Famous Ankles

Avenue B has the nickname “Charlie Parker Place”. The jazz great lived very near Tompkins Square Park back in the days that living near there didn’t have any cache at all. The street itself is quite pleasant nowadays. I was going on 7th Street and subsequently ran into Avenue C and found it…perfectly normal. In [...]

During my Alphabet City tour I saw a bit of graffiti, but nothing as big as Graffiti Church.  It’s located on 7th Street between Avenue B and Avenue C. It’s actually a Baptist Church and the website looks interesting.  At some point, I’ll probably attend services, but I think I’ll let it warm up a bit first. [...]

In my recent wanderings of Alphabet City (part of the Lower East Side and also called the East Village), I ran into a number of vacant lots that had been converted into community gardens.  One identical link between them:  all seemed about the width of a former building that had been removed.  Maybe by being [...]

If you’re in the Lower East Side (“LES”), remember you’re in an odd and funky land. There’s a “holy tree” in Tompkins Square Park.  Got one in your local park? I kid you not.  Notice the garland.    Here’s a closeup of the garland in case it doesn’t show well. There are also flowers on [...]

One part of Tompkins Square Park that the locals are very proud of is the dog run.  From what I understand, Dog Fancy magazine has rated it very high on their list of dog runs.  If the concept is a little alien:  NYC has very strict leash laws and virtually no open areas where you [...]