East River Tattoo

Apparently they call my man Rob "Discount Duke," but I sure as shit can't tell the difference between Rob's work and the stuff the master inks. I highly recommend Rob for first, second, third or any tattoo hereafter. The man loves to ink and it shows in every line.

So until now, I didn't even have a yelp account..whilst I find yelp useful, I've never  liked or disliked something enough to start an account. Well, as of yesterday, that changed. I walked in and made an appointment for about 3 days later, then I realized the only day I could book my flight home to Los Angeles was on the same day and around the same time as my appt. I made this appt with Sue(think a gothic version of Susie Homemaker) anyway she seemed cool. Anyway I call back the next day and ask to move my appt to early in the afternoon to 1pm she says she booked but she'll make set it up for someone named Rob. Ok cool. So I show up, Sue isn't there, I wait for about 20 mins someone else comes in for Sue but she's still not there. Come to find out this Rob guy isn't even working that day, and Sue calls in to say she won't be there until 3pm all the while there are 3 people waiting for her(no don't worry, no one has anything to do that day). I asked the few people in there what the deal is..and I get shoulder shrugs. I guess professionalism doesn't exist at the uber hipster shitshack that is East River Tattoo. Needless to say I left, won't be back. If you're lookin to get a tat done remember you're in NYC there are plenty of places who will actually give a damn to remember to set up your appt and/or show up on time!

I got my second tattoo here about 5 months ago. My boyfriend was living in Brooklyn then so he was able to go in and get a consultation for me. I have long been an admirer of Duke Riley's artwork and his intricate, woodcut style of tattooing, so I wanted him to do my tattoo. I wanted a shell of a fossil gastropod (...neeeeeeeerrd...), and I only had an image of what it looks like from a scientific paper,  which we gave to him to sketch out in his own style. The detail he did on my arm is incredible, the lines are crisp and clean. It healed beautifully in a matter of days, which was important because I was headed to Africa a week later and did NOT want to develop a mysterious skin infection on my trip. No complications whatsoever.

I'd say that the price was a bit steep (especially for a student like me), but honestly, why would price be a concern for permanent body art? If I didn't live so far from NYC I'd have all my tattoos done here.