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El Jardin del Paraiso

El Jardin del Paraiso 1 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida

How nice to see birch trees, weeping willows and turtles sunning themselves in the pond in this garden of paradise. In El Jardin del Paraiso, a great big willow tree shades this space. While this tree is magnificent on its own, it is highlighted by an octagonal tree house that encircles its trunk. The wooden structure's design was donated by tree house architect Roderick Romero, who resides in the East Village. His work for this 4th street garden, in 2003, was his first community project and we were delighted to see him featured in a July 15, 2012 segment of the CBS Morning Show. We learned that he is known for his tree houses both in the US and abroad including those that he designed for Julianne Moore, Val Klimer, Donna Karan and Sting. Climb a few rungs of the ladder and you will be several feet above the ground, taking in the lush greenery and appreciating the talents of this esteemed architect.

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El Jardin del Paraiso 5 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida
El Jardin del Paraiso 6 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida
El Jardin del Paraiso 7 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida
El Jardin del Paraiso 8 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida
El Jardin del Paraiso 9 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida
El Jardin del Paraiso 1 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida
El Jardin del Paraiso 2 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida
El Jardin del Paraiso 3 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida
El Jardin del Paraiso 4 Gardens East Village Alphabet City Loisaida

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Lost Gem
Sophie's 1 Bars undefined

Sophie's

Sophie’s is a classic East Village dive bar that has retained its undeniably sassy charm and old-timer crowd decade after decade. Rich Corton and his business partner, Kirk Marcoe, currently own three long-standing bars in the East Village — Sophie’s, Mona’s, and Josie’s. The duo took over Sophie’s in 2008 and have worked hard to keep it “a neighborhood place for liberal-minded people, ” as Rich described. This same philosophy was practiced by Sophie’s previous owner, Rich’s brother, Robert. He was living on the fifth floor of an apartment building while the eponymous owner, Eastern European immigrant Sophie Polney, resided on the fourth. Robert became her bartender in the 1980s, and when Sophie fell ill, he naturally took over. Sophie moved the bar only once, from Avenue A and 5th Street to its current location, which had previously been another bar owned by Virginia Chicorelli. The name, Chic Choc, is still visible on the doorstep, and it is believed that the space has been a bar since the building went up in the early 1900s. Other than some minor fine-tuning, the original interior and business model of a pool table and jukebox have remained virtually unchanged since Sophie’s era. Although the East Village crowd of the 1980s — artists, musicians, and writers together with the population of older Eastern Europeans — continues to dwindle, old-timers still gather at Sophie’s alongside its newer following. “A good place to stop time. Is there any place left in New York where an old guy can go in the afternoon to have a drink? ” remarked the late Anthony Bourdain about Sophie’s. “It has always been about the people in the neighborhood. We behind the bar work for the people in the East Village, ” mused Rich. Also, check out Josies, which is under the same ownership.