Highlights of the collection include:
* A full print run of all 72 issues of the East Village Eye in pristine condition (no other public institution possesses a complete print run of the periodical);
* Extensive administrative records and founding business documents for the magazine, including correspondence with staff, contributors, advertisers, and readers over the course of the Eye’s eight-year run;
* Founder Leonard Abrams’s handwritten pocket planners showing his relationship with artists, musicians, businesses, and writers across the neighborhood and beyond;
* Promotional materials created by the Eye, including maps and guides of the East Village and invitations and flyers for Eye-affiliated parties, openings, and events;
* A rich collection of photography of the downtown scene by a roster of acclaimed photographers employed or engaged by the Eye, including Marcia Resnick, Eric Kroll, Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, and others;
* Candid and behind-the-scenes snapshots of Abrams and the Eye staff and contributors at work and as participants in the neighborhood’s vibrant nightlife;
* A significant collection of original art, mixed-media collages, and comic-strip panels by artists including Lynda Barry, Tuli Kupferberg, Joseph Nechvatal, Melora Walters, and others.
“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. 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,” said Leonard Abrams, founder and editor-in-chief of the newspaper.“The paper covers a time when it wasn't always easy to love New York City, but we always knew how important it was to bring these voices to the public and to preserve them.”
