East 13 St, East Village

East 13th is not my favorite street. It's fine around Union Square but the further east you go, the sketchier it gets. The Alphabet City area just hasn't picked up around 13th quite like it has in the more southern part of the East Village. And, there's not a ton to do. And, the buildings are pretty ugly for the most part.
The corner of 3rd and 13th boasts a massive Kiehl's store and a cool looking bar / restaurant that I've wanted to try since it has opened but still haven't. And, I can't remember its name. The rest of the block heading east is kind of bizarre because of two things: there is an abandoned brownstone on the south side of the street and an abandoned plot of land almost directly across from it. The lot used to house the Jefferson Theatre which was a famous vaudeville theatre around 1915. It was demolished in the 90's and nothing has replaced it. This is prime real estate so I find both of those vacant spaces to be very unusual. 249 1/2 East 13th is a really cute little building that looks so out of place next to the others and I'm sure is insanely expensive. One of the Momofukus is on the corner of 13th and 2nd. They're all incredibly famous and aside from the Crack Pie at Momofuku Milk bar, I don't get the hype. They're ok but I prefer Ippudo to this particular Momofuku.
2nd Ave at 13th was the site of the public hanging of John Johnson in 1824. Apparently one third of New York's population came out to watch the festivities which I think is crazy. It was around 50,000 people. The east corner of 13th and 2nd houses the Ear and Throat Infirmary which is the oldest specialized hospital in the Western hemisphere. It was founded in 1820 and the building is really cool looking but a little scary for a hospital in my opinion. The rest of the block has a lot of crime-ridden history. 324 was the address of an insurance scam murder and 354 is the address where Guiseppe Varotta was kidnapped and killed by gang members in 1921. One of the kidnappers lived across the street at what is now a bar called The Redhead. 428 E 13th is where Maria Barbella slit her boyfriends throat in 1895 and was almost the first woman to die by capital punishment. She was saved by public outcry. And, the corner of 13th and A is where the head of the Gambino crime family was gunned down in 1928. This, obviously, used to be a really bad neighborhood. But, now, it's really trendy. . . . typical New York fairy tale story.
506 E 13th (at Ave A) is the address where a coworker of my close friend lived when she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by two police officers a few years ago. They were both acquitted though the surveillance camera of the downstairs bar caught them entering her home on camera. I'm not kidding when I say that neighborhoods can turn around here really quickly. 13th is pretty safe now, but I wouldn't really go east of Ave A on this street. The rest of the blocks are tenements, the Con Ed plant and other somewhat unsafe buildings.