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Sunday, July 26, 2009

City Portraits - The East Village

East Village, NYC
Photo by myself somewhere deep in the East Village.

A facade covered in graffiti, chipped concrete steps, an uncovered garbage can.

The East Village is known for being slightly grungy with a touch of Goth. There's a high percentage of Japanese restaurants, cute boutiques and tiny bars.

The result is an eclectic neighborhood that is as ruggedly charming as it is authentic.

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Friday Mark and I spent some time in the East Village, one of our favorite areas, partially because of the availability of parking (!).

We brought Rupert in to romp around Tompkins Square Park, which has an enormous new dog run. He befriended a whole pack of dogs, which within minutes of meeting were chasing him around the perimeter.

Tompkins Square dog run
Here he is with his buddies at the watering hole.

Tompkins Square Park was known for being dangerous not long ago. Today you can still find odd characters sleeping on benches or wandering around. It's not dangerous, but do keep your wits about you.

The Upper Rust, East Village
Just across the street from the park, The Upper Rust, an antiques store with lovely country charm.

Storefront, East Village
Otherwise, the East Village is known for tiny clothing boutiques featuring vintage pieces or individual designers.

Sakaya interior, East Village
The unique interior of Sakaya, a specialty store on East Ninth Street. Here, you can find all the sake you'd like, each in its beautifully designed bottle.

Sakaya, detail

St Marks stall, East Village
Above, good old St. Mark's Place, a street always crowded with tourists and young kids. Here, you can find all sorts of memorabilia. Take home a t-shirt, piercing or tattoo.

City Portraits is an ongoing, once-in-a-while installment featuring parts of New York.

Related posts: City Portraits - Shelter Island, City Portraits - The High Line, Chelsea and Signs of the Times.

9 comments:

James said...

Thanks for the tour, I really enjoy seeing the city. I should go more often.

A said...

Great photos. I might have to head to the East Village this week to check out that antique store!

Unseen India Tours said...

Fantastic photo and wonderful shot !! I really loved the first shot !! This is great..Thanks for sharing..Unseen Rajasthan

Just Jinny said...

I've started writing a book, a romantic comedy, based in NYC. I've only been once so your posts and pictures are helping me, inspiring me, to write about the places and people of NYC.

fishwithoutbicycle said...

That's a great photo of the graffiti covered facade. I feel like NYC is getting very mall-ified these days, even the East Village, so it's nice to see something less cookie cutter!! I do love the boutiques in the E. Vill, I just wish I had the money to shop at them :-)

dianasfaria.com said...

look at these cuties! I am so happy for Rupert.

Kitty said...

Thanks James.
Love to know a Philadelphian's view of NYC.

Philly is so pretty and historic. We were there briefly a couple years ago for cheesesteaks and need to go back.

Thanks Alicia
I hope you have a great time!

Thanks Unseen Rajasthan!

Hi Jinny
Long time no see. That's neat about the book. Funny how many books and movies are based on this city, I guess because it is somewhat recognizable to people?

Hi Fish
I completely agree. I feel like the NY I love is disappearing rather quickly, now more than ever due to economics. It's nearly impossible for the small one-offs to survive.

I can see NYC being the home of flagship stores. I hope I'm wrong.

Thanks Lily dear!

308 said...

Those are really great shots of the East Village. If you are interested in the neighborhood, you should visit www.east-village.com

BeachHouseBlog said...

Great pics, I'm racking my brain trying to identify the top photo of the stoop, I'm going to guess somewhere around Ave B and 12/13th Streets...

I love the boutiques on 9th Street - here's more on those: http://www.ninthstreetnyc.com

Best!
/mb