The Eastern Side of Greenwich Village...

History:

The East Village – the Eastern Side of Greenwich Village – has always drawn all income levels, including the turn-of-the-century titans of industry for homes on Colonnade Row, and in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, radicals, bohemians, beatniks, artists and literary greats in the brownstones down Bleecker. 

No longer the city’s bohemia, the East Village still remains downtown’s most livable neighborhood. From the well-worn tenements in which the old timers dwell, to the small studios inhabited by New York University Students, the East Village appeals to vastly different populations who share one desire: a neighborhood with charisma.

From the 4.5.6 train in Union Square, or the F train on Second Avenue all the sites of the East Village are within a 10-minute walk.

To Drink:

Two doors down, The Bowery Electric, celebrates the music of the East Village in days of Andy Warhol and Max’s Kansas City, when glam rock gave way to New Wave. Eastvillageradio.com, an Internet radio station broadcasting from a storefront on First Avenue also boasts an impressive musical pedigree, including Mark Ronson, as a regular on the DJ lineup.

To Eat:

For every elegant and unconventional store in the East Village, there is a bistro, brasserie, diner, café or tavern to match. Hecho en Dumbo serves up a menu of of antojitos based on rustic Mexican staples and contemporary Mexico City cuisine. Saxon + Parole, a bistro of “grilled meats and acquatic delights” is known for its chilled shrimp and Siracha cocktail sauce, a fire often extinguished by its housemade whisky. Prune has been highly regarded by brunching East Villagers for new American staples. To satisfy Public’s pre- or post-show appetites, Gemma, an “Italian brasserie” on Second Avenue serves up fashionable crudi, crunchy crostini, and wood-fired pizzas – and Italian cheeses with tasting notes.

To Do: 

The classic and the creative East Village begins on Lafayette, where just up from the Merchant’s House Museum – a 184-year-old house built in a "suburb" of New York City – lies the Public Theater, the center of downtown arts. In 1967, theater producer and director Joseph Papp established the Public, which produces Shakespeare in the Park. In October 2012, The Public completed a revitalization of the landmark building, transforming the lobby into a public piazza for audiences, artists, and the local community.

Past another old New York site, the New York City Marble Cemetery, where six members of one branch of the Roosevelt clan are buried, shops and restaurants line the streets. Scandanvian home store, Dienst + Dotter, sells stylistic sensibility. John Derian Company houses its namesake’s handmade offbeat and irrelevant decoupage plates, platters, paperweights and coasters. In a neighborhood where vintage is king, two stores stand out: Fabulous Fanny’s, known for its vast collection of eyeglass frames from every era, and The Upper Rust: tasteful antiques and economical apartment decoration.