East Village Guide 🌟

After moving to the East Village, I basically said goodbye to the subway. My activities mostly revolve within and between the villages. 🎢🍃 The East Village is a hub for new immigrants and the birthplace of niche cultures, the West Village is a symbol of art and multiculturalism, and Greenwich Village is the vibrant home of New York University. 🗽✨These neighborhoods are among the most walkable in New York. They're not very large, and it takes about 40 minutes to walk from one end to the other. But every street, every building, and even every basement and attic holds stories. As a "villager," I wanted to write about "stories from the village," but I felt like I could never finish (or explore) them all. 🎢🍃 Mast Books & Karma Bookstore Two small bookstores located very close to each other, both with excellent selections and beautiful glass facades. 🗽✨ Mast Books has a more diverse collection, with more literary works, while Karma focuses more on visual arts, such as painting and photography. Swiss Institute and the dearly departed Printed Matter 🗽✨ The Swiss Institute (SI) on the corner of St. Marks Place is a free, non-profit gallery that recently hosted a solo exhibition by Chinese artist Li Shuang. The rooftop garden at SI is one of my favorite "secret spots." After visiting the exhibition, climb to the 4th floor for a new discovery. The ground floor of SI used to be the East Village branch of Printed Matter, which has unfortunately moved. 🎢🍃 However, they still host a zine fair on St. Marks in the summer, where you can find really interesting artist zines and prints. The East Village is home to many print shops, like Pageant Print Shop on 4th Street, which sells old maps, and Archie's Press on 10th Street, which offers new maps and prints. #NewYork 🗽✨