Lower East Side
Encyclopedia
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City
borough
of Manhattan
. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street
, Eldridge Street, East Broadway
, and Grand Street
.
It was traditionally an immigrant, working class
neighborhood. But it has undergone rapid gentrification
in recent years, prompting The National Trust for Historic Preservation to place the neighborhood on their list of America's Most Endangered Places
. It is now home to upscale boutiques, and to trendy dining establishments along its Clinton Street restaurant row.
(which extends north to roughly Grand Street), in the west by NoLIta
and in the north by East Village
.
Politically it's located in New York's 8th
, 12th
and 14th
congressional districts, the New York State Assembly
's 64th district, the New York State Senate
's 25th district, and New York City Council
's 1st and 2nd district.
from about the Manhattan Bridge
and Canal Street
up to 14th Street
, and roughly bounded on the west by Broadway
. It included areas known today as East Village
, Alphabet City
, Chinatown
, Bowery, Little Italy
, and NoLIta.
The exact western and southern boundaries of the neighborhood are a matter of perspective – New York natives and long-time neighborhood residents, especially the Puerto Rican and black community, and the Jewish community, don't have East Village
in their vocabulary, and refer to it as the Lower East Side. The so-called debate about naming conventions typically only applies to the post-gentrification crowd. Most recent arrivals to the area, including new visitors and residents prefer to call the area north of Houston Street the East Village
– a name not coined until around 1960.
Although the term today refers to the area bounded to the north by East Houston Street, parts of the East Village are still known as Loisaida
, a Latino
pronunciation of "Lower East Side." Avenue C is known directly as "Loisaida
" and is home to the Loisaida Festival every summer.
leading from the city (The Bowery
) survives in the name of Delancey Street and, dimly, in Orchard Street
. On the modern map of Manhattan the Delancey farm is represented in the grid of streets from Division Street north to Houston Street. In response to the pressure of a growing city, Delancey began to survey streets in the southern part of the "West Farm" in the 1760s. A spacious projected Delancey Square intended to cover the area within today's Eldridge, Essex, Hester and Broome Streets, was eliminated when the Loyalist Delanceys' property was confiscated after the Revolution. The city Commissioners of Forfeiture eliminated the aristocratic planned square for a grid, effacing Delancey's vision of a New York laid out like the West End of London
and establishing the resolutely democratic nature of the neighborhood forever.
, Nechtans or Nechtanc. Corlaer sold the plantation to Wilhelmus Hendrickse Beekman (1623–1707) founder of the Beekman family of New York; his son Gerardus Beekman
was christened at the plantation, August 17, 1653. The projection into the East River that retained Corlaer's name was an important landmark for navigators for 300 years. On older maps and documents it is usually spelled 'Corlaers' Hook, but since the early 19th century the spelling has been anglicized to Corlears. The rough unplanned settlement that developed at Corlaer's Hook under the British occupation of New York during the Revolution was separated from the densely populated city by rough hills of glacial till: "this region lay beyond the city proper, from which it was separated by high, uncultivated, and rough hills", observers recalled in 1843 As early as 1816 Corlaer's Hook was notorious for streetwalkers
, "a resort for the lewd and abandoned of both sexes", and in 1821 its "streets abounding every night with preconcerted groups of thieves and prostitutes" were noted by the "Christian Herald" In the course of the 19th century they came to be called hookers
. In the summer of cholera
in New York, 1832, a two-storey wooden workshop was commandeered to serve as a makeshift cholera hospital; between July 18 and September 15 when the hospital was closed, as the cholera wound down, 281 patients were admitted, both black and white, of whom 93 died.
The original location of Corlears Hook is now obscured by shoreline landfill. It was near the east end of the present pedestrian bridge over the FDR Drive
near Cherry Street
. The name is preserved in Corlear's Hook Park at the intersection of Jackson and Cherry Streets
along the East River Drive.
One of the oldest neighborhoods of the city, the Lower East Side has long been a lower-class worker neighborhood and often a poor and ethnically diverse section of New York. As well as Irish
, Italians, Poles
, Ukrainians
, and other ethnic groups, it once had a sizeable German
population and known as Little Germany (Kleindeutschland). Today it is a predominantly Puerto Rican
and Dominican
community, and in the process of gentrification
(as documented by the portraits of its residents in the Clinton+Rivington chapter of The Corners Project.)
The Lower East Side is perhaps best known as having once been a center of Jewish
culture. In her 2000 book Lower East Side memories: A Jewish place in America, Hasia Diner
explains that the Lower East Side is especially remembered as a place of Jewish beginnings in contemporary American Jewish culture. Vestiges of the area's Jewish heritage exist in shops on Hester Street and Essex Street
and on Grand Street
near Pike. There is still an Orthodox Jewish community with yeshiva
day schools and a mikvah
. A few Judaica shops can be found along Essex Street and a few Jewish scribes and variety stores. Some kosher delis and bakeries as well as a few "kosher style" delis, including the famous Katz's Deli, are located in the neighborhood. Downtown Second Avenue on the Lower East Side was the home to many Yiddish theatre
productions during the early part of the 20th century, and Second Avenue came to be known as 'Yiddish Broadway', though most of the theaters are gone. Songwriter Irving Berlin
, actor John Garfield
and singer Eddie Cantor
grew up here. More recently, it has been settled by immigrants, primarily from Latin America
.
In what is now the East Village
, the earlier population of Poles
and Ukrainians
has been largely supplanted with newer immigrants, and the arrival of large numbers of Japan
ese people over the last fifteen years or so has led to the proliferation of Japanese
restaurants and specialty food markets. There is also a notable population of Bangladesh
is and other immigrants from Muslim
countries, many of whom are congregants of the small Madina Masjid (Mosque
), located on First Avenue
and 11th Street.
The neighborhood also presents many historic synagogues, such as the Bialystoker Synagogue
, Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, the Eldridge Street Synagogue
, Kehila Kedosha Janina
(the only Greek synagogue in the Western Hemisphere), the Angel Orensanz Center
, the fourth oldest synagogue building
in the United States, and various smaller synagogues along East Broadway. Another landmark, the First Roumanian-American congregation (the Rivington Street synagogue) partially collapsed in 2006, and was subsequently demolished. In addition, there is a major Hare Krishna
temple
and several Buddhist houses of worship.
The Bowery
, named by the Dutch
settlers de Bouwerij(Farm), is the home of the Christian Herald Association's faith-based organization known as The Bowery Mission, historically serving the down-and-out since it was founded in 1879. Another notable landmark on the Bowery was CBGB
, a nightclub
that presented live music—including some of the most famous figures in rock 'n roll like Ramones and Blondie—from 1973 until it closed on October 15, 2006. A bit further north and east is McSorley's Old Ale House
, a well known Irish
bar that opened its doors in 1854.
Incoming Chinese
people have also made their mark on the Lower East Side in recent decades. The part of the neighborhood south of Delancey Street
and west of Allen Street
has in large measure become part of Chinatown
, and Grand Street
is one of the major business and shopping streets of Chinatown. Also contained within the neighborhood are strips of lighting
and restaurant supply shops on the Bowery.
in San Francisco holds a special place in the imagination of Chinese Americans, and Astoria
in the hearts of Greek Americans. In the late twentieth century, the strong pull of the Lower East Side on the imagination of American Jews led to the preservation of a number of buildings associated with the Jewish immigrant community.
The East Village
was once considered the Lower East Side's northwest corner. However, in the 1960s, the demographics of the area above Houston Street began to change, as hippies, musicians and artists moved in. Newcomers and real estate brokers popularized the East Village name, and the term was adopted by the popular media by the mid-1960s. As the East Village developed a culture separate from the rest of the Lower East Side, the two areas came to be seen as two separate neighborhoods rather than the former being part of the latter.
In the early 2000s, the gentrification of the East Village spread to the Lower East Side, making it one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Manhattan. Orchard Street
, despite its "Bargain District" moniker, is now lined with upscale and boutiques.
Similarly, trendy restaurants, including Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant
, wd~50
, Cube 63, and Falai are found on a stretch of tree-lined Clinton Street that The New York Magazine described as the "hippest restaurant row" in the Lower East Side.
In 2006, a 32-unit, 16 story luxury condominium was completed on Norfolk just north of Delancey, the design of which starkly contrasts with the surrounding neighborhood. Following the construction of the Hotel on Rivington one block away, several luxury condominiums around Houston, and the New Museum on the Bowery this new wave of construction is another sign that the gentrification cycle is entering a high-luxury phase similar to SoHo
and Nolita in the previous decade.
More recently, the gentrification that was previously confined to north of Delancey Street continued south. Several restaurants, bars, and galleries opened below Delancey Street after 2005, especially around the intersection of Broome and Orchard Streets. The neighborhood's second boutique hotel, Blue Moon Hotel, opened on Orchard Street just south of Delancey Street in early 2006. However, unlike The Hotel on Rivington, the Blue Moon used an existing tenement building, and its exterior is almost identical to neighboring buildings.
and middle
schools are charter schools, including Girls Prep
for girls with a goal of graduating from college.
Lower East Side Preparatory High School is a second-chance school
that enables students, aged 17–21, to obtain their high school diploma
s. It is a bilingual
Chinese
-English school with a high proportion of Asian students.
galleries. One of the very first was ABC No Rio
. Begun by a group of Colab
no wave
artists (some living on Ludlow Street), ABC No Rio opened an outsider gallery space that invited community participation and encouraged the widespread production of art. Taking an activist approach to art that grew out of The Real Estate Show (the take over of an abandoned building by artists to open an outsider gallery only to have it chained closed by the police) ABC No Rio kept its sense of activism
, community, and outsiderness. The product of this open, expansive approach to art was a space for creating new works that did not have links to the art market place and that were able to explore new artistic possibilities.
Other outsider galleries sprung up throughout the Lower East Side and East Village, Manhattan
-some 200 at the height of the scene in the 1980s. In December 2007, the New Museum relocated to a brand-new, critically acclaimed building on the Bowery at Prince. A growing number of galleries are opening in the Bowery neighborhood to be in close proximity to the museum.
and Essex between Rivington Street and Stanton Street have become especially packed at night, and the resulting noise is a cause of tension between bar owners and longtime residents.
Also, the Lower East Side is home to many live music venues. Punk bands play at C-Squat
and alternative rock
bands play at Bowery Ballroom
on Delancey Street and Mercury Lounge
on East Houston Street, while lesser known bands played at Tonic (which closed on April 13, 2007) on Norfolk Street and Rothko
(now closed) on Suffolk Street. There are also bars that offer performance space, such as Pianos, the Living Room and Cake Shop on Ludlow Street and Arlene's Grocery
on Stanton Street.
Novels
Songs
Bands
Plays
Films
Television
Video games
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street
Canal Street (Manhattan)
Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...
, Eldridge Street, East Broadway
East Broadway (Manhattan)
East Broadway is a two-way east-west street in the Chinatown and Lower East Side neighborhoods of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Broadway begins at Chatham Square and runs eastward under the Manhattan Bridge, continues past Seward Park and the eastern end of Canal Street, and ends...
, and Grand Street
Grand Street (Manhattan)
Grand Street is a street in Manhattan, New York City. It runs east-west parallel to and south of Delancey Street, from SoHo through Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side to the East River....
.
It was traditionally an immigrant, working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
neighborhood. But it has undergone rapid gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
in recent years, prompting The National Trust for Historic Preservation to place the neighborhood on their list of America's Most Endangered Places
America's Most Endangered Places
Each year since 1987, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has released a list of places they consider the most endangered in America. The number of sites included on the list has varied, with the most recent lists settling on 11...
. It is now home to upscale boutiques, and to trendy dining establishments along its Clinton Street restaurant row.
Boundaries
Current boundaries
The Lower East side, LES, is bordered in the south and west by ChinatownChinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
(which extends north to roughly Grand Street), in the west by NoLIta
NoLIta, Manhattan
Nolita, sometimes written as NoLIta, and deriving from "NOrth of Little ITAly"., is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. Nolita is bounded on the north by Houston Street, on the east by the Bowery, on the south roughly by Broome Street, and on the west by Lafayette Street...
and in the north by East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
.
Politically it's located in New York's 8th
New York's 8th congressional district
New York's Eighth Congressional District for the United States House of Representatives in New York City. It is split into two sections. The northern portion of it includes most of Manhattan's Upper West Side, and continues south to include most parts of Hell's Kitchen, East Village, Chelsea, SoHo,...
, 12th
New York's 12th congressional district
New York's 12th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City. It includes parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan...
and 14th
New York's 14th congressional district
New York's 14th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City. It includes most of the East Side of Manhattan, all of Roosevelt Island and the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, and Sunnyside in Queens...
congressional districts, the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
's 64th district, the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
's 25th district, and New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
's 1st and 2nd district.
Historical boundaries
Originally, "Lower East Side", LES, referred to the area alongside the East RiverEast River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
from about the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
and Canal Street
Canal Street (Manhattan)
Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...
up to 14th Street
14th Street (Manhattan)
14th Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The street rivals the size of some of the well-known avenues of the city and is an important business location....
, and roughly bounded on the west by Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
. It included areas known today as East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
, Alphabet City
Alphabet City, Manhattan
Alphabet City is a neighborhood located within the Lower East Side and East Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is also known as Loisaida, a Spanglish adaptation of 'Lower East Side'. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter...
, Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
, Bowery, Little Italy
Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian stores and restaurants.-Historical area:...
, and NoLIta.
The exact western and southern boundaries of the neighborhood are a matter of perspective – New York natives and long-time neighborhood residents, especially the Puerto Rican and black community, and the Jewish community, don't have East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
in their vocabulary, and refer to it as the Lower East Side. The so-called debate about naming conventions typically only applies to the post-gentrification crowd. Most recent arrivals to the area, including new visitors and residents prefer to call the area north of Houston Street the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
– a name not coined until around 1960.
Although the term today refers to the area bounded to the north by East Houston Street, parts of the East Village are still known as Loisaida
Loisaida
Loisaida is a term derived from the Latino pronunciation of "Lower East Side", a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The term was originally coined by poet/activist Bittman "Bimbo" Rivas in his 1974 poem "Loisaida"...
, a Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
pronunciation of "Lower East Side." Avenue C is known directly as "Loisaida
Loisaida
Loisaida is a term derived from the Latino pronunciation of "Lower East Side", a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. The term was originally coined by poet/activist Bittman "Bimbo" Rivas in his 1974 poem "Loisaida"...
" and is home to the Loisaida Festival every summer.
Delancey farm
The pre-Revolutionary farm of James Delancey to the east of the post roadBoston Post Road
The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York City and Boston, Massachusetts that evolved into the first major highways in the United States.The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road The Boston Post Road was a system of mail-delivery routes between New York...
leading from the city (The Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
) survives in the name of Delancey Street and, dimly, in Orchard Street
Orchard Street (Manhattan)
Orchard Street is a street in Manhattan which covers the eight city blocks between Division Street in Chinatown and East Houston Street on the Lower East Side...
. On the modern map of Manhattan the Delancey farm is represented in the grid of streets from Division Street north to Houston Street. In response to the pressure of a growing city, Delancey began to survey streets in the southern part of the "West Farm" in the 1760s. A spacious projected Delancey Square intended to cover the area within today's Eldridge, Essex, Hester and Broome Streets, was eliminated when the Loyalist Delanceys' property was confiscated after the Revolution. The city Commissioners of Forfeiture eliminated the aristocratic planned square for a grid, effacing Delancey's vision of a New York laid out like the West End of London
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
and establishing the resolutely democratic nature of the neighborhood forever.
Corlear's Hook
This point of land on the East River was also called Corlaers Hook under Dutch and British rule, and briefly Crown Point during British occupation during the Revolution. It was named after the schoolmaster Jacobus van Corlaer, who settled on this "plantation" that in 1638 was called by a Europeanized version of its Lenape nameLenape language
The Delaware languages, also known as the Lenape languages, are Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family...
, Nechtans or Nechtanc. Corlaer sold the plantation to Wilhelmus Hendrickse Beekman (1623–1707) founder of the Beekman family of New York; his son Gerardus Beekman
Gerardus Beekman
Gerardus Willemse Beekman was a colonial governor of the Province of New York. He was a physician and a wealthy land owner in New York City...
was christened at the plantation, August 17, 1653. The projection into the East River that retained Corlaer's name was an important landmark for navigators for 300 years. On older maps and documents it is usually spelled 'Corlaers' Hook, but since the early 19th century the spelling has been anglicized to Corlears. The rough unplanned settlement that developed at Corlaer's Hook under the British occupation of New York during the Revolution was separated from the densely populated city by rough hills of glacial till: "this region lay beyond the city proper, from which it was separated by high, uncultivated, and rough hills", observers recalled in 1843 As early as 1816 Corlaer's Hook was notorious for streetwalkers
Street prostitution
Street prostitution is a form of prostitution in which a sex worker solicits customers from a public place, most commonly a street, while waiting at street corners or walking alongside a street, but also other public places such as parks, beaches, etc. The street prostitute is often dressed in a...
, "a resort for the lewd and abandoned of both sexes", and in 1821 its "streets abounding every night with preconcerted groups of thieves and prostitutes" were noted by the "Christian Herald" In the course of the 19th century they came to be called hookers
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. In the summer of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
in New York, 1832, a two-storey wooden workshop was commandeered to serve as a makeshift cholera hospital; between July 18 and September 15 when the hospital was closed, as the cholera wound down, 281 patients were admitted, both black and white, of whom 93 died.
The original location of Corlears Hook is now obscured by shoreline landfill. It was near the east end of the present pedestrian bridge over the FDR Drive
Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive
The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive is a freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
near Cherry Street
Cherry Street (Manhattan)
Cherry Street, is a one-way street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It currently has two sections, mostly running along parks, public housing, co-op buildings, tenements, and crossing underneath the Manhattan Bridge overpass....
. The name is preserved in Corlear's Hook Park at the intersection of Jackson and Cherry Streets
Cherry Street (Manhattan)
Cherry Street, is a one-way street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It currently has two sections, mostly running along parks, public housing, co-op buildings, tenements, and crossing underneath the Manhattan Bridge overpass....
along the East River Drive.
The Lower East Side as an immigrant neighborhood
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Italians, Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
, Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, and other ethnic groups, it once had a sizeable German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
population and known as Little Germany (Kleindeutschland). Today it is a predominantly Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Dominican
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
community, and in the process of gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
(as documented by the portraits of its residents in the Clinton+Rivington chapter of The Corners Project.)
The Lower East Side is perhaps best known as having once been a center of Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
culture. In her 2000 book Lower East Side memories: A Jewish place in America, Hasia Diner
Hasia Diner
Hasia Diner is an American historian. Diner is the Paul S. and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History; Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, History; and Director of the Goldstein-Goren Center for American Jewish History at New York University.Diner received her Ph.D., 1976,...
explains that the Lower East Side is especially remembered as a place of Jewish beginnings in contemporary American Jewish culture. Vestiges of the area's Jewish heritage exist in shops on Hester Street and Essex Street
Essex Street (Manhattan)
Essex Street is a north-south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Houston Street, the street becomes Avenue A, and south of Canal Street it becomes Rutgers Street....
and on Grand Street
Grand Street (Manhattan)
Grand Street is a street in Manhattan, New York City. It runs east-west parallel to and south of Delancey Street, from SoHo through Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side to the East River....
near Pike. There is still an Orthodox Jewish community with yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
day schools and a mikvah
Mikvah
Mikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...
. A few Judaica shops can be found along Essex Street and a few Jewish scribes and variety stores. Some kosher delis and bakeries as well as a few "kosher style" delis, including the famous Katz's Deli, are located in the neighborhood. Downtown Second Avenue on the Lower East Side was the home to many Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre
Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; naturalist drama; expressionist and...
productions during the early part of the 20th century, and Second Avenue came to be known as 'Yiddish Broadway', though most of the theaters are gone. Songwriter Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
, actor John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
and singer Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
grew up here. More recently, it has been settled by immigrants, primarily from Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
.
In what is now the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
, the earlier population of Poles
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Ukrainians
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
has been largely supplanted with newer immigrants, and the arrival of large numbers of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese people over the last fifteen years or so has led to the proliferation of Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
restaurants and specialty food markets. There is also a notable population of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
is and other immigrants from Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
countries, many of whom are congregants of the small Madina Masjid (Mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
), located on First Avenue
First Avenue (Manhattan)
First Avenue is a north-south thoroughfare on the East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, running from Houston Street northbound for over 125 blocks before terminating at the Willis Avenue Bridge into The Bronx at the Harlem River near East 127th Street. South of Houston Street, the...
and 11th Street.
The neighborhood also presents many historic synagogues, such as the Bialystoker Synagogue
Bialystoker Synagogue
The Bialystoker Synagogue at 7-11 Willett Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York State is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue...
, Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, the Eldridge Street Synagogue
Eldridge Street Synagogue
The Eldridge Street Synagogue, built in 1887, is National Historic Landmark synagogue on Manhattan's Lower East Side.-History:The Eldridge Street Synagogue is the first synagogue erected in the United States by Eastern European Jews. One of the founders was Rabbi Eliahu the Blessed , formerly the...
, Kehila Kedosha Janina
Kehila Kedosha Janina
Kehila Kedosha Janina is a Romaniote synagogue situated in Chinatown, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City.-History:Kehila Kedosha Janina holds the distinction of being the only Romaniote synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. The congregation was founded in 1906 by Greek Jewish...
(the only Greek synagogue in the Western Hemisphere), the Angel Orensanz Center
Angel Orensanz Center
The Angel Orensanz Center is located at 172 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side of New York City, New York...
, the fourth oldest synagogue building
Oldest synagogues in the United States
The designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...
in the United States, and various smaller synagogues along East Broadway. Another landmark, the First Roumanian-American congregation (the Rivington Street synagogue) partially collapsed in 2006, and was subsequently demolished. In addition, there is a major Hare Krishna
International Society for Krishna Consciousness
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness , known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava religious organization. It was founded in 1966 in New York City by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada...
temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
and several Buddhist houses of worship.
The Bowery
Bowery
Bowery may refer to:Streets:* The Bowery, a thoroughfare in Manhattan, New York City* Bowery Street is a street on Coney Island in Brooklyn, N.Y.In popular culture:* Bowery Amphitheatre, a building on the Bowery in New York City...
, named by the Dutch
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
settlers de Bouwerij(Farm), is the home of the Christian Herald Association's faith-based organization known as The Bowery Mission, historically serving the down-and-out since it was founded in 1879. Another notable landmark on the Bowery was CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
, a nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
that presented live music—including some of the most famous figures in rock 'n roll like Ramones and Blondie—from 1973 until it closed on October 15, 2006. A bit further north and east is McSorley's Old Ale House
McSorley's Old Ale House
McSorley's Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley's, is the oldest "Irish" tavern in New York City. Located at 15 East 7th Street in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, it was one of the last of the "Men Only" pubs, only admitting women after legally being forced to do so in 1970.The...
, a well known Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
bar that opened its doors in 1854.
Incoming Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
people have also made their mark on the Lower East Side in recent decades. The part of the neighborhood south of Delancey Street
Delancey Street (Manhattan)
Delancey Street is one of the main thoroughfares of Manhattan's Lower East Side, running east from the Bowery to connect to the Williamsburg Bridge to Brooklyn. It is an eight-lane, median-divided street....
and west of Allen Street
Allen Street (Manhattan)
Allen Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan which runs north-south through the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of Chinatown, and the Lower East Side. It is continued north of Houston Street as First Avenue, and south of Canal Street by Division Street and Pike Street. ...
has in large measure become part of Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
, and Grand Street
Grand Street (Manhattan)
Grand Street is a street in Manhattan, New York City. It runs east-west parallel to and south of Delancey Street, from SoHo through Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side to the East River....
is one of the major business and shopping streets of Chinatown. Also contained within the neighborhood are strips of lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
and restaurant supply shops on the Bowery.
The Jewish Lower East Side
While the Lower East Side has seen a series of immigrant communities pass through, American Jews relate to the neighborhood in a particularly strong manner, much as ChinatownChinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
in San Francisco holds a special place in the imagination of Chinese Americans, and Astoria
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
in the hearts of Greek Americans. In the late twentieth century, the strong pull of the Lower East Side on the imagination of American Jews led to the preservation of a number of buildings associated with the Jewish immigrant community.
Landmarks of the Jewish Lower East Side
- The Educational AllianceThe Educational AllianceThe Educational Alliance has been serving Downtown Manhattan since 1889.Founded as a partnership between the Aguilar Free Library, the Young Men's Hebrew Association , and the Hebrew Institute, the main purpose was to serve as a settlement house for Eastern European Jews immigrating to New York...
Settlement house – 175 East Broadway at Jefferson Street - Henry Street SettlementHenry Street SettlementThe Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded in 1893 by Progressive reformer Lillian Wald.The...
– 263–267 Henry Street and 466 Grand Street - University Settlement HouseUniversity Settlement HouseUniversity Settlement Society of New York is located at 184 Eldridge Street on New York's Lower East Side...
184 Eldridge Street - Katz's DeliKatz's DeliKatz's Delicatessen, also known as simply Katz's of New York City, is a kosher-style delicatessen restaurant located at 205 E...
– 205 E. Houston Street - Guss' PicklesGuss' PicklesGuss' Pickles was founded by a Polish immigrant, Isidor Guss. Guss arrived in New York in 1910, and like hundreds of thousands of other Jewish immigrants, settled in the Lower East Side. Clustered in the "pickle district" of Essex and Ludlow streets, early 20th century pickle vendors gave birth to...
– 87 Orchard Street - Kossar's BialysKossar's BialysKossar's Bialys on the Lower East Side, Manhattan is the oldest bialy bakery in the United States.-Background:...
– 367 Grand Street - Gertle's Bake ShopGertle's Bake ShopGertle's Bake Shop was a legendary Jewish Bake Shop on New Yorks Lower East Side. Located at 53 Hester Street, Gertle's Bake Shop operated from the late 19th century until it closed on June 21, 2007 . Recently another branch of the store has been opened on New York's Upper East Side....
– 53 Hester Street- Moved to Brooklyn, opened as a Catering business - Knickerbocker VillageKnickerbocker VillageKnickerbocker Village Limited is a lower-middle class housing development located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City.-Location:...
– 10 Monroe Street - Streit Matzo Co. – 150 Rivington Street
- Yonah Shimmel's Knish BakeryYonah Shimmel's Knish BakeryYonah Shimmel's Knish Bakery is a bakery that has been selling knishes on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan since 1890 from its original location on Houston Street...
– 137 E. Houston Street - Russ & DaughtersRuss & DaughtersRuss & Daughters is an appetizing store opened in 1914. It is located at 179. E. Houston Street, on New York's Lower East Side.Since 1914, this landmark New York institution has been continuously owned and operated by four generations of the Russ family...
– 179 E. Houston Street - Schapiro's Kosher Wine – Essex Street Market
Synagogues
- Bialystoker SynagogueBialystoker SynagogueThe Bialystoker Synagogue at 7-11 Willett Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York State is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue...
– 7–11 Willet Street - Beth Hamedrash Hagadol – 60–64 Norfolk Street
- Eldridge Street SynagogueEldridge Street SynagogueThe Eldridge Street Synagogue, built in 1887, is National Historic Landmark synagogue on Manhattan's Lower East Side.-History:The Eldridge Street Synagogue is the first synagogue erected in the United States by Eastern European Jews. One of the founders was Rabbi Eliahu the Blessed , formerly the...
– 12 Eldridge Street - Kehila Kedosha JaninaKehila Kedosha JaninaKehila Kedosha Janina is a Romaniote synagogue situated in Chinatown, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City.-History:Kehila Kedosha Janina holds the distinction of being the only Romaniote synagogue in the Western Hemisphere. The congregation was founded in 1906 by Greek Jewish...
– 280 Broome Street - Angel Orensanz CenterAngel Orensanz CenterThe Angel Orensanz Center is located at 172 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side of New York City, New York...
– the fourth-oldest synagogue buildingOldest synagogues in the United StatesThe designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...
in the United States. - Congregation Chasam SopherCongregation Chasam SopherCongregation Chasam Sopher is an Orthodox synagogue located at 10 Clinton Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.It was formed in 1892 by the merger of two congregations of immigrants from Poland. It occupies an historic Romanesque Revival synagogue building built in 1853 by Congregation...
- Meseritz SynagogueMeseritz SynagogueMeseritz Shul, AKA Edath Lei'Isroel Ansche Meseritz, is a 1910 Orthodox synagogue on New York city's Lower East Side. It was built by a congregation established in 1888 consisting of immigrants from Międzyrzec Podlaski . The synagogue is located at 415 East 6th Street...
- Stanton Street SynagogueStanton Street SynagogueThe Stanton Street Synagogue, also known as Stanton Street Shul, Congregation Bnai Jacob Anschei Brzezan, or Congregation Bnai Joseph Anschei Brzezan, is a historic synagogue located on Manhattan's Lower East Side....
- BoyanerBoyan (Hasidic dynasty)Boyan is a Hasidic dynasty named after the town of Boiany in the Ukraine. The Hasidut is presently headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel, with communities in Beitar Ilit, Bnei Brak, London, Antwerp, Brooklyn, and Monsey, New York.-First Boyaner Rebbe:...
kloiz at 247 East Broadway, opened in 1928 by the Boyaner Rebbe of New YorkMordechai Shlomo FriedmanMordechai Shlomo Friedman , sometimes called Solomon Mordecai Friedman, was the Boyaner Rebbe of New York for over 40 years...
East Village split and gentrification
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
was once considered the Lower East Side's northwest corner. However, in the 1960s, the demographics of the area above Houston Street began to change, as hippies, musicians and artists moved in. Newcomers and real estate brokers popularized the East Village name, and the term was adopted by the popular media by the mid-1960s. As the East Village developed a culture separate from the rest of the Lower East Side, the two areas came to be seen as two separate neighborhoods rather than the former being part of the latter.
In the early 2000s, the gentrification of the East Village spread to the Lower East Side, making it one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Manhattan. Orchard Street
Orchard Street (Manhattan)
Orchard Street is a street in Manhattan which covers the eight city blocks between Division Street in Chinatown and East Houston Street on the Lower East Side...
, despite its "Bargain District" moniker, is now lined with upscale and boutiques.
Similarly, trendy restaurants, including Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant
Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant
Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant is an American bakery and restaurant. It is located at 4 Clinton Street , on the Lower East Side in New York City....
, wd~50
Wd~50
wd~50 is a New York City molecular gastronomy restaurant opened in 2003 by chef Wylie Dufresne, It is located in the Lower East Side and was listed among the S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants for 2010. In 2006 the restaurant received a Michelin star in the New York City guide, and has held...
, Cube 63, and Falai are found on a stretch of tree-lined Clinton Street that The New York Magazine described as the "hippest restaurant row" in the Lower East Side.
In 2006, a 32-unit, 16 story luxury condominium was completed on Norfolk just north of Delancey, the design of which starkly contrasts with the surrounding neighborhood. Following the construction of the Hotel on Rivington one block away, several luxury condominiums around Houston, and the New Museum on the Bowery this new wave of construction is another sign that the gentrification cycle is entering a high-luxury phase similar to SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
and Nolita in the previous decade.
More recently, the gentrification that was previously confined to north of Delancey Street continued south. Several restaurants, bars, and galleries opened below Delancey Street after 2005, especially around the intersection of Broome and Orchard Streets. The neighborhood's second boutique hotel, Blue Moon Hotel, opened on Orchard Street just south of Delancey Street in early 2006. However, unlike The Hotel on Rivington, the Blue Moon used an existing tenement building, and its exterior is almost identical to neighboring buildings.
Education
Among the public elementaryElementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
and middle
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
schools are charter schools, including Girls Prep
Public Prep
Public Prep charter schools, run by the Public Prep Network, are open to girls in New York, N.Y., in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and in the South Bronx. Expansion to other urban areas and to educate boys is being planned....
for girls with a goal of graduating from college.
Lower East Side Preparatory High School is a second-chance school
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
that enables students, aged 17–21, to obtain their high school diploma
High school diploma
A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...
s. It is a bilingual
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
-English school with a high proportion of Asian students.
Art scene
The neighborhood has become home to numerous contemporary artContemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
galleries. One of the very first was ABC No Rio
ABC No Rio
ABC No Rio is a social center located at 156 Rivington Street on New York City's Lower East Side that was founded in 1980. It features a gallery space, a zine library, a darkroom, a silkscreening studio, and public computer lab...
. Begun by a group of Colab
Colab
Colab is the commonly used abbreviation of the New York City artists' group Collaborative Projects, which was formed after a series of open meetings between artists of various disciplines. Colab came together as a collective in 1977, and initially received an NEA Workshop Grant through Center for...
no wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
artists (some living on Ludlow Street), ABC No Rio opened an outsider gallery space that invited community participation and encouraged the widespread production of art. Taking an activist approach to art that grew out of The Real Estate Show (the take over of an abandoned building by artists to open an outsider gallery only to have it chained closed by the police) ABC No Rio kept its sense of activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
, community, and outsiderness. The product of this open, expansive approach to art was a space for creating new works that did not have links to the art market place and that were able to explore new artistic possibilities.
Other outsider galleries sprung up throughout the Lower East Side and East Village, Manhattan
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
-some 200 at the height of the scene in the 1980s. In December 2007, the New Museum relocated to a brand-new, critically acclaimed building on the Bowery at Prince. A growing number of galleries are opening in the Bowery neighborhood to be in close proximity to the museum.
Nightlife and live music
As the neighborhood gentrified and has become safer at night, it has become a popular late night destination. Orchard, LudlowLudlow Street (Manhattan)
Ludlow Street runs between Houston and Division Streets on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan, an important cultural street rich with history....
and Essex between Rivington Street and Stanton Street have become especially packed at night, and the resulting noise is a cause of tension between bar owners and longtime residents.
Also, the Lower East Side is home to many live music venues. Punk bands play at C-Squat
C-Squat
C Squat is a squat located at 155 Avenue C in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City, in an area called Loisaida.-History:Journalist and author Robert Neuwirth described the situation that gave birth to many of New York's squats, including C Squat, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, "In the...
and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
bands play at Bowery Ballroom
Bowery Ballroom
The Bowery Ballroom is a music venue in the Bowery section of New York City. The structure, at 6 Delancey Street, was built just before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It stood vacant until the end of WWII, when it became a high-end retail store. The neighborhood subsequently went into decline...
on Delancey Street and Mercury Lounge
Mercury Lounge
The Mercury Lounge is a club/music venue, in the Lower East Side section, of New York City. The structure, at 217 East Houston Street, housed the servants to the Astor Mansion, connected to it by an underground labyrinth of tunnels...
on East Houston Street, while lesser known bands played at Tonic (which closed on April 13, 2007) on Norfolk Street and Rothko
Rothko (club)
Rothko was a small nightclub and live music venue in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The club opened in a former textile factory in May 2004, and closed in 2006...
(now closed) on Suffolk Street. There are also bars that offer performance space, such as Pianos, the Living Room and Cake Shop on Ludlow Street and Arlene's Grocery
Arlene's Grocery
Arlene's Grocery is a bar and music venue in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. It is located at 95 Stanton Street, and has been a bar/venue since 1996....
on Stanton Street.
In popular culture
Children's literature- All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney TaylorSydney TaylorSydney Taylor was an American author.She was born Sarah Brenner in New York City to Jewish immigrant parents. Her family emigrated in 1900 to the United States and settled on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, as many Jewish families did...
- The House on the Roof; A Sukkot Story by David A. AdlerDavid A. AdlerDavid Abraham Adler is an American author of nearly 200 books for children and young adults, most notably the Cam Jansen mystery series, the "Picture Book of..." series, and several acclaimed works about the Holocaust for young readers....
- Rebecca Rubin, a character in the American GirlAmerican GirlAmerican Girl is a line of dolls, books, and accessories.American Girl may also refer to:* American Girl , a magazine published by the American Girl company* American Girl , a 2002 American film...
doll and book series,
is a Jewish girl growing up in an immigrant family in 1914.
- Rebecca Rubin, a character in the American Girl
Novels
- Low LifeLow LifeLow Life is a story, published in 2000 AD, set in the world of Judge Dredd which was created by Rob Williams and Henry Flint.-Publication history:Simon Coleby, Rufus Dayglo and D'Israeli have also illustrated the strip...
by Luc SanteLuc Sante-Early life:Born in Verviers, Belgium, Sante emigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. He attended school in New York City, first at Regis High School in Manhattan and then at Columbia University.-Writing:... - Bread GiversBread GiversBread Givers is a 1925 novel by Anzia Yezierska.-Synopsis:Bread Givers, a Jewish-American female coming-of-age story written by Anzia Yezierska, begins with a 10-year old Sara Smolinsky...
by Anzia YezierskaAnzia YezierskaAnzia Yezierska was a Polish-American novelist born in Maly Plock, Poland.- Personal life :Anzia Yezierska was born in the 1880s in Maly Plock to Bernard and Pearl Yezierski. Her family immigrated to America around 1890, following in the footsteps of her eldest brother Meyer, who arrived to the... - Lush LifeLush Life (novel)Lush Life is a contemporary social novel by Richard Price. It is Price's eighth novel, and was published in 2008 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.-Plot summary:...
by Richard PriceRichard Price (writer)Richard Price is an American novelist and screenwriter, known for the books The Wanderers and Clockers.-Early life:... - RagtimeRagtime (novel)Ragtime is a 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow. This work of historical fiction is primarily set in the New York City area from about 1900 until the United States entry into World War I in 1917...
by E. L. DoctorowE. L. DoctorowEdgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American author.- Biography :Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of second-generation Americans of Russian Jewish descent...
Songs
- L.E.S by Childish Gambino (aka Donald GloverDonald GloverDonald McKinley Glover is an American actor, writer, comedian, and musician. Glover first came to attention for his work in the sketch group Derrick Comedy, and is best known for his role as community college student Troy Barnes on the NBC comedy series Community...
) - Lower East Side by David PeelDavid PeelDavid Peel is a New York-based musician who first recorded in the late 1960s with Harold Black, Billy Joe White, and Larry Adam performing as David Peel and The Lower East Side Band...
(Regarded to be the first punk song) - "Alleged" by UNSANEUnsaneUnsane is an influential noise rock trio that formed in New York City in 1988. Their music also touches on elements of hardcore punk and metal...
- "L.E.S. ArtistesL.E.S. Artistes"L.E.S. Artistes" is the second single by American artist Santigold, and along with "Creator", the first to be taken from her self-titled debut Santogold .- Background :...
" by Santigold - "Living in L.E.S." by INDK
- "In the Flesh" by BlondieBlondie (band)Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
- Nova Slum Goddess by the Fugs
- "Marry the NightMarry the Night"Marry the Night" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the fifth single from her second studio album, Born This Way . The song was written and produced by Lady Gaga and Fernando Garibay, and was recorded on the tour bus during The Monster Ball Tour with Garibay...
" by Lady GagaLady GaGaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to... - "The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side" by The Magnetic FieldsThe Magnetic FieldsThe Magnetic Fields is the principal creative outlet of singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt...
- "Lower East Side Crew" by WarzoneWarzone (band)Warzone was an American hardcore punk band formed on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1982. The band helped develop the New York hardcore sound, the hardcore skinhead style and the youth crew subgenre...
- "Ludlow St" by Julian CasablancasJulian CasablancasJulian Fernando Casablancas is an American singer-songwriter and musician of The Strokes. Casablancas pursued a solo career during The Strokes' hiatus, releasing the album Phrazes for the Young on November 3, 2009....
- "Ludlow Street" by Suzanne VegaSuzanne VegaSuzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...
- "For My Family" by Agnostic FrontAgnostic FrontAgnostic Front is an American hardcore band. The band began playing hardcore similar to their contemporaries, and were thrust to the forefront of the burgeoning New York hardcore scene in the mid-1980s with their widely regarded 1984 classic Victim in Pain before evolving to incorporate thrash...
- "Clinton St Girl" by Wakey!Wakey!Wakey!Wakey!Wakey!Wakey! is an Alternate Indie Rock/Pop group fronted by Michael Grubbs and based in Brooklyn, New York. Michael Grubbs is also known for his role as "Grubbs" on One Tree Hill, where the band's music has been featured. They reached critical acclaim with their 2010 release, Everything I Wish I'd...
- "What's My Name" by RihannaRihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
ft. DrakeDrake (entertainer)Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.... - "East Side Beat" by The ToastersThe ToastersThe Toasters was one of the first American bands in the third wave of ska, and is one of the longest active third wave ska bands.They have released nine studio albums, most of them on Moon Ska Records. The Toasters experienced a small degree of commercial success in the late 1990s due to the...
- "New York City is Dead" Lower East Side Stitches
- "Heavy Metal Lover" by Lady GagaLady GaGaStefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
Bands
- David PeelDavid PeelDavid Peel is a New York-based musician who first recorded in the late 1960s with Harold Black, Billy Joe White, and Larry Adam performing as David Peel and The Lower East Side Band...
& the Lower East Side BandThe Lower East Side BandThe Lower East Side Band is an American rock band from Manhattan, New York.-History:In the late 1960s the band recorded on Elektra Records and was a popular local Manhattan band. Formed originally as a backup band for David Peel, the band originally consisted of Harold C. Black and Billy Joe White...
an early punkPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band - Gogol BordelloGogol BordelloGogol Bordello is a Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring.Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music...
A critically acclaimed gypsy punkGypsy punkGypsy punk is the term used to describe a hybrid musical genre that crosses traditional Romani music with punk rock. The origin of the term is unknown, but bands playing Gypsy punk have existed at least since the 1990s. One of the first rock groups to incorporate elements of punk and Eastern...
band from the area. - The Holy Modal Rounders an influential freak-folk band in the '60s
- NauseaNausea (band)Nausea was an American crust punk band from New York City in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, active from 1985-1992. Nausea is usually cited as being integral in the rise of American crust punk, a fusion of anarcho-punk and thrash metal styles....
a seminal crust punkCrust punkCrust punk is a form of music influenced by anarcho-punk, hardcore punk and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the mid-1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on political and social ills...
band in the late '80s and early '90s. - Lower East Side Stitches 90's Punk Rock in the vein of The Dead Boys.
Plays
- Secret History of the Lower East Side by Alice TuanAlice TuanAlice Tuan is a U.S. playwright, teacher and performer. Her first works were of an Asian American nature, attempting to make sense of being raised with eastern values while schooled in U.S. thought...
Films
- Sex and the City
- Downtown 81Downtown 81Downtown 81 is a film that was shot in 1980-1981.This film, directed by Edo Bertoglio, written and produced by Glenn O'Brien with post-production in 1999-2000 by Maripol, is a rare real-life snapshot of ultra-hip subculture of post-punk era Manhattan...
- I Am LegendI Am Legend (film)I Am Legend is a 2007 post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. It is the third feature film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name, following 1964's The Last Man on Earth and 1971's The Omega Man. Smith plays virologist Robert...
- P.S. I Love YouP.S. I Love You (film)P.S. I Love You is a 2007 American drama film directed by Richard LaGravenese. The screenplay by LaGravenese and Steven Rogers is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Cecelia Ahern. The film is dedicated to the memory of producer Molly Smith's sister Windland Smith Rice.-Plot:Holly and Gerry...
- CloverfieldCloverfieldCloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
- Crossing DelanceyCrossing DelanceyCrossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
- Die Hard with a Vengeance
- His PeopleHis PeopleHis People is a 1925 silent film about a young, Jewish boxer growing up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan directed by Edward Sloman. According to film historian Lester Friedman, “Sloman’s compelling vision of the painful depths and joyous heights of immigrant life endow the film with an...
- Date NightDate NightDate Night is a 2010 action comedy film directed by Shawn Levy and starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey. It was released in the United States on April 9, 2010...
- The Naked CityThe Naked CityThe Naked City is a 1948 black-and-white film noir directed by Jules Dassin. The movie, shot partially in documentary style, was filmed on location on the streets of New York City, featuring landmarks such as the Williamsburg Bridge the Whitehall Building and an apartment building on West 83rd...
- The Night They Raided Minsky'sThe Night They Raided Minsky'sThe Night They Raided Minsky's is a 1968 musical comedy film directed by William Friedkin and produced by Norman Lear. It is a fictional account of the invention of the striptease at Minsky's Burlesque in 1925...
- The Italian
- Lucky Number SlevinLucky Number SlevinLucky Number Slevin, renamed for the German/USA DVDs as Lucky # Slevin , is a 2006 crime thriller film written by Jason Smilovic, directed by Paul McGuigan and starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, and Lucy Liu...
- Frogs for SnakesFrogs for Snakes-Plot:Out of work actress Eva , pays her way by working as a waitress at a diner in Manhattan's Lower East Side owned by Quint . She maks extra cash by making collections for her ex-husband, loan shark Al...
- Mixed BloodMixed Blood (film)Mixed Blood is a 1985 film directed by Paul Morrissey. It marked the first credited film role for John Leguizamo.-Plot:Rita La Punta leads a gang of underaged Brazilian kids in an attempt to seize control of New York's Lower East Side's drug trade from a Puerto Rican gang.-Principal...
- Batteries Not Included
- Once Upon a Time in AmericaOnce Upon a Time in AmericaOnce Upon a Time in America is a 1984 Italian epic crime film co-written and directed by Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The story chronicles the lives of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York City's world of organized crime...
[1984 film] - Raising Victor VargasRaising Victor VargasRaising Victor Vargas is a 2002 film directed by Peter Sollett, written by Sollett and Eva Vives. The film follows Victor, a Lower East Side teenager, as he deals with his eccentric family, including his strict grandmother, his bratty sister, and a younger brother who completely idolizes him...
- Hester Street
- Beautiful Losers (film)Beautiful Losers (film)Beautiful Losers is a 2008 documentary feature film by director Aaron Rose and co-directed by Joshua Leonard. It was produced by Sidetrack Films in association with BlackLake Productions, and stars several artists including Harmony Korine, writer of independent cult films Kids and Gummo.It...
- NYPD Blue (TV)NYPD BlueNYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
- When Harry Met Sally
- Rent (film)Rent (film)Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, in turn based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. The film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life...
- Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (film)
Television
- How To Make It In AmericaHow to Make It in AmericaHow to Make It in America is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on February 14, 2010. The series follows the lives of Ben Epstein and his friend Cam Calderon as they try to succeed in New York City's fashion scene...
Video games
- Syphon Filter 2Syphon Filter 2Syphon Filter 2 is a stealth third-person shooter video game for the PlayStation. Released in 2000, its plot picks up immediately after where the previous Syphon Filter ended. It is the second title in the Syphon Filter series...
- The DarknessThe Darkness (video game)The Darkness is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by 2K Games for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It was released on June 25, 2007 in North America and on June 20, 2007 in Europe. The video game is based on the comic book of the same title...
See also
- Alife Rivington ClubAlife Rivington ClubAlife Rivington Club is a shoe store located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Alife Rivington Club sells newly released, exclusive and limited edition sneakers from companies such as Nike and Adidas....
- Cooperative VillageCooperative VillageCooperative Village is a community of housing cooperatives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The cooperatives are centered around Grand Street in an area south of the entrance ramp to the Williamsburg Bridge and west of FDR Drive...
- Grand Street SettlementGrand Street SettlementGrand Street Settlement is an historic social service institution on the Lower East Side in New York City and was founded in 1916 in response to the needs of waves of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe who were settling in the area...
- East Side (Manhattan)East Side (Manhattan)The East Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan Island which abuts the East River and faces Brooklyn and Queens. Fifth Avenue, Central Park, and lower Broadway separate it from the West Side....
- East Side Hebrew InstituteEast Side Hebrew InstituteThe East Side Hebrew Institute was a traditional Jewish day school, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, in New York City. It was "once one of the major institutions of the Jewish East Side".-The Talmud Torah:...
(ESHI) - First HousesFirst HousesFirst Houses is a public housing project in Manhattan in New York City. The project consists of 122 three-room or four-room apartments in 8 four-story or five-story buildings, and is located on the south side of East 3rd Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, and on the east side of Avenue A...
- Henry Street SettlementHenry Street SettlementThe Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded in 1893 by Progressive reformer Lillian Wald.The...
- Lower East Side ConservancyLower East Side ConservancyThe Lower East Side Conservancy, formally the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy, is an historic preservation organization with the mission of promoting and preserving Jewish culture on Manhattan's Lower East Side....
- Lower East Side Tenement Museum
- Moshe FeinsteinMoshe FeinsteinMoshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America during his lifetime...
- Ray's Candy StoreRay's Candy StoreRay's Candy Store is a New York City deli that has existed in the Lower East Side since 1974.-Overview:It is operated by Ray Alvarez and serves an eclectic mix of foods, including soft serve egg creams, ice cream, Belgian fries, and Obama coffee....
- Tompkins Square ParkTompkins Square ParkTompkins Square Park is a 10.5 acre public park in the Alphabet City section of the East Village neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is square in shape, and is bounded on the north by East 10th Street, on the east by Avenue B, on the south by East 7th Street, and on the...
- University Settlement HouseUniversity Settlement HouseUniversity Settlement Society of New York is located at 184 Eldridge Street on New York's Lower East Side...