East Village Community Coalition logo EVCCNYC with pigeon mascot
Skip to content

Main Navigation

Home
  • About
  • Donate
  • Get Involved
  • Stories
  • Neighborhood
  • News
  • Contact
  • Get Local!

Our Initiatives

Community Engagement

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. 

Please take our 2025 community survey and share your thoughts about how we can help make the East Village a better place to live, work, and play! We’d love to hear from you and your friends!

Food Insecurity

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.

Sustainability

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

Retail Diversity

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.

Neighborhood Preservation 

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!

News

Read more
Card image cap

LES History Month Films at MoRUS

Watch films about taking over abandoned buildings, fixing them up, and turning them into communal housing in the Lower East Side. After each showing, there will be a discussion and Q&A with special guests! More info to come!

DOORS at 6pm every THURSDAY April 23rd till May 28th 2026

Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, 155 Loisaida Ave

Flyer by @packingpeanutz

Events, Front page, newsflash  —  April 23rd, 2026
Card image cap

E-Waste & More at Tompkins Square Park

Get rid of your old electronics safely thanks to our friends at the Lower East Side Ecology Center. Please visit lesecologycenter.org for a list of acceptable electronics. Clean and dry textiles are also accepted!

10am – 2pm Sun Apr 19 at Tompkins Square Park, Avenue A btwn 9th & 10th Streets

Events, Front page, newsflash, Sustainability  —  April 17th, 2026
Card image cap

Take the 14th Street Plan Survey!

DOT plans to link parks, transit hubs and institutions along the 14th Street corridor, building upon the public realm initiatives of the past decade. DOT will propose transit and streetscape enhancements, and public space improvements from the Hudson River to the East River, in collaboration with the Meatpacking District Management Association (MDMA) and the Union Square Partnership.

Learn more and share your comments in the 14th Street Plan Survey by April 10!

Community Interest, Front page, newsflash, Sustainability, Transportation  —  April 4th, 2026

Engage. Inspire. Preserve.

Get involved

Engage. Inspire. Preserve.

Get involved
Previous Next

Sign up for our newsletter

EVCC

© 2026 All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy