Lower East Side and East Village

The lower east side is alive with memories, a neighborhood still seeming to echo the calls of immigrants crowded into tenements, peddlers hawking wares from pushcarts, and children playing in the streets, the only open spaces to be found. Early churches became synagogues for the Jews who came in record numbers between 1880 and 1920. Some remain, but in recent years, Latinos and Chinese have moved in, adding to the area’s rich history. Meanwhile, Orchard Street tempts with bargains, and a hip, young generation is rediscovering the old neighborhood. Nearby, the East Village has its own layers of history, an early Dutch enclave that changed from German to Jewish before becoming a 1960s haven for hippies and the place where punk rock was born. A Ukrainian community has remained through most of these changes, including recent gentrification.

The Changing Scene Proving that change is the rule in New York, the Lower East Side has emerged as the newest trendy area for clubs, restaurants, and hip boutiques. Some residents are even moving into the tenement buildings their great-grandparents fought to escape from. Ludlow Street is one of the best streets to get a feel for the current scene.