An imported game, an underground comic, a film rarely seen on a commercial screen: the East Village rewards a particular curiosity. You can follow yours through shops shaped by specialist interests, meet growers at the Sunday market or spend time among volunteer-tended plants. For the evening, independent cinema and music from across cultures offer two distinct directions.
Japanese imports and familiar consoles at Videogamesnewyork
A console you remember from childhood shares the inventory at Videogamesnewyork with Japanese imports and limited-run independent releases. The East 6th Street shop carries classic systems alongside modern physical games, with imported editions and collectible packaging to examine as you browse. Following a familiar system into its less familiar releases is a good way to explore the selection.
Nintendo’s presence extends to hanafuda playing cards and Famicom stationery, while game soundtracks appear on vinyl and cassette. There’s a practical side to the stock, too: replacement controllers, accessories, arcade-stick parts and retro hardware upgrades. If you’re keeping an older setup in use, those parts may be as interesting as another game.
Used books with a countercultural bent
East Village Books buys private and estate libraries, so what you find reflects the interests of previous readers as well as the shop’s own specialties. Farther east on St. Marks Place, its used selection reaches into philosophy, critical theory, literary fiction and esoterica. Art and photography books sit within that scholarly, artistic and countercultural range, along with underground comics and writing about music.
Start with a subject that interests you and compare the worn spines; the incoming libraries keep the stock changing. The smaller printed objects deserve attention as well: used postcards and pictures suitable for framing extend the selection beyond bound pages. Art-house DVDs and jazz and world-music CDs give film and record collectors their own material to sift through, without depending on a particular title being in stock.
Sunday food shopping beside Tompkins Square
Local farmers have brought their produce to Tompkins Square Greenmarket since 1997. On Sundays year-round, you can shop beside the park at Avenue A and East 7th Street, a natural continuation from the bookstore. The producer list spans orchard fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, cheeses, breads and pastries, with farmstead kimchi adding a fermented option to the grocery shopping.
A pastry and some fruit make an easy park snack; a loaf and cheese offer a more substantial combination. For your kitchen, the vegetables, mushrooms and kimchi give the market a role beyond something to eat on the spot. GrowNYC also programs cooking demonstrations and family activities on selected dates. On other days, Tompkins Square Park remains the stop here, with the market reserved for Sunday.
Volunteer-tended planting at 6BC
Volunteers tend 6BC Botanical Garden, where you can follow pathways through dense planting, look into ponds and notice a treehouse among the greenery. Farther east, between Avenues B and C, the small garden brings native and introduced plants together. Close views of leaves and water, rather than a broad lawn, define the visit.
Founded in 1981, the space became a shared botanical garden in 1995. You can sit among foliage that screens the surrounding buildings or spend your visit looking closely along the paths. Treat this as a seasonal stop: volunteer openings normally fall on weekends from April through October 31.
Experimental film on screen at Anthology
Filmmakers working outside commercial cinema are central to Anthology Film Archives. You can see independent, experimental and avant-garde work here, with screenings drawing on film history as well as newer filmmaking. Back toward the neighborhood’s western side on Second Avenue, the archive and cinema offers a separate evening destination after browsing the shops or visiting the garden.
Its recurring Essential Cinema cycle draws from 330 titles selected between 1970 and 1975, returning silent cinema, experimental work and art films to the screen. Alongside that cycle, the wider program includes retrospectives and new independent work. Founded in 1970, Anthology also preserves films, connecting its archival work with public screenings. Let a specific film or series shape this part of your outing; the program can lead into very different periods and approaches to filmmaking.
Music across cultures at DROM
Immigrant entrepreneurs founded DROM around music and performance across cultures. On its intimate Avenue A stage, you might encounter progressive jazz, funk, electronic music, soul or hip-hop, alongside performers rooted in global musical traditions. Near Tompkins Square, it offers a live-performance alternative to heading west for a film at Anthology.
The name comes from the Romani word for journey, a fitting detail for a program that places familiar genres alongside less familiar performers and traditions. The individual show determines the evening: a dance-heavy gig and a seated listening performance offer different ways to spend it. Dance, theater and comedy can also appear in the lineup, so look at the performer and format when making your selection.
Explore imported games and soundtracks at Videogamesnewyork, then continue south to Anthology Film Archives for a screening from its independent and experimental program.
