A Ukrainian legend tucked away in the East Village.

I've recently become a fan of walking 6th Street to work. It's quiet, frozen yogurt free, and because of this blog it offers new quirks to catch on (digital) film. Today I noticed the "no ball playing" sign on a building and grabbed a quick (albeit somewhat blurry) picture. I turned around and noticed the labeled side street connecting 6th with 7th. Who the heck is Taras Schejkjcakcn? I wondered. Determined to do research later, I discovered that Taras Shevchenko was the man who laid the foundation for modern Ukrainian literature. He was a poet, humanist and artist. He's on Ukraine's money, has countless streets named after him and monuments in his honor. The Shevchenko Scientific Society is around the corner. Pretty important dude, no?

Taras would be happy to know that although his street is not the most traveled strip in the Ukrainian dominated East Village, it leads to an old timer's watering hole. Cheers, good sir.