The East Village, the beating heart of which lies between Cooper Square and Second Avenue, is the city's funky neighbourhood, with its painted doors, psychedelic second-hand clothes shops and Oriental massage parlours. It may no longer be a hotbed of counterculture, but it remains a cultural melting pot. The end of an era is in the air, as more moneyed residents move in. The 19C brownstones have received a facelift, and prices have skyrocketed accordingly.