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If you're in the mood for a trip down memory lane, head to New York Public Library, where all 72 issues of iconic downtown publication East Village Eye are now available to read as part of the institution’s archives.
Founded by the late Leonard Abrams, who also functioned as the newspaper’s editor-in-chief in May 1979, the East Village Eye chronicled the emerging downtown scene that New Yorkers still remember fondly today. The paper folded in 1987 and, until now, no single public institution had all the issues.
In 2023, the New York Public Library purchased the archives from Abrams himself, who passed away from a heart attack that same year.
“The Library’s acquisition of the East Village Eye archive is the perfect outcome of our years-long search for the best home for these materials,” Abrams said at the time, according to a press release. “I can’t think of another institution with the breadth and depth of interest, the institutional strength, and the dedication to the common good that compares to The New York Public Library.”
In addition to a full print run of all issues of the periodical, folks will get to read through founding business documents, Abrams’ handwritten pocket planners, maps and guides to the East Village created by the newspaper’s staff, a collection of photographs of the downtown scene, behind-the-scenes shots and other original art materials.
You can read more about the collection, which is accessible in the Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room for Rare Books and Manuscripts at hte Stephen A. Schwarzman Building by Bryant Park, right here.
Fair warning, though: after browsing through the documents, you will end up nostalgic for the New York that once was.