We give local residents a voice and ensure their views are heard by policy makers, business owners and partner organizations. We conduct neighborhood surveys, encourage engagement, and inform and educate the community on important local issues. Sign up for our email list to keep up with the latest!
During the height of the pandemic, the East Village Community Coalition became deeply involved in mutual aid efforts to address food insecurity. Stewarding community fridges and pantries, mobilizing neighbors and local businesses to share excess food, and coordinating volunteer-led food rescue operations across the neighborhood.
Building on this work, the EVCC has embraced food insecurity as a core initiative. We are expanding our efforts to ensure that surplus food is rescued and redistributed to those in our community who face food insecurity, or who may be unable to shop or cook for themselves.
Today, the EVCC facilitates monthly gatherings that bring together previously siloed local stakeholders working toward food justice. These meetings foster collaboration, share resources, and connect volunteers across a vibrant local network from faith-based organizations hosting pantries and soup kitchens to grassroots groups rescuing and redistributing food that would otherwise go to waste.
Through connection, collaboration, and action, the EVCC is building a stronger, more equitable East Village where no neighbor goes hungry and no good food is thrown away.
There are many ways to protect the future of our neighborhood, while enjoying it as much as possible today. Our walkable, tree-lined streets and community gardens are one of the reasons people love the East Village. Open Streets, better public transportation and expanded recycling and composting programs are a few things we champion in order to protect the East Village for generations to come.
See current sustainability issues impacting the East Village
Independent shops and services are an essential part of life in the East Village. From culturally symbolic restaurants to independent bookstores, kooky vintage shops to holistic pet stores, our merchants are the lifeblood of the neighborhood and are a reflection of historic roots of our community.
The EVCC continues to press for any and all measures to support the small businesses that keep our neighborhood vibrant, diverse and magnetic.
Explore our interactive directory of local independent shops and services.
Or, dig deeper into important issues on Retail Diversity.
Many of our neighborhood’s historic buildings have incredible stories to tell. We help preserve and protect our streetscape by working with local partners, city and state officials and policy makers, as well as residents and business leaders on zoning, landmark designation and the creation and expansion of Historic Districts.
Check out our Neighborhood Resources and stay tuned for more interactive ways to explore our Historic Districts and Landmarks!
Theater of the New City’s FREE LES Festival of the Arts has celebrated the arts and the greatness of the Lower East Side since 1996, with a cohort of theater, dance, performance, music, film, literary, and visual artists! This year’s theme is “Courage Through the Arts: A Vote Against Tyranny.” Running all weekend!
6pm-1am Fri May 22, Sat May 23, Sun May 24 at 155 1st Avenue btwn 9th & 10th Streets
Please join us for an evening at the Trinity Lower East Side Garden and Community Room! Enjoy music, refreshments, and light bites from our favorite East Village restaurants and purveyors, meet our board members, hear about our latest work, and share your interests. Rain or shine!
5-7pm Sun June 7, 2026
The 39th Annual Loisaida Festival is back!! For 40 years, LoisaidaFest has been the soul of the Lower East Side. This year’s theme, “Our AmeRícan Thing,” honors our neighborhood as a language, a rhythm, and a home. Inspired by Jesús “Tato” Laviera, we’re bringing the streets to life with poetry, music, theater, and community pride.
Poster by Mateo Nazario
12-5pm Sun May 24 along Avenue C / Loisaida Avenue, from East 12th Street to East 5th Street
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