East 4Th St, Bowery

Sometimes, it feels like the whole north section of the East Village has become little more than a de facto NYU campus: a collection of cheap kebab shops, seedy dive bars, and arty open mike nights subsidized by a bunch of pink-hair fauxhemians spending their termly allowance. This can be a disheartening prospect, especially for those who remember the area before it became palatable to Broadway. East 4th Street may not be a revival of the East Village proper, but at least it's less touristy than the collection of streets around Astor Place, where overpriced T-shirts and jacked-up watery cocktails are the norm. Ventures like La Mama experimental theatre and the Nuyorican Poets' Cafe still offer some interesting reminiscences of the days when the EV was arty, while the eateries and nightlife maintain a slightly older clientele than the sloshed teenagers dotting the normal NYU dives. Try nearby Death and Company for a spooky edge on the traditional cocktail, or hit up the In Vino Wine Bar and restaurant for a more traditional vintage.

Where West 4th is very West Village as far as aesthetic and feel, East 4th is exactly the same fo the East Village. It's pretty crazy how drastically this street changes as it makes its way across downtown Manhattan. One thing 4th street never lacks in, no matter what side of town, though, is stuff to do and eat.
Broadway and East 4th is where the riots were initially dispersed during the 5,000 person civil war draft protest. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to be forced to fight in the war and probably die just to keep the South. If the South ever "rose again" like they continually claim, I hope this time we just say, by all means: secede.
There's a huge luxury condo building on the southeast corner of Broadway and East 4th that a ton of celebrities have lived in (like Britney Spears, Tom and Nicole, and Rob Lowe. I'm sure the apartments are lovely but if I had unlimited funds to spend on housing, I doubt very much that I would ever fork them over to live on Broadway. That street is a friggin zoo 24 hours a day -- and, I've only ever seen slower walkers in Times Square. I'd go mad if I had to live in the midst of all of these people and noise.
One of my favorite landmarks, The Merchant House, is at East 4th and Bowery. The Merchant house was owned by the Tredwell family. The father was a Merchant and moved his family into the mansion in 1830. The neighborhood was quite affluent back then. He was very conservative and never replaced anything in the house. His daughter continued to live there until her death in 1933 and the home was turned into a museum because it is essentially a time capsule from the early 19th century. Nothing has been changed in the house from the time it was built until now. They have a great candlelight tour on Halloween. I love this place. It's beautiful and really gives the best taste of what life was like back then. It's pretty amazing.
There are a number of very East Village little bars and restaurants on 4th around 1st and 2nd. The energy is so different from even the bars on 4th around 6th Ave. The establishments here are a little bit grittier. The patrons have a much hipper and artier kind of thing going on with them. There is a distinct East Village vibe and 4th street is packed to the gills with it.
East of 1st Ave has, weirdly, a lot of schools and grocery stores. The aesthetic of the residences look like they just jumped out of Rent - which they did because Rent was based right around here. It used to be so run down and dangerous and scary around here in Alphabet City -- but now it's very trendy and starting to have quite a pulse. I still think it's a little dangerous at night, though, and I don't have enough tattoos to hang out over there.