The Spectrum

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

For elderly East Village Residents, beating the heat is no easy feat

As the 98-degree heat shimmered over Avenue D, Victor Mdones sat on a bench outside the Jacob Riis Housing Project. It was better than staying inside.

“I have no air conditioning in my apartment,” said Mdones, a 72-year-old diabetic.  “I have a fan to stay cool, but it isn’t good enough.”

With record-breaking temperatures as high as 103 degrees, the summer of 2010 is making life a daily struggle for the elderly residents of the East Village’s housing projects. Extreme heat is particularly dangerous for seniors, especially those, like Mdones, who suffer from chronic illnesses.

New York City runs approximately 500 cooling centers during the summer, according to the city’s Center for Emergency Management. Less than a handful of them are located in the East Village—one of which is in the sprawling Jacob Riis Housing Project.

Read More

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

High rents are forcing some East Villagers to sacrifice, or move out

It’s got a friendly, diverse, community vibe along with a buzzing, urban-cool nightlife, great restaurants and good schools, community gardens and arts and culture. In fact, the East Village was recently ranked tenth overall in New York Magazine’s “50 Most Livable Neighborhoods in New York” index, and first for nightlife.

So who wouldn’t want to live in the East Village?

Those who think high rents and tiny apartments are too much of a tradeoff for the neighborhood’s charms. At approximately $50 per square foot, East Village apartments don’t give renters much bang for their buck.  (Its New York Magazine ranking for housing costs?  A not-very-positive #49.)

Read More

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Vendors sell it all on the streets of the East Village

On Broadway and Prince Street, an Ecuadorian man by the name of Segundo Lema sits next to a wooden table making jewelry. Lema works with Gaython Fortner, a street vendor who came to New York from Birmingham, Ala. after serving six years in the military. When the unlikely partners met, Lema had been making jewelry to send to Ecuador and Fortner had a license, so they decided to make a living selling jewelry on the streets together.

East Village street vendors and performers are as diverse and eclectic as the neighborhood they call home. In a part of the city that prides itself on being the home of many eccentric characters, street musicians, book vendors, and jewelers who make rings on the streets fit right in.

Read More

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

East Village residents take rat infestation into their own hands

Looking at the flattened carcass of a dead rodent, most East Villagers see only filth, flies, and frustration. But others see a fresh opportunity for community enrichment.

On East First Street, a group of determined neighbors who call themselves “First Street Green” are working towards a vision: building a cultural center and garden on what is currently a rat-infested lot.

Read More

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

At several East Village music stores, vinyl records rule

These days, most people equate browsing for music with Apple’s iTunes store or online music sites, not old-fashioned record shops.  But if the East Village is any indication, vinyl is not dead.

The Village boasts more than half a dozen record shops, including Big City Records, and A1 Records. And shop workers are reporting steady sales despite the ubiquity of MP3s.

“People from all over the world come here to shop, especially for music. It’s become more like a niche,” said Jared Boxx, 33, owner and manager of Big City Records on 12^th Street.

Read More