This Valentine’s Day, The Local is celebrating East Village couples. We’ve heard the stories of Doug and Bryan, James and Veronica, and Jimmy and Lexi. Today: meet Chris and Dan.

In 2007, Daniel Altman began dating his boss, jewelry designer and East Village resident Chris Habana. He worked as Chris’s assistant (and eventually moved in with him) during the two years they were a couple. Watch The Local’s video to hear how the old adage about mixing business with pleasure eventually proved true, and why Dan, 27, decided to keep working with Chris, 37, after their romantic relationship faded.

So you’ve decided to spoil your guy with a Valentine’s Day gift. But what do you get the man who has everything he needs (four shirts, two pairs of jeans, one pair of khakis and a toothbrush)? The Local’s Boutique Freak scoured the neighborhood’s shops to find out.

With fresh flowers in bodegas, chocolates displayed prominently on grocery and drug stores shelves, and red and pink hearts in store windows, love has certainly been in the air in the week or so leading up to Valentine’s Day.

So we here at The Local were curious to see how people in the East Village were going to spend the most romantic day of the year – or, at least, the day of the year most frequently referred to as romantic. So we took to the streets to ask a few questions. And we found that you don’t have to go out on a traditional date, or even be in a relationship, to enjoy the year’s most amorous holiday.