Top Things To Do and See in Manhattan's East Village

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A hammer and sickle adorn the books of matches up for grabs at KGB’s bar counter. It’s all part of the “Communist chic” theme honoring the second-floor venue’s history as a former Ukranian speakeasy where socialists would meet behind double-locked doors to protect themselves from McCarthy’s “red scare.” Today, you’re more likely to hear speculative fiction or poetry than you are quotes from a pamphlet by Marx. With readings happening almost nightly, KGB is the perfect place to crack open a Baltika and soak in the new voices of the lit scene.

New York has some idyllic green spaces. Covering 10-and-a-half acres, Tompkins features playgrounds, basketball courts, a dog run, ping pong tables, handball courts and built-in outdoor chess tables open to the public. Musicians and skateboarders gather in the park, along with sunbathers in the warmer seasons, and it is the site of annual events such as the outdoor drag festival, Wigstock, and the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, which honors the saxophonist who lived on Avenue B.

It’s always heartening to see so many New Yorkers reading their paperbacks on public transit. Mast Books is one of the dozens of stores that cater to the literary cognoscenti by carving out a niche carrying rare titles in art, poetry and cinema. The curation is what sets Mast apart from the herd. Every store carries the new Jia Tolentino, but it’s special stumbling across a hand selected early edition of a Patti Smith chapbook or limited printing of a modern design tome.

Begot out of necessity, the Nuyorican Poets Café, originally run as a living room salon in the East Village apartment of poet Miguel Algarin, was founded as an outlet for the fledgling movement’s writers who were shut out of the established publishing industry. Two years later, the collection Nuyorican Poetry: An Anthology of Puerto Rican Words and Feelings, co-edited by Algarin and Miguel Piñero, ushered a poetry renaissance with the café serving as a centerpiece to cause. Today, programming includes weekly poetry slams, open mics, Latin Jazz and Hip-Hop concerts, theatrical performances, educational programs and visual art exhibitions.

Navigating the subways, catching a reservation during rush-hour, standing on your feet for hours in the Met – a trip to New York is not exactly a vacation. That said, The Russian & Turkish Baths on East 10th Street are the perfect place to unwind, have a schvitz and regroup so you’re ready for your next adventure. Opened in 1892, the bathhouse – where the likes of Frank Sinatra and John Belushi could be spotted – has an old-world charm. Opened originally to serve as 19th-century resource for overcrowded immigrant communities before hot water was available in most homes, today the baths offer a bevy of modern services, from a fragrant essential oils wash to Swedish massages.

Before you could buy a pint at your corner bodega, the Big Gay Ice Cream company was a brick-and-morter storefront in the East Village (and before that, it was a truck for two years). The descriptor ‘gay’ here is double-pronged: its co-founders Doug Quint and Bryan Petroff. Both are gay men, but the term reflects their mission to be the happiest ice cream parlor in New York City. This is evident in the fun names of concoctions (such as Salty Pimp and Bea Arthur) as well as the nontraditional ice cream flavors, such as olive oil, blood orange infused balsamic vinegar and Maldon salt, or toppings such as wasabi peas and caramelized bacon.

The ancient Indian discipline of yoga has been gaining popularity as a workout in the west for the last two decades. Since then, it’s become more prohibitive to those seeking to stretch and sweat. Yoga to the People’s mission is to make yoga available to everybody by not enforcing financially burdensome prices; instead there is a $10 suggested donation for classes. Yoga is good for your health, body and breathing and YTTP offers three class types: power vinyasa flow, traditional hot yoga and hot vinyasa.

When it opened, Webster Hall was described as being for “balls, receptions, Hebrew weddings and sociables,” according to a December 1886 article in The New York Times. During Prohibition, it was known for its wild parties where the police turned a blind eye to alcohol consumption. Famous artists and writers such as Marcel Duchamp, Joseph Stella, Man Ray, F Scott Fitzgerald and Langston Hughes were known to be in attendance. Recently, Webster went through a $10 million renovation and continues to operate as a nightclub and music venue with a capacity of 1,400 where events are hosted nightly.