Avenue D, East Village

Avenue D is still the redheaded stepchild of Alphabet City. While Aves A, B and C have grown in the last few years to be lively spots with tons of bars and great eateries, Ave D is still a wasteland. It's scary to the point that I just wouldn't recommend walking alone this far east at night . . .or maybe even during the day. Transportation is a real piece of work in all of Alphabet City and Avenue D has next to none. You are going to be walking for many moons before you come across a subway station and in the winter, that walk is really bleak.

The apartments are more affordable this far over than any other part of the East Village. But, if you live here, all of your neighbors will be project living. The highlights of Avenue D are the not as of yet remodeled apartments of Stuy Town, the Con Edison smog machines and Jacob Riis Housing. The coolest thing I have to say about that housing complex is that Jacob Riis book is fascinating. His commemorative housing project is where dreams go to die.

There are a few restaurants popping up on Avenue D, but overall, it is still pretty remote. It's weird that just one block over (Ave C) is so lively and the gentrification still hasn't made it's mark over here. I'm guessing this is because the entire avenue is still largely low-income housing and that's a pretty big deterrent from developing.

A couple of nice apartment buildings are starting to go up on the number streets between c and d so we'll probably see some development here in the next few years. It just kind of sucks that if you want to get anywhere from living here, you have to take the bus. And, while the bus, at least, offers, light and the ability to text message (unlike the train), you still have to wait for it in the cold and the bus is so friggin slow.

While Avenues A, B, and C are filled with culinary delights, hole-in-the-wall dive bars, and boho hangouts, Avenue D is far less exciting. Neither gentrified nor truly counter-cultural, Avenue D is largely known for the Riis Houses, a large public housing project named for photographer Jacob Riis, known for chroncling the plight of the urban poor. Other public housing projects in the area include Baruch House, La Guardia House, Lillian Wald House, and more. While Avenue D is by no means unsafe, it's nevertheless far from the pseudo-poor hipster ambiance of much of the Lower East Side. Amenities are few and far between in this area, with the Dry Dock Pool, a community swimming pool, being the only one of note. A few restaurants are scattered through the area, including the Chinese New Chinatown Restaurant and Mexican Joselito Restaurant, among others, but they tend to be less innovative (and less expensive) than the creative outlets found elsewhere in Alphabet City. Overall, Avenue D is a fine choice for low-income families - it's conveniently located within walking distance to the East Village and is served by the M14 bus - but is not necessarily a desirable location in and of itself.