
It was the unlikely epicenter of 60s counterculture, even before San Francisco
blossomed in the Summer of Love. In the early 19 th century, New York’s East Village situated in
lower Manhattan was simply called “above Bleecker.” By 1835, Eighth Street between Astor
Place and Tompkins Square were dubbed St. Marks Place, and a generation later these streets became the home of The Electric Circus and an eclectic, eccentric, bohemian sprawl of
coffeehouses, cafes, experimental theatres, head shops, flower-child boutiques, galleries, and
general bohemian grooviness. The air thick with the perfume of cheap incense and weed,
rhythms of stairwell bongo players and the lilting chant of Hare Krishnas lured straight-arrow
kids from the suburbs out for a weekend walk on the wild side. Beat gurus Allen Ginsberg, Jack
Kerouac, and William S. Burroughs, followed by Andy Warhol, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin,
Lenny Bruce and the Grateful Dead were residents. By the mid-1960s, Greyhound buses packed
with gawking tourists slowed at St. Mark’s Place to snap photos of the freaks for the
disbelieving folks back home.
Now heralded as the birthplace of punk, and glamorized by the smash musical RENT, the
East Village now is home to Chipotle and Pinkberry, and trendy gyms have replaced the old-
school Russian bathhouses of the past generation. Yet this unique area of Gotham retains its
original avant-garde, gritty outlaw appeal.
DOWNTOWN HIGHLIGHTS
Boundaries:
East to West, The East River to Third Avenue
North to South, 14 th Street to East Houston Street
What’s nearby:
Gramercy, Greenwich Village, NoHo, NoLita, Lower East Side.
Easily accessible by subway (approximately 25–30-minute ride) from Columbus Circle, Grand
Central Station, Union Square and Wall Street via 6, L and F trains
NIGHTLIFE RATING: Lit
A century ago, poet W.H.Auden used to live (and drink) way down low in this funky pocket of
the city. What you won’t find: anything bougie. The vibe is delightfully hardcore, down and
dirty, and good times are had by all. The streets are chill by day, but the traffic is bumper-to-
bumper from dusk until dawn, so nightspots get crowded. Prepare to wait. Going early to avoid
the rush (?) is so uncool. If you’re driving, book your parking in advance via www.parkwhiz.com
to reserve -- otherwise, fuhgettaboutit.
Our favorite bars, where the ethos is “Overthrow Hospitality: EAT - DRINK- START A
REVOLUTION:
MOTHER OF PEARL, 95 Avenue A, Insta @motherofpearlny, Twitter @thepearlnyc Tacky,
tropical Tiki fun
SAKE BAR DECIBEL, 220 E. 9 TH Street. Impress your friends by even knowing this insider spot
exists, much less how to find it. The entrance is marked only by a flashing “On Air” sign, even
though it’s the city’s first sake bar and pours about 100 varieties of sake and shochu.
NIAGARA, 112 Avenue A. (212) 420-9517. Try The Hunter S. Thompson, a “Fear and Loathing”-
worthy mashup of bourbon, sugar, walnut and orange bitters. Open until 4 AM, seven days a
week. Throwback punk bands sometimes jam in the back.
DEATH & CO, 433 East 6 th Street, Instagram @deathandcompany, 212-388-0882. Throw back a
few rounds of Cave of Wonder, a trippy swirl of port, Batavia Attack, carrot, eau de vie,
pineapple, Moroccan bitters and a refreshing spritz of seltzer.
PROLETARIAT, 21 East 7 th Street, Instagram @proletariatny, closed Monday for hangovers. Not
elitist, just special, and a long way from Coors. The place for rare, new and unusual craft brews
with current hip-hop vibes and a new location offering a British dining experience. Note that
reservations open up 21 days in advance, in case you’re winging in from the hinterlands.
Just want to soak up local color?
New York soul, with poppy seeds and a schmear : Tompkins Square Bagels, two locations (165
Avenue A., 184 2 nd Avenue)
Hipster central: Astor Place -- Two blocks between Broadway and Third Avenue, across
Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue and Cooper Square. Souvenir city, from classic psychedelic
poster art to one-off tee shirts.
Reading matter: Book Club, Strand (18 MILES of out-of-print and rare titles!) and East Village
Books are packed with softbound and hardbacks, new and used, on every topic under the neon
sun.
Feeling witchy? Check out grimoires, spell books and magic candles, powders, amulets, and
paraphernalia at Enchantments, Inc, NYC’s oldest occult store, 165 Avenue B, (212) 228-4394,
closed Tuesdays and Saturdays. www.enchantments.nyc
Tea-time? Tea Drunk, 123 E. 7th Street, instagram @teadrunk, www.teadrunk.com , is the spot
for exquisite, prized, heritage Chinese teas curated and served with an obsessive passion.
Streetwise snacks, serving deep-fried Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Twinkies,Twix Bars and
Oreos, chocolate-dipped bananas, beignets, fish and chips, chicken fingers, chili cheese dogs,
Nutella milkshakes, Oreo milkshakes, soft serve ice-cream 24/7, offering takeout and delivery,
Ray’s Candy Store, 113 Avenue A (7 th Street and St. Marks Place), (212) 505-7609.
Even if a Chocolate Chip Cookie and Nutella Sandwich (two chocolate chip cookies with
Nutella spread in between, a late-night specialty at Ray’s Candy Store) isn’t quite your style,
there is no denying the enduring, and rising, curb-appeal of the East Village. The area’s raunchy,
yet literary past lends added value to new residential development as well as the enclave’s
more wistful, century-old homes updated for modern tastes. Go for a midnight ramble through
the beers and bitters tasting rooms, cruise for vintage vinyl before dawn, and you just might be
in love (and in escrow) by morning.#
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