What is Lower East Side, Manhattan?

The Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of New York City borough of Manhattan. It has traditionally been an immigrant, working class neighborhood, but it has undergone gentrification in recent years and is increasingly populated by young professionals and students.

Boundaries

Current boundaries

While the exact western and southern boundaries of the neighborhood are open to debate, the Lower East Side today refers to the area of Manhattan south of East Houston Street and west of the East River.^{[1] [2]}

The Lower East side is bordered in the south and west by Chinatown (which extends north to roughly Grand Street), in the west by NoLIta and in the north by East Village.

Historical boundaries

Originally, "Lower East Side" referred to the area alongside the East River 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.

Although the term today refers to the area bounded to the north by East Houston Street, parts of East Village are still known as Loisaida, a Latino pronunciation of "Lower East Sider."

This point of land on the East River was also called Crown Point under British rule. It was an important landmark for navigators for 300 years. On older maps and documents it is usually spelled Corlaers, but since the early 19th Century the spelling has been anglicized to Corlears. It was named after Jacobus van Corlaer, who settled there prior to 1640. The original location of Corlaers 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.

Immigrant neighborhood

One of the oldest neighborhoods of the city, the Lower East Side has long been known as a lower-class, working neighborhood and often as a poor and diverse community. The Lower East Side was once a center of 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 such as the Nat Weisberg and Sons (Hebrew religious articles) at number 45 [1] 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 in 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. More recently, it has been settled by immigrants from Latin America and elsewhere.

In what is now the East Village, a preexisting population of Poles and Ukrainians has been significantly replenished with newer immigrants, and the arrival of large numbers of Japanese 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 Bangladeshis 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 Historical and Beautiful synagogues (Shuls), such as the Bialystocker Shul [2] Beth Hamedresh Hagadol, The Eldridge Street Shul [3], Congregation Kehila Kedosha Yanina [4] (only Greek Synagogue in western hemisphere), and many various smaller, and colorful synagogues along East Broadway. In addition, there are a major Hare Krishna temple and Buddhist houses of worship.

The Bowery, though no longer a largely deserted place save for the legendary Bowery bums, remains the final location at 227-229 Bowery of Christian Herald Association's noteworthy faith-based organization known as The Bowery Mission, historically serving the down-and-out since it was incorporated in New York State in April 20, 1895. An extant memorial tablet in the mission chapel is dedicated to the presbyterian minister and founder of the mission, Albert Gleason Ruliffson. This tablets records Nov. 1879 as the founding of "this mission". This designation, however, did not apply to 227. At that time, the mission had been sited at 55- and still later 105-Bowery. The third Annual Report of The Bowery Mission written in 1883 by Ruliffson, states that on the night of November 6, 1880 the mission, then located at 36 Bowery, first opened its doors to the public. Ruliffson as first president of the mission retired due to a severe medical condition in 1895. A severe economic downturn during the 1890s strained the financial solvency of the mission. Rather than cease to function as a mission due to financial hardship, Dr. Louis Klopsch of Christian Herald Association was approached to save the mission. Klopsch agreed, assumed management as the second president and incorporated the mission under Christian Herald. The present building at 227 Bowery was dedicated in 1909. While 1879 is the year which appears on the website bowery.org, a review of period newspapers such as The New York Times and The New York Tribune suggest 1880 rather than 1879 as a possible founding year. Indeed, King's Handbook of New York, contemporaneous with Christian Herald management of the mission, gives 1880 as the year the mission was founded.remains the location of the famous Bowery Mission, serving the down-and-out since 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 – from 1973 until it closed on October 15, 2006. A bit further north and east is McSorley's Old Ale House, a famous Irish bar that opened its doors in 1854.

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.

East Village split and gentrification

East Village was once Lower East Side's northwest corner alongside Greenwich Village. 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-60s. As 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 that the former being part of the latter.^[3][4]

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. Clinton Street and Orchard Street, despite its "Bargain District" moniker, are lined with upscale restaurants and boutiques.

In recent years, the gentrification that was previously confined to north of Delancey Street has continued south. Several restaurants, bars and galleries have opened below Delancey Street since 2005, especially around the intersection of Broome and Orchard Streets. This area is gradually becoming known as BelDel (Below Delancey), mainly by hipsters who feel that the LES has become too "Murray Hill" and want to differentiate themselves. The neighborhood's second boutique hotel, Blue Moon Hotel opened on Orchard Street just south of Delancey Street in early 2006. However, unlike THOR, the Blue Moon used an existing tenement building and its exterior is almost identical to neighboring buildings.

Nightlife and live music

As the neighborhood gentrified and has become safer at night, it has become a popular late night destination. Clinton Street and Ludlow Street between Rivington Street and Stanton Street 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. Up and coming alternative rock bands play at Bowery Ballroom on Delancey Street and Mercury Lounge on East Houston Street, while lesser known bands play at Tonic (closed 4/13/07) on Norfolk Street and Rothko (now closed) on Suffolk Street. There are also bars that offer performance space, such as Pianos and the Living Room on Ludlow Street and Arlene's Grocery On Stanton Street.

Noteworthy Lower East Siders

• Adrianne Bailon (singer, 3LW)
• Irving Berlin (composer & lyricist, Co-founder of ASCAP)
• A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness)
• Paul Booth (tattoo artist)
• Caleb Carr (1955-), novelist.^[5]
• Paul Dano (actor)
• Rosario Dawson (actor)
• Estelle Getty (actor)
• George and Ira Gershwin, composer/songwriter and librettist/lyricist
• Allen Ginsberg (poet)
• Emma Goldman (anarchist)
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt (actor)
• Rocky Graziano (1919-1990), boxer.^[6]
• Luis Guzmán (actor)
• Maggie Gyllenhaal (actor)
• Keith Haring (artist)
• Meyer Lansky (gangster)
• Jeffrey Lewis (musician)
• Margarita Lopez, councilwoman/activist
• Lucky Luciano (gangster, founder of The Commission)
• Darren Martinez (reggaeton artist known as Adobo, and actor/model)
• Walter Matthau (actor)
• Taylor Mead (actor, writer)
• Rosie Mendez, councilwoman/activist
• Conor Oberst (musician)
• Miguel Pinero (playwright, actor, co-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe)
• Trent Reznor (frontman of Nine Inch Nails)
• Judy Rifka (painter, video artist)
• David Lee Roth (singer, Van Halen)
• Chloe Sevigny (actress)
• Bugsy Siegel (gangster)
• Sheldon Silver, speaker of the New York State Assembly
• Harry Smith (folklorist/artist)
• Vinnie Stigma (guitarist & founder of Agnostic Front)
• Tru Life (rapper)
• Luther Vandross (artist).^[7]
• Jayson Williams (former NBA basketball player)

Jewish Lower East Side

• Katz's Deli - 205 E. Houston Street
• Guss' Pickles - 87 Orchard Street
• Kossar's Bialys - 367 Grand Street
• Gertle's Bake Shop - 53 Hester Street- Moved to Brooklyn, opened as a Catering business
• East Side Glatt - 500 Grand Street
• East Broadway Bakery on Grand - 363 Grand Street
• Noah's Ark Orignal Deli - 399 Grand Street
• Moishe's Kosher Bakery - 504 Grand Street
• Knickerbocker Village - 10 Monroe Street
• The Pickle Guys - 49 Essex Street
• Streit Matzo Co. - 150 Rivington Street
• Yonah Shimmel's Knish Bakery - 137 E. Houston Street
• Russ & Daughters - 179 E. Houston Street
• Economy Candy -108 Rivington Street
• Bialystoker Synagogue - 7-11 Willet Street
• Schapiro's Kosher Wine - Essex Street Market
• Beth Hamedrash Hagadol - 60 Norfolk Street
• Eldridge Street Synagogue - 12 Eldridge Street
• Kehila Kedosha Janina - 280 Broome Street

And many smaller storefront synagogues on East Broadway, and Judaica shops on Essex Street.

See also

• East Side (Manhattan)
• ABC No Rio
• Moshe Feinstein
• Lower East Side Tenement Museum
• Cooperative Village

References

External links

• Lower East Side - Neighborhood Profile
• A Jewish Tour of the Lower East Side, New York magazine
• Time & Again: New York City's Lower East Side TourA,

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