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The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic
neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...
in the southeastern part of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the
East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
from
Canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...
to
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
streets. Historically, it was understood to encompass a much larger area, from Broadway to the East River and from East 14th Street to Fulton and Franklin Streets. Traditionally an immigrant,
working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...
neighborhood, it began rapid
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
in the mid-2000s, prompting the National Trust for Historic Preservation to place the neighborhood on their list of America's Most Endangered Places in 2008. The Lower East Side is part of Manhattan Community District 3, and its primary ZIP Code is 10002. It is patrolled by the 7th Precinct of the
New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
.


Boundaries

The Lower East Side is roughly bounded by East 14th Street on the north, by the
East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
to the east, by Fulton and Franklin Streets to the south, and by Pearl Street and Broadway to the west. This more extensive definition of the neighborhood includes Chinatown, the East Village, and Little Italy. A less extensive definition would have the neighborhood 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 the East Village. Historically, the "Lower East Side" referred to the area alongside the
East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...
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. Parts of the East Village are still known as '' Loisaida'', a Latino pronunciation of "Lower East Side".


Political representation

Politically, the neighborhood is in New York's 7th and 12th congressional districts. It is in the
New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...
's 65th district and 74th district; the New York State Senate's 26th district; and
New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...
's 1st and 2nd districts.


History


Prior to Europeans

As was true of all of Manhattan Island, the area now known as the Lower East Side was occupied by members of the
Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...
tribe, who were organized in bands that moved from place to place according to the seasons, fishing on the rivers in the summer, and moving inland in the fall and winter to gather crops and hunt for food. Their main trail took approximately the route of Broadway. One encampment on the Lower East Side near Corlears Hook was called Rechtauck or Naghtogack.


Early settlement

The population of the Dutch colony of
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
was located primarily below the current Fulton Street, while north of it were a number of small plantations and large farms called "''bouwerij''" ("bowery", equivalent to "''boerderij''" in present-day Dutch). Around these farms were a number of enclaves of free or "half-free" Africans, which served as a buffer between the Dutch and the Native Americans. One of the largest of these was located along the modern Bowery between Prince Street and Astor Place, as well as the "only separate enclave" of this type within Manhattan. These black farmers were some of the earliest settlers of the area.Hodges, Graham. "Lower East Side" in , pp.769–770 Gradually, during the 17th century, there was an overall consolidation of the boweries and farms into larger parcels, and much of the Lower East Side was then part of the Delancey farm. James Delancey's pre-Revolutionary farm east of post road leading from the city ( Bowery) survives in the names Delancey Street and 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 pressures 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 Delancey family's property was confiscated after the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. 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 The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, Central London, England, in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London an ...
.


Corlears Hook

The point of land on the East River now called Corlears Hook was also called Corlaers Hook under Dutch and British rule and briefly Crown Point during British occupation in 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 name, ''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 on August 17, 1653. On February 25, 1643, as part of Kieft's War, volunteers from the
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...
colony killed forty Wiechquaesgecks at their encampment in the Massacre at Corlears Hook, in retaliation for ongoing conflicts between the colonists and the natives of the area, including the natives' unwillingness to pay tribute and their refusal to turn over the accused killer of a colonist. 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 rugged 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, Corlears 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 1832 summer of New York City's
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
epidemic, a two-story wooden workshop in the neighborhood was commandeered to serve as a makeshift cholera hospital; between July 18 and September 15, when the hospital was closed as the epidemic wound down, 281 patients were admitted, both black and white, of whom 93 died. In 1833, Corlear's Hook was the location of some of the first
tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...
s built in New York City. Corlears Hook is mentioned on the first page of Chapter 1 of
Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...
's ''
Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...
'', first published in 1851: "Circumambulate the city of a dreamy Sabbath afternoon. Go from Corlears Hook to Coenties Slip, and from thence, by Whitehall, northward. What do you see? ..." and again in Chapter 99—The Doubloon. 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 Corlears Hook Park at the intersection of Jackson and Cherry Streets along the East River Drive.


Immigration

The bulk of immigrants who came to New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries came to the Lower East Side, moving into crowded
tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...
s there. By the 1840s, large numbers of German immigrants settled in the area, and a large part of it became known as " Little Germany" or "Kleindeutschland". This was followed by groups of Italians and Eastern European Jews, as well as Greeks, Hungarians, Poles, Romanians, Russians, Slovaks and Ukrainians, each of whom settled in relatively homogeneous enclaves. By 1920, the Jewish neighborhood was one of the largest of these ethnic groupings, with 400,000 people, pushcart vendors and storefronts prominent on
Orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
and Grand Streets, and numerous Yiddish theatres along Second Avenue between
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
and 14th Streets. Living conditions in these "slum" areas were far from ideal, although some improvement came from a change in the zoning laws, which required "new law" tenements to be built with air shafts between them so that fresh air and some light could reach each apartment. Still, reform movements, such as the one started by Jacob Riis's book '' How the Other Half Lives'' continued to attempt to alleviate the problems of the area through settlement houses, such as the Henry Street Settlement, and other welfare and service agencies. The city itself moved to address the problem when it built First Houses, the first such public housing project in the United States, in 1935–1936. The development, located on the south side of East 3rd Street between First Avenue and Avenue A, and on the west side of Avenue A between East 2nd and East 3rd Streets, is now considered to be located within the East Village.


20th century

By the turn of the twentieth century, the neighborhood had become closely associated with radical politics, such as
anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
,
socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
, and
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
. It was also known as a place where many popular performers had grown up, such as Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, George and
Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...
,
Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...
, and Irving Berlin. Later, more radical artists such as the Beat poets and writers were drawn to the neighborhood – especially the parts which later became the East Village – by the inexpensive housing and cheap food. The German population decreased in the early twentieth century as a result of the '' General Slocum'' disaster and due to anti-German sentiment prompted by
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Lower East Side became New York City's first racially integrated neighborhood with the influx of
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s and
Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology, Boricuas, but also occasionally referred to as '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borinqueños'', '':es:Anexo:Gentilicios de Puerto Rico#Lista general, Borincan ...
. Areas where Spanish speaking was predominant began to be called Loisaida. By the 1960s, the influence of the Jewish and Eastern European groups declined as many of these residents had left the area, while other ethnic groups had coalesced into separate neighborhoods, such as Little Italy. The Lower East Side then experienced a period of "persistent poverty, crime, drugs, and abandoned housing". A substantial portion of the neighborhood was slated for demolition under the Cooper Square Urban Renewal Plan of 1956, which was to redevelop the area from Ninth to Delancey Streets from the Bowery/Third Avenue to Chrystie Street/Second Avenue with new privately owned cooperative housing. The United Housing Foundation was selected as the sponsor for the project, which faced great opposition from the community. Neither the original large-scale development nor a 1961 revised proposal was implemented, and it was not until 1991 that an agreement was made to redevelop a small portion of the proposed renewal site.


East Village split and gentrification

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 hipsters, 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. By the 1980s, the Lower East Side had begun to stabilize after its period of decline, and once again began to attract students, artists, and adventurous members of the
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
, as well as immigrants from countries such as
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
, the Philippines, and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. In the early 2000s, the gentrification of the East Village spread to the Lower East Side proper, making it one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Manhattan. Orchard Street, despite its "Bargain District" moniker, is now lined with upscale boutiques. Similarly, trendy restaurants, including Clinton St. Baking Company & Restaurant, are found on a stretch of tree-lined Clinton Street that ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...
'' described as the "hippest restaurant row" on the Lower East Side. In November 2007, the Blue Condominium, a 32-unit, 16-story luxury condominium tower, was completed at 105 Norfolk Street just north of Delancey Street. The pixellated, faceted blue design 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 Bowery, this new wave of construction is another sign that the gentrification cycle is entering a high-luxury phase similar to in
SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
and Nolita in the previous decade. More recently, the gentrification that was previously confined to the 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. In September 2013, it was announced that the Essex Crossing redevelopment project was to be built in the area, centered around the intersection of Essex and Delancey Streets, but mostly utilizing land south of Delancey Street.


Demographics

The census tabulation area for the Lower East Side is bounded to the north by Houston Street and to the west by the Bowery, Essex Street, and Montgomery Street. According to the 2020 United States Census, the population of Lower East Side was 49,149, an increase of 1,725 (3.6%) from the 47,424 counted in
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of . The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 28.6% (13,578)
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 9.2% (3,890)
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 25.0% (13,009) Asian, 1.0% (467) from other races, and 3.1% (1,500) from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino residents of any race were 33.6% (15,930) of the population. The racial composition of the Lower East Side changed moderately from 2000 to 2010, with the most significant changes being the White population's increase by 18% (2,514), the Asian population's increase by 10% (1,673), and the Hispanic / Latino population's decrease by 10% (3,219). The minority Black population experienced a slight increase by 1% (41), while the very small population of all other races decreased by 17% (310). The Lower East Side lies in Manhattan Community District 3, which encompasses the Lower East Side, the East Village and Chinatown. Community District 3 had 171,103 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 82.2 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are adults: a plurality (35%) are between the ages of 25–44, while 25% are between 45–64, and 16% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 13% and 11%, respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 3 was $39,584, though the median income in the Lower East Side individually was $51,649. In 2018, an estimated 18% of Community District 3 residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 48% in Community District 3, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51%, respectively. Based on this calculation, , Community District 3 was considered to be gentrifying: according to the Community Health Profile, the district was low-income in 1990 and has seen above-median rent growth up to 2010.


Culture


Immigrant neighborhood

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 Italians (, ) are a European peoples, European ethnic group native to the Italian geographical region. Italians share a common Italian culture, culture, History of Italy, history, Cultural heritage, ancestry and Italian language, language. ...
,
Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...
,
Ukrainians Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
,
Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...
and other ethnic groups, it once had a sizeable German population and was known as Little Germany (Kleindeutschland). Today it is a predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican community, and in the process of
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
(as documented by the portraits of its residents in the Clinton+Rivington chapter of The Corners Project.) Since the immigration waves from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Lower East Side became known as having been a center of
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
immigrant 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 for Ashkenazi American Jewish culture. Vestiges of the area's Jewish heritage exist in shops on Hester and Essex Streets, and on Grand Street near Allen Street. An Orthodox Jewish community is based in the area, operating
yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...
day schools and a mikvah. A few Judaica shops can be found along Essex Street, as are 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. Second Avenue in the Lower East Side was home to many Yiddish theatre productions in the Yiddish Theater District during the early part of the 20th century, and Second Avenue came to be known as “Yiddish Broadway”, even though most of the theaters are now gone. Songwriter Irving Berlin, actor John Garfield, and singer Eddie Cantor grew up here. Since the mid-20th century, the area has been settled primarily by immigrants, primarily from
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
, especially Central America and Puerto Rico. They have established their own groceries and shops, marketing goods from their culture and cuisine. Bodegas have replaced Jewish shops, and there are mostly Roman Catholics. In what is now the East Village, earlier populations of Poles and Ukrainians have moved on and been largely supplanted by newer immigrants. The immigration of numerous 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 Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
countries, many of whom are congregants of the small Madina Masjid, a
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
on First Avenue and 11th Street. The neighborhood still has 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 A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
and several
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
houses of worship. Chinese residents have also been moving into Lower East Side, and since the late 20th century, they have comprised a large immigrant group in the area. The part of the neighborhood south of Delancey Street and west of Allen Street has, in large measure, become part of Chinatown. Grand Street is one of the major business and shopping streets of Chinatown. Also contained within the neighborhood are strips of
lighting Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...
and restaurant supply shops on the Bowery.


Jewish neighborhood

While the Lower East Side has been a place of successive immigrant populations, many American Jews relate to the neighborhood in a strong manner, and Chinatown holds a special place in the imagination of Chinese Americans, just as Astoria in Queens holds a place in the hearts of Greek Americans. It was a hub for ancestors of many people in the metropolitan area, and much depicted in fiction and films. Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, established in 1907, was long led by Moshe Feinstein. In the late 20th century, Jewish communities have worked to preserve a number of buildings historically associated with the Jewish immigrant community. Notable sites include: * The Educational Alliance Settlement house – 175 East Broadway * Henry Street Settlement – 263–267 Henry Street and 466 Grand Street * University Settlement House – 184 Eldridge Street * Katz's Deli – 205 East Houston Street * Guss' Pickles – 87 Orchard Street * Kossar's Bialys – 367 Grand Street * Gertel's Bake Shop – formerly at 53 Hester Street from 1914 until it closed in 2007 * Knickerbocker Village – 10 Monroe Street * Streit's Matzo Co. – 150 Rivington Street * Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery – 137 East Houston Street * Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, since 1890 – 72 Hester Street * Harris Levy Fine Linens, since 1894 – 98 Forsyth Street * Russ & Daughters – 179 East Houston Street * Schapiro's Kosher Wine – Essex Street Market * Forward Building – 173-175 East Broadway * Jarmulowsky Bank Building – 54-58 Canal Street, 5-9 Orchard Street
Synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
s include: * Adath Jeshurun of Jassy Synagogue – 58-60 Rivington Street * Bialystoker Synagogue – 7–11 Willet Street, originally built in the Greek Revival style for the Willett Street Methodist Episcopal Church in 1826, and acquired in 1905 for the Orthodox Jewish congregation. * Beth Hamedrash Hagadol – 60–64 Norfolk Street * Eldridge Street Synagogue – 12 Eldridge Street * Kehila Kedosha Janina – 280 Broome Street * Angel Orensanz Center – the fourth- oldest synagogue building in the United States * Congregation Chasam Sopher – 10 Clinton Street * Congregation Chevra Kadisha Anshe Sochaczew – 121 Ludlow Street * Meseritz Synagogue – 415 East 6th Street * Podhajcer Shul – 108 East First Street * Stanton Street Synagogue – 180 Stanton Street * Boyaner ''kloiz'' at 247 East Broadway, opened in 1928 by the Boyaner Rebbe of New York


Little Fuzhou, Chinatown

Little Fuzhou (), or Fuzhou Town () is a neighborhood within the eastern sliver of Chinatown, in the Two Bridges and Lower East Side areas of Manhattan. Starting in the 1980s and by the 1990s, the neighborhood became a prime destination for immigrants from Fuzhou, Fujian, China. Manhattan's Little Fuzhou is centered on East Broadway. However, since the 2000s, Chinatown, Brooklyn became New York City's new primary destination for Fuzhou immigrants, resulting in a second Little Fuzhou that has far surpassed the original as the Fuzhou cultural center of the
New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...
, and is still rapidly growing in contrast to Manhattan's Little Fuzhou that is shrinking under
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
. Since the 2010s, the Fuzhou immigrant population and businesses have been declining throughout the whole eastern portion of Manhattan's Chinatown due to gentrification. There is a rapidly increasing influx of high-income, often non-Chinese,
professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...
s moving into this area, including high-end hipster-owned businesses.


Art

The neighborhood has become home to numerous
contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...
galleries. One of the 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 Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...
, 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—some 200 at the height of the scene in the 1980s, including the 124 Ridge Street Gallery among others. In December 2007, the New Museum relocated to a brand-new, critically acclaimed building on Bowery at Prince. A growing number of galleries are opening in the Bowery neighborhood to be in close proximity to the museum. The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, which opened in 2012, exhibits photography featuring the neighborhood in addition to chronicling its history of activism. Social service agencies like Henry Street Settlement and Educational Alliance have visual and performing arts programs, the former at Abrons Arts Center, a home for contemporary interdisciplinary arts. The neighborhood is also home to several graffiti artists, such as Chico and the late
Jean-Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved notoriety in the late 1970s as part of the graffiti ...
.


Nightlife and live music

As the neighborhood has gentrified and become safer at night, it has transformed into a popular late-night destination. Orchard, Ludlow 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. Furthermore, as gentrification continues, many established landmarks and venues have been lost. The Lower East Side is also home to many live music venues. Punk bands played at C-Squat and
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
bands play at Bowery Ballroom on Delancey Street and Mercury Lounge on East Houston Street. Punk bands play at Otto's Shrunken Head and R-Bar. Punk and alternative bands play at Bowery Electric just north of the old CBGB's location. There are also bars that offer performance space, such as Pianos on Ludlow Street and Arlene's Grocery on Stanton Street. The Lower East Side is the location of the Slipper Room, a burlesque, variety and vaudeville theatre on Orchard and Stanton.
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
,
Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...
and U2 have all appeared there, while popular downtown performers—including Dirty Martini, Murray Hill, and Matt Fraser—often appear. Variety shows are regularly hosted by comedians James Habacker, Bradford Scobie, Matthew Holtzclaw, and Matt Roper, under the guise of various characters.


Police and crime

The Lower East Side is patrolled by the 7th Precinct of the NYPD, located at Pitt Street. The 7th Precinct, along with the neighboring 5th Precinct, ranked 48th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 42 per 100,000 people, the Lower East Side and East Village's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 449 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole. The 7th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 64.8% between 1990 and 2019. The precinct reported 0 murders, 7 rapes, 149 robberies, 187 felony assaults, 94 burglaries, 507 grand larcenies, and 18 grand larcenies auto in 2019.


Fire safety

The Lower East Side is served by two
New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...
(FDNY) fire stations: * Engine Company 15/Ladder Company 18/Battalion 4 – 25 Pitt Street * Engine Company 9/Ladder Company 6 – 75 Canal Street


Health

,
preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...
s and births to teenage mothers are less common in the Lower East Side and East Village than in other places citywide. In the Lower East Side and East Village, there were 82 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 10.1 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). The Lower East Side and East Village have a low population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 11%, slightly less than the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in the Lower East Side and East Village is , more than the city average. Twenty percent of Lower East Side and East Village residents are smokers, which is more than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In the Lower East Side and East Village, 10% of residents are obese, 11% are diabetic, and 22% have
high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...
—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 16% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is about the same as the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 70% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", less than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in the Lower East Side and East Village, there are 18 bodegas. The nearest major hospitals are the Bellevue Hospital Center and
NYU Langone Medical Center NYU Langone Health is an integrated Health system, academic health system located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NY ...
in Kips Bay, and NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital in the
Civic Center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...
area. Beth Israel Medical Center in Stuyvesant Town operated until 2025. In addition, FDNY EMS Division 1/Station 4 is located on Pier 39.


Post offices and ZIP Code

The Lower East Side is located within the ZIP Code 10002. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates two post offices in the Lower East Side: * Knickerbocker Station – 128 East Broadway * Pitt Station – 185 Clinton Street


Education

The Lower East Side and East Village generally have a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city . A plurality of residents age 25 and older (48%) have a college education or higher, while 24% have less than a high school education and 28% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 64% of Manhattan residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Lower East Side and East Village students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during the same time period. The Lower East Side and East Village's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City. In the Lower East Side and East Village, 16% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per
school year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...
, less than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 77% of high school students in the Lower East Side and East Village graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.


Schools

The New York City Department of Education operates public schools on the Lower East Side as part of Community School District 1. District 1 does not contain any zoned schools, which means that students living in District 1 can apply to any school in the district, including those in the East Village. The following public elementary schools are located on the Lower East Side, serving grades PK-5 unless otherwise indicated: * New Explorations Into Science Tech and Math (NEST+m) (grades K-12) * PS 1 Alfred E Smith * PS 2 Meyer London * PS 20 Anna Silver * PS 42 Benjamin Altman * PS 110 Florence Nightingale * PS 134 Henrietta Szold * PS 142 Amalia Castro The following public elementary/middle schools are located on the Lower East Side, serving grades PK-8 unless otherwise indicated: * PS 126 Jacob August Riis * PS 140 Nathan Straus * PS 184 Shuang Wen * PS 188 The Island School – Due to the large number of homeless students (which make up nearly half of the student population), the rosters often change and students are often absent. * East Village Community School (grades PK–5) The following public middle and high schools are located on the Lower East Side: * Orchard Collegiate Academy (grades 9–12) * School for Global Leaders (grades 6–8) * University Neighborhood Middle School (grades 5–8) * University Neighborhood High School (grades 9-12) The Lower East Side Preparatory High School (LESPH) and Emma Lazarus High School (ELHS) are second-chance schools that enable students, aged 17–21, to obtain their high school diplomas. LESPH is a
bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
Chinese-English school with a high proportion of Asian students. ELHS' instructional model is English-immersion with an ethnically diverse student body. The Seward Park Campus comprises five schools with an average graduation rate of about 80%. The original school in the building was opened 1929 and closed 2006.


Libraries

The
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
(NYPL) operates two branches on the Lower East Side. The Seward Park branch is located at 4192 East Broadway. It was founded by the Aguilar Free Library Society in 1886, and the current three-story Carnegie library building was opened in 1909 and renovated in 2004. The Hamilton Fish Park branch is located at 415 East Houston Street. It was originally built as a Carnegie library in 1909, but was torn down when Houston Street was expanded; the current one-story structure was completed in 1960.


Parks

The Lower East Side is home to private parks, such as La Plaza Cultural. There are also several public parks in the area, including Sara D. Roosevelt Park between Chrystie and Forsyth Streets from Houston to Canal Streets, as well as Seward Park on Essex Street between Hester Street and East Broadway. The East River shorefront contains the John V. Lindsay East River Park, a public park running between East 12th Street in the East Village and Montgomery Street on the Lower East Side. Planned for the waterfront is Pier 42, the first section of which is scheduled to open in 2021.


Transportation

There are multiple
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
stations in the neighborhood, including Grand Street (), Bowery (), Second Avenue (), Delancey Street–Essex Street (), and East Broadway (). New York City Bus routes include . The Williamsburg Bridge and Manhattan Bridge connect the Lower East Side to
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. The FDR Drive is on the neighborhood's south and east ends. , thirty-seven percent of roads on the Lower East Side have bike lanes. Bike lanes are present on Allen, Chrystie, Clinton, Delancey, Grand, Houston, Montgomery, Madison, Rivington, Stanton, and Suffolk Streets; Bowery, East Broadway, and FDR Drive; the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges; and the East River Greenway. The Lower East Side is served by NYC Ferry's South Brooklyn route, which stops at Corlears Hook in the East River Park. Service to the ferry landing started operating on August 29, 2018.


In popular culture

Children's literature * '' All-of-a-Kind Family'', a five-book series by Sydney Taylor first published from 1951 to 1978 * ''The House on the Roof; A Sukkot Story'' by David A. Adler * Rebecca Rubin, a character in the American Girl doll and book series, is a Jewish girl growing up in an immigrant family in 1914. History books * '' The Spirit of the Ghetto: Studies of the Jewish Quarter in New York'' is a 1902 book by Hutchins Hapgood Novels * '' Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto'' by
Abraham Cahan Abraham "Abe" Cahan (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם קאַהאַן; July 7, 1860 – August 31, 1951) was a Lithuanian-born American socialist newspaper editor, novelist, and politician. Cahan was one of the founders of ''The Forward'' (), an American Y ...
. The film '' Hester Street'' is based on the book. * '' Salome of the Tenements'' by Anzia Yezierska, published in 1923 * '' Bread Givers'' by Anzia Yezierska * '' Jews without Money'' by Mike GoldBarry Gross, "Michael Gold (1893–1967)", ''The Heath Anthology of American Literature'', ed. Paul Lauter, 5th edition. http://college.cengage.com/english/lauter/heath/4e/students/author_pages/modern/gold_mi.html * '' Call It Sleep'' by Henry Roth * ''The Hoods'' by Harry Grey. The film '' Once Upon a Time in America'' is based on the book. * ''
Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...
'' by E. L. Doctorow * '' Low Life'' by
Lucy Sante Lucy Sante (pronounced ''Sahnt''; formerly Luc Sante; born May 25, 1954) is a Belgian-born American writer, critic, and artist. She is a frequent contributor to '' The New York Review of Books''. Her books include ''Low Life: Lures and Snares of ...
* '' Lush Life'' by Richard Price * '' Wonder'' by R.J. Palacio Songs * "Slum Goddess" by The Fugs * "Ballad Of The Lower East Side" by Michael Monroe * "Beautiful Night" by B2ST * "Clinton St Girl" by Wakey!Wakey! * "Down on the Lower East Side" by Justin Townes Earle * "East Side Beat" by The Toasters * "East Side Story" by Emily King * "For My Family" by
Agnostic Front Agnostic Front is an American hardcore punk band from New York City. Founded in 1980, the band is considered an important influence on the New York hardcore scene, as well as a pioneer of the crossover thrash genre. History First era (1980– ...
* "Heavy Metal Lover" by
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
* " In the Flesh" by Blondie * " L.E.S. Artistes" by Santigold * "L.E.S." by Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover) * "Living in L.E.S." by INDK * "Lower East Side Crew" by Warzone * "Lower East Side" by David Peel * "The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side" by
The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André B ...
* "Ludlow St" by
Julian Casablancas Julian Fernando Casablancas (born August 23, 1978) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the Rock music, rock band the Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casabl ...
* "Ludlow Street" by Suzanne Vega * " Marry the Night" by
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
* "New York City Tonight" by GG Allin * "She Took a Lot of Pills (And Died)" by Robbie Fulks * "Southside" by Fun Lovin' Criminals * " What's My Name?" by
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...
ft. Drake * "Veni Vidi Vici" by
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
* '' Motor-Cycle'' LP by Lotti Golden * David Peel & the Lower East Side Band, an early punk band * Gogol Bordello, a gypsy punk band from the area *
The Holy Modal Rounders The Holy Modal Rounders was an American folk music group, originally the duo of Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber, who formed in 1963 on the Lower East Side of New York City. Although they achieved only limited commercial and critical success in ...
, a freak-folk band in the 1960s *
Nausea Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. It can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the throat. Over 30 d ...
, a crust punk band in the late 1980s and early 1990s Plays * ''Secret History of the Lower East Side'' by Alice Tuan * ''Welcome to Arroyo's'' by Kristoffer Diaz Films * '' Alphabet City'' * '' Batteries Not Included'' * '' Beautiful Losers'' * '' Before We Go'' * '' Cloverfield'' * '' The Cobbler'' * '' The Corruptor'' * '' Crossing Delancey'' * '' Date Night'' * '' Die Hard with a Vengeance'' * '' Donnie Brasco'' * '' Downtown 81'' * '' Frogs for Snakes'' * '' Gangs of New York'' * '' The Girl Is in Trouble'' * '' Hester Street'' * '' His People'' * '' I Am Legend'' * '' The Italian'' * '' Johnny Dangerously'' * '' Lucky Number Slevin'' * '' Married to the Mob'' * ''
Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in dark suits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threaten unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have ...
'' * '' Mixed Blood'' * '' The Naked City'' * '' Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'' * '' The Night They Raided Minsky's'' * '' Once Upon a Time in America'' * '' P.S. I Love You'' * '' Raising Victor Vargas'' * '' Rent'' * '' Rhythm Thief'' * ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...
'' * ''
Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...
'' * '' The Wolfpack'' * '' When Harry Met Sally...'' Television * '' The Andy Milonakis Show'' * '' Flight of the Conchords (TV series)'' * '' Forever'' * '' Gossip Girl'' * '' How To Make It In America'' * '' Mr. Robot'' * '' Breadwinners'' parodies the Lower East Side as the "Lower Yeast Side". * '' Master of None'' * '' Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur'' Video games * '' The Darkness'' * ''
Syphon Filter 2 ''Syphon Filter 2'' is a 2000 third-person shooter video game developed by Eidetic and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. It is the second installment in the ''Syphon Filter'' franchise and a seq ...
'' * ''
Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's ''Grand Theft Auto: San And ...
'' Music videos * " Girls Just Want To Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper * " Can't Hold Us Down" by
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...
* "I'll Be Loving You Forever" by New Kids On The Block * "Darling It's True" by Locksley * "It Ain't Hard to Tell" by Nas


Notable residents

* Adrienne Bailon (born 1983), television personality, singer, and actress * George Barris (1922–2016), photographer and photojournalist * Sy Berger (1923–2014), baseball card designer with
Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures trading cards and other collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of Baseball card, baseball and other sports and Non-sports tradi ...
* Mark Bloch (born 1956), artist and writer * Joseph B. Bloomingdale (1842–1904), businessmanOur History
Bloomingdale's. Accessed September 29, 2016. "A Store Is Born: To think it all started with a 19th-century fad – the hoop skirt. That was the first item that Joseph and Lyman Bloomingdale carried in their Ladies' Notions Shop in New York's Lower East Side."
* Lyman G. Bloomingdale (1841–1905), businessman and philanthropist * Arlyne Brickman (1934–2020), mafia informant * Lepke Buchalter (1897–1944), mobster and head of Murder, Inc. * George Burns (1896–1996), comedian, actor, writer, and singer * James Cagney (1899–1986), actor, dancer, and film director * Sammy Cahn (1913–1993), lyricist, songwriter, and musician * Michael Che (born 1983), stand-up comedian, actor, and writer * Joshua Lionel Cowen (1877–1965), inventor *
Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...
(1893–1980), comedian, actor, singer, and pianist *
Monk Eastman Edward "Monk" Eastman (1875 – December 26, 1920) was an American gangster who founded and led the Eastman Gang in the late 19th and early 20th century; it became one of the most powerful street gangs in the city. His aliases included Joseph " ...
(1875–1920), gangster * Miriam Friedlander (1914–2009), politician *
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
(born 1986), singer, songwriter, and actress * John Garfield (1913–1952), actor * Ben Gazzara (1930–2012), actor and director *
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
(1898–1937), composer and pianist * Vincent Gigante (1928–2005), mobster * Lotti Golden (born 1949), singer-songwriter, record producer, poet, and artist * Marcus Goldman (1821–1904), investment banker, businessman, and financier * Ralph Goldstein (1913–1997), Olympic épée fencer * Ruby Goldstein (1907–1984), professional boxer and prize fight referee * Samuel Gompers (1850–1924), cigar maker and labor union leader * David Gordon (1936–2022), post-modern dancer, choreographer, and theatrical director * Stephen Grammauta (1916–2016), mobster * Rocky Graziano (1919–1990), professional boxer and actor * Samuel Greenberg (1893–1917), poet and artist * David Greenglass (1922–2014), machinist and atomic spy * Sally Gross (1933–2015), dancer and choreographer *
Luis Guzmán Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson's films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia (film), Magn ...
(born 1956), actor * Maggie Gyllenhaal (born 1977), actress and filmmaker * Yip Harburg (1896–1981), song lyricist and librettist * Lazarus Joseph (1891–1966), lawyer and politician * Jane Katz (born 1943), educator, author, and Olympic swimmer *
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
(1917–1994), comic book artist, writer, and editor *
LA II Angel Ortiz (born 1967), known publicly as LA II or LA2 (meaning "Little Angel"), is an American graffiti artist and Visual arts, visual artist of Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican descent from the Lower East Side who is known for his collaborations wi ...
(born 1967), graffiti and visual artist * Fiorello LaGuardia (1882–1947), attorney and politician * Meyer Lansky (1902–1983), organized crime figure * Emanuel Lehman (1827–1907), businessman and banker * Henry Lehman (1822–1855), businessman and banker * Mayer Lehman (1830–1897), businessman, banker, and philanthropist * Saul Leiter (1923–2013), photographer and painter * Melissa Leo (born 1960), actress * Lucky Luciano (1897–1962), gangster *
Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. Lumet started his career in theatre before moving to film, where he gained a reputation for making realistic and gritty New York City, New York dramas w ...
(1924–2011), film director *
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
(born 1958), singer, songwriter, and actress * Joseph Mankiewicz (1909–1993), film director, screenwriter, and producer * Jackie Mason (1931–2021), stand-up comedian and actor * Walter Matthau (1920–2000), actor, comedian, and film director * Julia Migenes (born 1949), soprano * Zero Mostel (1915–1977), actor, comedian, and singer * Jim Neu (1943–2010), playwright * Mikhail Odnoralov (1944–2016), artist *
Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...
(1920–1955), jazz saxophonist, band leader, and composer * Genesis P-Orridge (1950–2020), singer-songwriter, musician, poet, performance artist, visual artist, and occultist * Anthony Provenzano (1917–1988), mobster * Lee Quiñones (born 1960), artist and actor *
Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
(1942–2013), musician, songwriter, and poet * Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973), actor *
Sonny Rollins Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. In a seven-decade career, Rollins recorded over sixt ...
(born 1930), jazz tenor saxophonist * Joseph Seligman (1819–1880), banker and businessman * Bugsy Siegel (1906–1947), mobster * Sheldon Silver (1944–2022), politician and attorney * Al Singer (1909–1961), professional boxer * Mose Solomon (1900–1966), professional baseball player * David South, musician and filmmaker * John Spacely (died 1993), musician, actor, and nightlife personality''Gringo''
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
. Accessed November 4, 2017. "In the early 1980s, John Spacely is an unemployed heroin addict living on the streets of New York City's Lower East Side, where he is known by the nickname, 'Gringo.'"
* Ysanne Spevack (born 1972), composer, conductor, and arranger; changed her name in 2018 to Meena Ysanne * Johnny Thunders (1952–1991), guitarist, singer, and songwriter * Rachel Trachtenburg (born 1993), musician and singer *
Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...
(1951–2005), singer, songwriter, and record producer * B. D. Wong (born 1960), actor * Christopher Woodrow (born 1977), entrepreneur, financier, and movie producer


See also

* Alife Rivington Club * Cooperative Village * Grand Street Settlement * East Side (Manhattan) * East Side Hebrew Institute (ESHI) * East Village/Lower East Side Historic District * First Houses * Henry Street Settlement * Lower East Side Conservancy * Lower East Side History Project * Lower East Side Tenement Museum * Moshe Feinstein * Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space * Ray's Candy Store * TEATRO SEA * Tompkins Square Park * University Settlement House


References

Notes Bibliography * Brazee, Christopher, et al. (October 9, 2012
''East Village/Lower East Side Historic District Designation Report''
Betts, Mary Beth (ed.). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission


External links


Lower East Side – The Official News and Information Website

Lower East Side – Tenement Museum


''New York'' magazine

* ttp://leshp.org/ Lower East Side History Project
Lower East Side Preservation Initiative


{{Authority control Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Historic Jewish communities in the United States Jews and Judaism in Manhattan Neighborhoods in Manhattan Orthodox Judaism in New York City Yiddish theatre in the United States