Lower East Side, Manhattan
The
Lower East Side is a
neighborhood of the
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, artists, students and
hipsters. While the exact boundaries of the neighborhood are open to debate, it today refers to the area of Manhattan south of
East Houston Street along the
East River, roughly bounded on the west by
Bowery and the south by
Canal Street.
Chinatown borders the Lower East Side on the south and the west up to roughly Broome Street,
NoLIta on the east from Broome Street to East Houston Street, and
East Village on the north.
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The corner of Orchard and Rivington Streets, Lower East Side (2005) |
The names of places in
New York City change, either due to the influence of land developers, the City government, or because a name no longer suits a neighborhood's character. A name never changes, though, unless the residents of the city collectively adopt it, which usually takes years and is an uninformal process whereby most people begin to refer to an area by its new name. A recent new name that took root is
DUMBO in
Brooklyn, whereas referring to
Hell's Kitchen as "Clinton" has largely been eschewed. Similarly, New York residents rarely refer to
Sixth Avenue as "Avenue of the Americas". A new neighborhood name may be controversial, as may be its perceived 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. Today, the neighborhood is bounded to the north by
East Houston Street and to the west by Bowery. The area north of Houston Street is now known as the East Village, although parts of East Village are still known as
Loisaida, a
Latino pronunciation of "Lower East Side," and
Alphabet City around
Tompkins Square Park, which was once known as
Little Germany.
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.
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 an outright
slum. The Lower East Side once was, and in a few parts still is, a center for
Eastern European
Jewish immigrant culture. 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 Madina Masjid (
Mosque), located on
First Avenue and 11th Street.
This diverse neighborhood also contains many
synagogues and a great variety of
churches, both in terms of
denomination and
ethnic and
linguistic makeup. In addition, there is a major
Hare Krishna temple and
Buddhist houses of worship.
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Famous Katz's Deli, symbol of the neighborhoods Jewish history, is dwarfed by the development occurring around the Lower East Sise |
The Bowery, though no longer a largely deserted place save for the legendary
Bowery bums, remains the location of the famous
Bowery Mission, serving the down-and-out since 1879. Another notable landmark on the Bowery is
CBGB, a
nightclub that has been presenting live music – including some of the most famous figures in
rock 'n roll – since 1973. 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 was once Lower East Side's northwest corner alongside
Greenwich Village; it received that name from real estate developers in the 1980s trying to dissociate the area from the Lower East Side's reputation. The name stuck and the term "Lower East Side" now refers specifically to the portion of the neighborhood lying south of Houston Street and East Village has become its own separate neighborhood.
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 are lined with upscale restaurants and boutiques, although Orchard Street is still dominated by discount clothing stores.
In late 2004, a
boutique hotel, The Hotel on Rivington, or
THOR, opened on
Rivington Street. The glass-walled, 22-storied hotel towers over the neighborhood and provides a sharp contrast to the surrounding lowrise brick
tenements.
In recent years, the gentrfication 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. 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.
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Tenement buildings on the Lower East Side |
The neighborhood has historically been a home for
counterculture, leftist, and revolutionary elements.
Emma Goldman,
Leon Trotsky,
Allen Ginsberg and
Abbie Hoffman have all made it their home at one time or another. For the past hundred years various radical groups have had their headquarters in the area.
Prominent
anarchists
Emma Goldman and
Alexander Berkman published
Mother Earth magazine, founded in 1906, out of 210 E. 13th St., where she is honored with a plaque today.
Leon Trotsky lived on
St. Mark's Place in 1917, as did
Abbie Hoffman in 1967. Hoffman, along with other members of the anarchist
Youth International Party (The Yippies) ran a
Free Store on the street. In the 1980's the area saw a
squatter movement arise out of the ashes of a
redlining program which had left many of the buildings burned out by the landlords themselves. Hundreds of buildings were occupied and defended and riots broke out as homesteaders were evicted and a curfew was imposed on Tompkins Square Park.
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 on
Norforlk Street and
Rothko on
Suffolk Street. There are also bars that offer performance space, such as Pianos and the Living Room on Ludlow Street.
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Katz's Deli*
ABC No Rio*
Lower East Side Workers Center - NMASS*
Lost New York City A photo essay of demolished L.E.S. buildings in the 70's
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East-Village.com Neighborhood Directory & Free Press
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CBGB Website of the historic club
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Bowery Mission*
the A.J. Muste Memorial Institute for peace
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ABC No Rio a squatted community center
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The Lower East Side Tenement Museum*
EastVillageBlog.com News straight from residents mouths
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FEVA Federation of East Village Artists
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Air visit of 'Lower East Side' in Photographs*
Pianos local bar/club in the area
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LoHo Guide L.E.S. Guide by local realty company
