7th St Between Ave A and 1st Ave

This block, ostensibly an off-ramp for Alphabet City – carrying you back to the center of the island, is filled with lots of small shops and restaurants. Shoulder to shoulder with churches and apartments, there's still a lot of character on this street despite the neighborhood's recent development.

Something I was struck by was the Peter Jarema Funeral Home in the middle of the stretch, which felt out-of-place amongst the bars and boutiques. The sign/awning hanging out over the sidewalk felt decidedly sixties, though seemed to be in good condition.

With things like an arepa bar directly across from a locally-own hardware store, it's like watching a culture war between the old and the new, as one tries to push the other out.