The East Village has long been a richly diverse immigrant neighborhood. It has also served as a hub for cultural movements: the Beats, punk rock, bohemians, Hare-Krishna…the list goes on. Take a walk through the area that was considered the center of counterculture in New York.

In 1902, the first Farm Garden was opened to provide city children the invaluable experience of cultivating and caring for the land. Its founder said of her creation: "I assure you that all the virtues can be taught from a little patch of ground, not eight feet square." Read on to learn of this history and legacy of New York's Farm Gardens.

Tompkins Square Park Building Date : 1834 Original Use : Institutional Original Owner : New York City Original Architect : Julius Munckwitz Description & Building Alterations From swamp land, to public square, to military parade ground, to city park, the lot that is now Tompkins Square Park has a long and varied history. The park is bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on the west by Avenue A. St. Marks Place abuts the park to the west. Originally located on land belonging to Peter Stuyvesant, this site was eventually acquired by Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York from 1807 to 1817 and as Vice President of the United States under James Monroe from 1817 to 1825. The park is named for Tompkins. The land was bought by the City in 1834, at which point it was drained, planted, and turned into a public square. The park served as a parade ground for several decades, and in 1878 The New York State Legislature designated the square as a public park. It was redesigned the following year by Julius Munckwitz…

Tompkins Square Park, Arbor Day, 1904. Named after Daniel H. Tompkins, fourth Governor of New York and Vice President under James Monroe, the Tompkins Square Park site was once part of a salt marsh owned by the Stuyvesant family. The Stuyvesants transferred the land to the city in 1829, and between 1834 and 1850, the site was drained, graded, landscaped, and finally opened as a public park. Arbor Day was founded in the United States in 1872 by a Nebraskan newspaper editor and later Secretary of Agriculture, J. Sterling Morton. It is a holiday (observed in most countries) that celebrates and encourages the care and planting of trees.

This summer in New York might be different than the past. However, there are still many ways you can enjoy the season in the city or from the comfort of your home. Here are our top summer spots to visit in the Village.

Does anybody need a haircut? A few months ago, going to a barbershop, shopping, or dining outdoors wouldn't have seemed extraordinary. As New York carefully reopens after closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, these photos offer a glimpse of "Phase 2"-friendly scenes from the city's history.

New Yorkers are known for having strong opinions, but sometimes things get out of hand. This collection examines riots throughout New York's history, from the start of the LGBTQ movement at Stonewall to the race riots of the Civil War to a good old fashioned brawl between actors' fans.