My Favorite Area In New York City Is Tucked Away, Less Crowded, With Eclectic Local Shops

Even though I was working 10 to 12-hour days when I lived in New York City's East Village, I would still take the time to meander and enjoy more of the city than my apartment and the subway. There's no shortage of things to do in my old neighborhood — from spending a rainy day getting lost in the mythology and folklore section of The Strand to late-night strolls around St. Mark's Place to memorialize the city's punk scene. But there's one little stretch that I found myself returning to over and over again. 

Hop off the subway yellow line at Union Square and walk down 4th Avenue to 12th Street. Across the street from Blick Art Materials, you'll find a little strip with some of the best shops to wander in and lose track of time: Halloween Adventure and Gothic Renaissance. Exit Halloween Adventure on the Broadway side and you can cross the street to visit Metropolis Vintage. Increasingly, this neighborhood's radical, offbeat, eclectic spots have been replaced with trendy and upscale but generic shops. Despite the many changes, this one little area still feels tucked away.

On late October afternoons, you might find it just as busy as any other tourist area (since the vibe is fit for spooky season), but on a weekday morning or any other time of year, it can be a surprisingly quiet spot in a chaotic city. Here, you'll find the kind of people who seek a 2001 Ozzfest shirt, a Ben Nye bruise wheel, or a shiny new studded collar on a random spring Tuesday. As you browse masquerade masks, try on vintage band tees, and check out flyers for upcoming candlelit gothic hangouts and alternative burlesques, the Village really does feel like a village.

Halloween Adventure and its offshoot Gothic Renaissance cut a striking figure on the block. The dark-painted exterior of Halloween Adventure is dominated by a huge black awning with the image of a slightly sinister jester who looks like a relative of Coney Island's grinning Steeplechase Face. The windows are jam-packed with props, statues, and mannequins dressed in elaborate costumes. It has been a staple of the neighborhood since the '80s, and despite a recent refocus on collaborating with vendors and performers on live events, the shop's essence remains the same.

Drenched in the scent of rubber masks and liquid latex, this eclectic shop is a year-round shrine to Halloween. If I have time to kill, I always love wandering through this massive horror emporium's three floors and admiring its campy offerings. Among the maze-like racks, you can find oddly suggestive Santa Claus suits, enormous skull chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and professional special effects makeup. Try not to get startled by the life-size robotic witch bumping into racks of top hats and feather boas while cackling mechanically.

Next door, the cozy yet edgy queer-run Gothic Renaissance and its enormous gargoyle at the door beckon visitors who are seeking an alternative identity, not just a costume. When I saw its wall of masks, display of studded collars, and collection of corsets as a child, I was certain that this (and Trash and Vaudeville, now located a few blocks away) would be the only place that I shopped when I grew up. To live my childhood dream, let its friendly stylists fit you with tall black boots made for stomping, black lacy Lolita dresses, and every kind of corset imaginable.

While in most places thrifting is a budget-friendly activity, in New York City, that's not really the case. Thrifters often prefer to travel up the Hudson to look at small shops and flea markets since the popularity of vintage shopping, prevalence of resellers, and extremely high rent in New York City has made it increasingly hard to find interesting items at good prices – unless you happen to be in Goodwill at the exact moment a fashionable celebrity decides to have their assistant drop off their old shoes. (I was that assistant, I promise it happens.) There are still some vintage shops worth exploring though, including in my favorite little stretch of the East Village.

Start at Metropolis Vintage on Broadway, labeled "New York Costumes" on Google Maps. Apart from its exterior getting repainted white, this shop and its red logo don't seem to have changed much since 1990. The business started out as a flea market vendor before moving into its current home. There are some excellent vintage band T-shirts, but many thrifters will find them out of their price range. This isn't the place to go for undiscovered gems — the store knows what they have and they charge a premium.

If you're interested in curated second-hand shops, as of September 2025, a branch of Other People's Clothes, a mini local chain of consignment shops previously only in Queens and Brooklyn, has opened right next door to Gothic Renaissance, too. This glossy shop often has an eclectic collection of vintage and designer clothes, shoes, hats, and jewelry — and it'll sell your clothes for you if you're looking to make room in your closet for some new finds in this stretch of the East Village.