Best resources for finding an apartment in East Village, New York City?

If you want to try to avoid a broker fee, go to Craigslist and look under the "no fee" or "by owner" section. Sadly, most of NY real estate is moved by brokers which will charge you 10% of a year's rent. Bond and Citihabitats are the two biggest that are least likely to have shadesters working there. But, I would try to avoid the fee first and Craigslist is one of the only options for doing that if you don't already live in the city.