Here is the heart and soul of our website, and organization: the many resources offered by our beautiful neighborhood!
To fully participate in the local community, here’s a little checklist:
- Explore our vibrant arts & culture scene
- Join a Block Association
- Attend a Community Board meeting
- Visit a Community Garden
- Learn about the history of the East Village
- Get updates from local media
- Support local, independent businesses
- Protect our local environment
- Learn about safety & emergency services
- Consider sustainable transportation options
Ready to get started?
Community Input
Community input on the issues that affect our neighborhood starts with the Community Board. To find out about the latest meeting topics and dates visit Community Board 3.
Arts & Culture
The East Village has been a hotbed of counterculture from the gay clubs of the 1800s through the Ramones hosting their first show at CBGB’s in the 1970s. An intense pulse of creative energy runs through our streets, and no matter what type of art excites you most, between music, dance, theater, fashion, visual arts, poetry and so on — our neighborhood has a past, present and future unlike anywhere else.
Neighborhood History
It’s never a dull day in our neighborhood. For a crash course on East Village history, we recommend the East Village Poetry Walk. Or, pick up a copy of Vanishing New York by Jeremiah Moss, or St. Marks is Dead by Ada Calhoun, from one of our local bookstores like East Village Books or Book Club.
Other key historical resources include:
- Lower East Side Preservation Initiative (LESPI)
- Village Preservation’s East Village Block Finder
- May is LES History Month
- Tenement Museum
- East Village Poetry Walk MP3
Stay up-to-date
News
Who we were
Food
Real Estate
Community Gardens
Visit Loisaida United Neighborhood Gardens for a map and upcoming events at our wonderful community gardens.
Recycling and Composting
The Lower East Side Ecology Center is our go-to for electronics recycling and more. We’ll be sure to let you know about their next event in Tompkins Square Park!
There are five compost sites in and around the East Village working to turn your food scraps into nutritious soil:
- Tompkins Square Park Greenmarket (Lower East Side Ecology Center)
East 7th St. b/w Ave A and B, north side
Hours: Sundays, 8:00am-5:00pm, year-round
Not accepted: meat, bones, or dairy
- Union Square Greenmarket (Lower East Side Ecology Center)
Northeast corner of the market, along East 17th St., by Union Square East/Park Ave
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 8:00am-5:00pm, year-round
Not accepted: meat, bones, or dairy
- 1st Ave and 1st Street
1st Ave between Houston & 1st Street, on the west side of 1st Ave
Hours: Mondays 9:00am-2:00pm
Not accepted: meat, bones, or dairy
- Down to Earth Garden (formerly Children’s Garden)
546 East 12th St, New York, NY 10009
Tuesdays 1:30pm-4:00pm and Sundays 12:00pm-4:00pm, year round
Keep food scraps and plant material separated. Accepts meat, fish, and dairy
- La Plaza Cultural Community Garden
674 East 9th Street
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 2:00pm-4:00pm, April-November
Please carefully read instructions here: https://bit.ly/laplazadropoff; Not accepted: meat, bones, or dairy
NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) corner compost bins collect food waste for compost and clean energy. This includes ALL food scraps, plant waste, and food-soiled paper: meat, bones, dairy, prepared foods, even greasy uncoated paper plates and pizza boxes! Visit the DSNY website to download smart-phone apps for iOS or Android, to unlock an orange bin near you 24 hours a day / 7 days a week!
Block Associations
Block associations form around the particular interests of a block or stretch of the neighborhood: green space, development, film shoots, parking, liquor licensing, etc. Some also organize neighborhood events. If your block isn’t in the list below, write to us at info@evccnyc.org for help to get your own group started.
Bowery Alliance of Neighbors (BAN)
Chatham Sq – Cooper Sq
First Street Block Association
1st St, 1st-2nd Ave
Friends of Meltzer Park (FOMP)
1st Ave-Ave A, 1st-2nd St
2nd Street Block Association
2nd St, 1st Ave-Ave A
East 3rd Street Block Association
Ave B-D
East 4th Street Avenues A-B Block Association
4th St, Ave A-B
All The Way East 4th Street Block Association
4th St, Ave C-D
East 5th Street Block Association
1st-3rd Aves, 2nd Ave between 4th and 6th
6BC Botanical Garden
6th St, Ave B-C
Eight B C D Block Association
8th St, Ave B-D
EVORA East Village Owners Renters Association
8th-12th St, 3rd-4th Ave
9th Street A-1 Block Association
9th St, Ave A-1st Ave
9BC Tompkins Sq Block Association
9th St, Ave B-C
La Plaza Cultural de Armando Perez
9th St & Ave C
10th-Stuyvesant Streets Block Association
10th St, Stuyvesant, 2nd-3rd Ave
A1E 10th St Block Association
10th St, 1st Ave-Ave A
East 11th Street Block Association
11th St, 2nd-3rd Ave
North Avenue A Neighborhood Association
Ave A, 10th-14th St
12th Street Block Association
12th St, Ave A-B
Schools and Education
The East Village falls within New Yorks District One, which also extends to cover parts of the Lower East Side. District 1 covers learning from 3K through 12 and is a full choice district. The District 1 community engagement center is located at P.S. 20 Anna Silver at 166 Essex Street in Room 126 they are open on weekdays 9:00am – 5:00pm.
District One Community Education Council is an organisation that assists District One (“D1”) families and educators on issues surrounding education policy and practices and encourage participation in decision-making within the schools and community.
Support local businesses
Independent, local, small business owners are the lifeblood of our community – as they are of every community. They reinvest in the local economy by hiring local suppliers and employees. They shop in our neighborhood and purchase local goods and services at more than twice the rate of chains. Chain store profits return to corporate headquarters and diffuse through economies far from the point of sale. For a directory of East Village businesses, check out our Get Local! Guide.
Legal Assistance
If you’re behind on rent and being pressured with eviction, call or email Cooper Square Committee 212-228-8210 or GOLES (Good Old Lower East Side) 212-533-2541. Please leave a message if you reach a recording, they will respond.
Financial Aid for Small Businesses
Sign up to receive the latest information from NYC Small Business Services.
Round Two of the New York Forward loan fund is open! This state-sponsored program is designed for stable businesses looking to grow. Check the Pace SBDC website for more details and contact a Pace SBDC business advisor for no-cost, personalized assistance with this and other financing opportunities available to NYC entrepreneurs! To streamline the intake process, complete the counseling information form and email it to sbdc@pace.edu.
The SBA EIDL loan fund is closed. Call the SBA Hotline 800-827-5722 with questions about applications in progress. SBA continues to offer other funding options for small businesses including traditional SBA loans.
Nonprofit Online Lender Fundera.com also has a wealth of information and answers to FAQs.
