversized windows, and striking original architectural details such as cast iron beams and original wooden columns, and century-old maple flooring.
Did you see the tree in front of Funkiberry/Han Dynasty met some terrible end? I saw it very early this morning ... .within the last hour it got cleaned up. Now the little tree is over by the trash can.
This sweet dog was found wandering Avenue A this morning, and the owners of the Macaron Parlour on St. Mark's Place have been caring for her until they find her owner.
@evgrieve @ChrisFaile well the gates are still locked but me and about 30 others hopped the fence. Fuck the Man! pic.twitter.com/5rybVWCo3P
— Eden Brower (@edenbrower) May 26, 2014