East Village

March 7, 2024

Veselka to resume 24-hour service

A surefire sign New York City is back? The resumption of 24-hour service at Veselka in the East Village. One of the few spots in the city that served diners all night, the iconic Ukrainian restaurant on Second Avenue stopped the service amid pandemic struggles. But, as first reported by neighborhood expert EV Grieve, the restaurant is looking to bring back around-the-clock hours on weekends.
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March 4, 2024

First public e-bike charging station opens in the East Village

New York City's first public, outdoor e-bike battery charging station opened last week as part of a six-month pilot program to test safer technologies for delivery workers and provide an alternative to charging bikes inside. The first of five to open in the coming weeks, the new station is located at Cooper Square in the East Village. The infrastructure includes a battery-swapping cabinet to swap out dead batteries for fully charged ones and a secure charging rack where workers can lock up their bikes and charge them while parked. The city said 100 delivery workers will initially participate in the pilot program and provide feedback on the charging hubs.
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January 29, 2024

This $9.75M East Village duplex has Cape Cod-style charm topped by a rooftop cottage

As one of Manhattan's coveted properties with quaint rooftop cottages and cabins, the duplex condo at 72 East 1st Street isn't merely a quirky curiosity. The two-floor-plus-studio apartment has all of the perks of penthouse living. The thoroughly renovated home, asking $9,750,000, has the feel of an English country manor throughout, while offering modern style and convenience in its details and construction. At its apex, a Cape Cod-style shingled cottage and terrace provide a unique outdoor experience, in a neighborhood that's as urban as it gets.
Get a closer look at this rare NYC refuge
November 30, 2023

For $1.7M, this compact Village loft is a sleek, seamless machine for city living

What this high-floor corner loft in the International Tailoring Company Building at 111 Fourth Avenue lacks in floor space, it makes up in well-designed form and function. The three-room co-op, asking $1,695,000, has been freshly renovated with an architect's expert eye; the result is sophisticated rather than small. Breathtaking city skyline vistas through massive loft windows–and 13-foot ceilings–add a definite boundless quality to the picture.
See how it all fits
October 18, 2023

Wegmans officially opens in the East Village

Manhattan's first Wegmans grocery store has finally opened its doors. Located at 770 Broadway in the East Village, the 87,500-square-foot Wegmans Astor Place offers the grocer's signature affordable prices and prepared food options, as well as Next Door, a 94-seat restaurant with a sushi bar and Champagne-oyster bar which is expected to open during the first half of 2024. The grocery store, which replaced a Kmart, is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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October 16, 2023

Anthony Rapp of ‘Rent’ lists East Village condo for $3.85M

Anthony Rapp, who played the leading role of Mark Cohen in Broadway's "Rent," has put his East Village condo on the market for $3.85 million. Located within the luxury boutique building 32 East 1st Street, the actor's three-bedroom, three-bath home features designer-crafted details across roughly 1,500 square feet. According to the New York Post, Rapp, who also starred in the comedy "Dazed and Confused," bought the apartment for $3.57 million in October 2021.
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October 4, 2023

Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade is back on and bigger than before

Get back to designing those canine costumes, New Yorkers: this year's Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade is back on. After being canceled last week, the 33rd annual dog parade will proceed with support from Mayor Eric Adams and financial backing from dog wellness company Get Joy. Taking place on October 21, this year's event is set to be the largest ever and will feature a formal parade procession instead of just a gathering inside the East Village park, according to the New York Times.
paw-some parade news, this way
August 3, 2023

$899K eco-friendly East Village co-op has a 400-plant green wall

Living more sustainably can start at home, as seen in this East Village apartment. The eco-conscious two-bedroom co-op at 315 East 12th Street features formaldehyde-free cabinets, doors made of recycled plastics, and at the center, a living wall with 400 plants, which purify the air and create a sense of well-being. Asking $899,000, the apartment is efficient, with hidden closets, sliding doors, a Murphy bed, and a dining area with a table that pops up from the floor.
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July 27, 2023

Wegmans announces October opening for first Manhattan store

Mark your calendars. Manhattan's first Wegmans grocery store will officially open on October 18, the company announced Thursday. The 87,500-square-foot store will open at 770 Broadway in the East Village, replacing the Kmart on Astor Place, which closed in 2021. Not only will the store offer the grocer's signature affordable prices and prepared food options, but Wegmans Astor Place will also have a 94-seat restaurant with a sushi bar and Champagne-oyster bar.
Get ready
July 19, 2023

Alamo Cube returns to Astor Place in full spinning glory

Astor Place's beloved Alamo Cube has returned to its rightful place and is ready to be spun once again. After removing the sculpture to repair its spinning mechanisms in May, the city reinstalled the public art sculpture in the East Village this week. Officially called "Alamo," the 1,800-pound cube was sculpted by artist Tony Rosenthal and first installed at Astor Plaza Place in 1967. Rosenthal's estate paid for the sculpture's repair bill, estimated to be $100,000, according to EV Grieve.
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June 14, 2023

Live in a former sculptors’ studio in a historic East Village carriage house for $8K/month

We've all envied those charming celebrity carriage houses in the Village–like Taylor Swift's Cornelia Street home–but we also know they cost millions to own. Built in 1892, this quaint brick building at 249 1/2 East 13th Street was once the studio of sculptors Karl Bitter and Giuseppe Moretti (Bitter created the East Doors for the Trinity Church and medallions on the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Moretti, the "Vulcan," the world's largest cast iron statue), and is often referred to as an important part of neighborhood history. You can now rent the entire home for $8,000 per month.
Carriage house tour, this way
May 9, 2023

This $2.5M loft in a former East Village synagogue once belonged to photographer William Wegman

Now on the market for $2,500,000, this East Village loft at 431 East 6th Street is one of three in a building with a history that's in keeping with its colorful downtown neighborhood. Available for the first time in 40 years, the apartment, belonging to model and interior designer Maria Von Hartz, represents the latest incarnation of what was once an abandoned synagogue. The building, which is a tenancy-in-common property, was purchased in the 1980s by a group of artists who transformed the abandoned house of worship into beautiful loft homes. Among these artist-owners was celebrated photographer William Wegman of whimsical Weimaraner fame.
Take a look inside
April 5, 2023

City designates these NYC neighborhoods as ‘rat mitigation zones’

New York City this week named eight rat-prone neighborhoods as part of Mayor Eric Adams' quest to control the rodent population. According to a notice posted by the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Monday, the "rat mitigation zones," which are areas with "high levels of rat activity," include Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, and Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, Grand Concourse in the Bronx, and Chinatown, the East Village, the Lower East Side, and Harlem in Manhattan. As Crain's reported, these identified zones will be the focus of a multiagency effort to address the rats and the conditions that cause them, according to the city.
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March 7, 2023

The Wing’s former HQ at historic East Village building lists for $22.5M

The New York City headquarters of the now-defunct women's-only co-working company The Wing is for sale. As first reported by Curbed, the landmarked brick and terra-cotta building at 137 Second Avenue in the East Village hit the market last week for $22,500,000. The Wing, which shut down last summer as a result of the pandemic, moved into the building in 2019, bringing the company's signature pastel colors and cozy, custom furniture to the 1880s building, which was once home to the Stuyvesant Polyclinic Hospital.
Details here
January 25, 2023

The best local chocolate shops in NYC

It doesn't have to be Valentine's Day to crave chocolate. But the sugar-coated holiday certainly provides a good excuse to indulge. Far beyond the red-wrapped drugstore box, creating the sweet (or bitter) treat is now recognized as a craft all its own. Chocolate purveyors range from the old-fashioned to the eco-conscious to makers who hand-mix exotic ingredients and flavors. If you're really hooked, you can make an event of it at a chocolate-themed restaurant, factory tour, or private tasting. Whether you're looking for a last-minute gift for someone special or just a sweet snack, the New York City establishments listed here have something for every chocolate lover–and you can order online or visit the source right in your borough.
Find the chocolate of your dreams, this way
January 5, 2023

First Wegmans store in Manhattan will have a seafood restaurant and sushi bar

Manhattan's first-ever Wegmans grocery store is opening this year. Located at Vornado Realty Trust's 770 Broadway in the East Village, the grocery store chain, beloved for its prepared food options and affordable prices, will replace the Kmart on Astor Place, which closed in 2021. In addition to its usual offerings, the store will feature a 94-seat seafood restaurant with an oyster counter and a 10-seat sushi bar, as first reported by Eater New York. The store is expected to open during the second half of 2023.
Details here
January 4, 2023

Inside New York City’s first legal pot shop

The first legal cannabis dispensary in the state of New York opened in Manhattan last week. Run by the nonprofit Housing Works, the store, located near Astor Place at 750 Broadway, currently offers products from six New York-based companies, including pre-rolled joints, edibles, vape pens, and flower. When sales officially launched last Thursday, the line to get into the dispensary wrapped around the corner, with eager customers waiting for hours to shop.
See it here
December 22, 2022

New York’s first legal weed dispensary will open near Astor Place

New York's first legal recreational cannabis dispensary is opening in Manhattan next week. Housing Works, a local nonprofit founded in 1990 to address the HIV/AIDS and homelessness crises, will launch sales at 1 Astor Place on December 29, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday. The dispensary is the first to open of the 36 licenses approved so far by the New York State Cannabis Control Board.
Get the details
December 8, 2022

How to avoid NYC SantaCon 2022

Manhattan residents may be pleasantly surprised or significantly perturbed when a horde of red-and-white-clad SantaCon 2022 participants flood the streets of Midtown, Murray Hill, and the East Village this Saturday. The annual cosplay event draws thousands of festively-dressed participants into the borough for a day of drunken shenanigans all in the name of charity. The pub crawl is a blast for all of those involved, and not so fun for residents of the neighborhoods and people who need to travel through these areas. Ahead are a few suggestions for those looking to avoid the action during this year's SantaCon.
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September 12, 2022

NYC clears water for drinking at the Jacob Riis Houses after false alarm over arsenic results

Positive test results showing dangerous levels of arsenic in an East Village public housing complex were false. Environmental Monitoring and Technologies Inc., the testing firm that originally reported unsafe levels of arsenic at the Jacob Riis Houses, said there had been "trace levels" of arsenic introduced into the original testing samples analyzed on August 26, resulting in a false positive test, as Gothamist reported. The city on Saturday announced the tap water was cleared for drinking following new tests of the original water sample.
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September 6, 2022

Investigation underway after arsenic is found in water at East Village public housing complex

Residents of the Jacob Riis Houses in the East Village may have been exposed to water with dangerous levels of arsenic for more than a week without being notified by the city's public housing authority (NYCHA) until last Friday, as first reported by the non-profit news site, The City. While recent tests indicate there are no longer high levels of arsenic in the water, the public housing complex's roughly 2,600 residents still lack clean water. The federal monitor overseeing NYCHA opened an investigation this past weekend into the agency's actions surrounding the test results.
Details here
May 31, 2022

Manhattan’s oldest home, a 1795 East Village house built by the Stuyvesant family, asks $8.9M

Old house lovers will want to note this sale: Manhattan's oldest home, built in 1795 for Nicholas Stuyvesant, a great great grandson of city founder Peter Stuyvesant, is on the market for $8,900,000. The East Village townhouse at 44 Stuyvesant Street in the St. Marks Place Historic District has retained most of its original layout, according to Mansion Global. The 5,500-square-foot, 24-foot-wide home is the oldest building in Manhattan that has been used continuously as a single-family dwelling.
Discover the secrets of this historic East Village gem
May 16, 2022

The Loisaida Festival returns to the Lower East Side after two-year Covid hiatus

After two years of virtual celebrations, the annual parade honoring the Lower East Side's Puerto Rican and Caribbean community will take place in person. Hosted by the Loisaida Center in partnership with the Acacia Network, the Loisaida Festival is returning for its 35th year this Memorial Day Weekend. The event will kick off on Sunday, May 29 at 11:30 a.m. with a parade showcasing organizations, community figures, artists, and performers before moving north up to the main stage on 12th Street. The festival will be held from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Avenue C between 5th and 12th Streets.
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May 9, 2022

Alexander Skarsgård lists his top-floor East Village co-op for $2.6M

Actor Alexander Skarsgård has just listed his top-floor townhouse co-op at 119 East 10th Street for $2,599,000, roughly $300,000 more than he paid in 2017 for the East Village apartment, which once belonged to actress Parker Posey (Chloe Sevigny also lived in the same building before heading to Brooklyn in 2013). The Emmy-nominated star of “Big Little Lies” and “True Blood" oversaw a thorough renovation of the loft-like one-bedroom home, giving its pre-war details and wood-beamed ceilings a careful upgrade, a renovated kitchen, and more (h/t Architectural Digest).
Tour the new, improved version of this top floor co-op, this way
March 28, 2022

New mural in the East Village honors history of Ukraine

A new public art installation was unveiled in the East Village this weekend that aims to show solidarity with Ukraine and its people. Created by New York-based Ukrainian artist Misha Tyutyunik, "Ukraine: A History in Solidarity" depicts a famous monument inspired by the story behind the naming of Ukraine's capital city of Kyiv. A gift from Citizens Bank, the artwork was designed with help from Kyiv residents during Tyutyunik’s time in Ukraine in 2019 and painted on Saturday with help from the public.
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March 22, 2022

$3.5M parlor-level condo in this 120-year-old East Village townhouse aptly mixes new and old

A condo that maintains original elements but manages to look brand new is not an easy task, but this two-bedroom home in the East Village does just that. Located on the parlor floor of a Greek Revival townhouse that was built in 1900, the apartment boasts original details like crown moldings, baseboards, and medallions, while keeping things modern with top-of-the-line appliances, heating and cooling systems, and stunning built-ins. The condo at 219 East 12th Street is now available for $3,495,000.
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December 21, 2021

East Village duplex with a dreamy garden and balcony asks $3.5M

For many homebuyers in New York City, outdoor space is a must-have amenity. While most will settle for any slice of green space or sliver of a balcony, this available East Village duplex offers both. The two-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath condo at 62 East 1st Street offers a dreamy 1,000-square-foot backyard garden and patio, with a spacious balcony above it. The home is now on the market for $3,488,000.
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