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97-473: The eldest brother, Abe, launched the business in 1908 with a Lower East Side nickelodeon showing racy films. His own father shut him down and bought the National Winter Garden on Houston Street, which had a theater inconveniently located on the sixth floor. He gave the theater to Abe and his brothers Billy and Herbert. At first they tried showing respectable films but could not compete with

194-759: A 70-acre (28 ha) farm in 1803 that ran from 42nd Street to 46th Street west of Broadway to the Hudson River . The street was designated by the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 that established the Manhattan street grid as one of 15 crosstown (east-west) streets that would be 100 feet (30 m) in width, while other streets were designated as 60 feet (18 m) in width. In 1835, the city's Street Committee, after receiving numerous complaints about lack of access for development above 14th Street, decided to open up all lots which had already been plotted on

291-564: 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

388-404: A few years later. Since the mid-1990s, the block has again become home to mainstream theatres and several multi-screen mainstream movie theatres, along with shops, restaurants, hotels, and attractions such as Madame Tussauds wax museum and Ripley's Believe It or Not that draw millions to the city every year. This area is now co-signed as "New 42nd Street" to signify this change. In the 1990s,

485-462: A number of buildings historically associated with the Jewish immigrant community. Notable sites include: Synagogues include: Little Fuzhou ( Chinese : 小福州 ; pinyin : Xiǎo Fúzhōu ; Foochow Romanized : Siēu-hók-ciŭ ), or Fuzhou Town ( Chinese : 福州埠 ; pinyin : Fúzhōu Bù ; Foochow Romanized : Hók-ciŭ-pú ) is a neighborhood within the eastern sliver of Chinatown , in

582-589: 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. Gradually, during the 17th century, there

679-671: A stripper at Abe Minsky's New Gotham Theater in Harlem was spotted working without a G-string . The ensuing raid led to the demise not only of Minsky burlesque but of all burlesque in New York. The conviction allowed Moss to revoke Abe's license and refuse to renew all of the other burlesque licenses in New York. After several appeals, the Minskys and their rivals were allowed to reopen only if they adhered to new rules that forbade strippers. The owners went along, hoping to stay in business until

776-570: A viaduct to carry Tudor City Place over 42nd Street. Despite opposition from Tudor City residents, city officials said the street widening was necessary because 42nd Street already carried high amounts of vehicular traffic to and from the nearby FDR Drive . The New York City Planning Commission approved the plans in September 1948, and the Board of Estimate approved $ 1.848 million for the project that December. The board provisionally authorized

873-454: A week. With burlesque thriving in New York (there were now 14 burlesque theaters, including Minsky's rivals), competition was fierce. Each year, various license commissioners issued restrictions to keep burlesque from pushing the limits. But convictions were rare, so theater managers saw no need to tone down their shows.The Minskys emphasized that a good strip-tease dance must know exactly the right psychological moment to remove each garment. 'It

970-527: 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. The census tabulation area for the Lower East Side is bounded to the north by 14th Street and to the west by Avenue B , Norfolk Street, Essex Street , and Pike Street . According to

1067-759: Is also the name of the region of the theater district (and, at times, the red-light district ) near that intersection. During the American Revolutionary War , a cornfield near 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue was where General George Washington angrily attempted to rally his troops after the British landing at Kip's Bay , which scattered many of the American militiamen. Washington's attempt put him in danger of being captured, and his officers had to persuade him to leave. The rout eventually subsided into an orderly retreat. John Jacob Astor purchased

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1164-543: Is not just a matter of going on the stage and taking off clothes - it needs finesse.' In 1935, irate citizens' groups began calling for action against burlesque. Fiorello H. LaGuardia deemed them a "corrupting moral influence." The city's license commissioner, Paul Moss, tried to revoke Minsky's license but the State Court of Appeals ruled that he did not have grounds without a criminal conviction. Finally, in April, 1937,

1261-553: 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 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

1358-483: 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 countries, many of whom are congregants of

1455-600: 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 Lower East Side is roughly bounded by East 14th Street on the north, by the East River 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

1552-663: 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,

1649-620: The 2010 United States Census , the population of Lower East Side was 72,957, an increase of 699 (1.0%) from the 72,258 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 535.91 acres (216.88 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 136.1 inhabitants per acre (87,100/sq mi; 33,600/km ). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 22.6% (16,453) White , 10.9% (7,931) African American , 0.2% (142) Native American , 24.9% (18,166) Asian , 0.0% (13) Pacific Islander , 0.3% (191) from other races , and 1.6% (1,191) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 39.6% (28,870) of

1746-554: The American Civil War , and 57th Street , which became prominent in the 1890s. It was only after the beginning of the 20th century that the street saw entertainment venues being developed around Times Square and upscale office space around Grand Central Terminal. In the first two decades of the 20th century, eleven venues for legitimate theatre were built within one block of West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The corner of 42nd Street and Broadway , at

1843-620: 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 . After World War II , the Lower East Side became New York City's first racially integrated neighborhood with

1940-619: The East River to Queens . Each line stops at Times Square and Grand Central, though the Fifth Avenue station is also served by the 7 and <7> ​ trains. In the past, every former IRT elevated line had a station at 42nd Street: A fifth station extended over 42nd Street as a western spur from the Third Avenue Line to Grand Central Depot , later Grand Central Station, and finally Grand Central Terminal. MTA Regional Bus Operations 's M42 bus runs

2037-558: The First Roumanian-American congregation (the Rivington Street Synagogue), partially collapsed in 2006 and was subsequently demolished. In addition, there is a major Hare Krishna temple and several Buddhist houses of worship. 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

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2134-783: The Hudson River on the West Side . The street has several major landmarks, including (from east to west) the headquarters of the United Nations , the Chrysler Building , Grand Central Terminal , the New York Public Library Main Branch , Times Square , and the Port Authority Bus Terminal . The street is known for its theaters , especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square , and as such

2231-553: 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

2328-587: The New York State Senate 's 26th district; and New York City Council 's 1st and 2nd districts. As was true of all of Manhattan Island, the area now known as the Lower East Side was occupied by members of the Lenape 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

2425-707: The Silver Slipper , the Thunderbird, and The Aladdin . Harold resided in Las Vegas until his death in 1977. Notes Lower East Side The Lower East Side , sometimes abbreviated as LES , is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City . It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it

2522-483: 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

2619-585: The middle-class , as well as immigrants from countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, Bangladesh , China, the Dominican Republic , India, Japan , Korea, the Philippines , and Poland. 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,

2716-470: The 1960s, East 42nd Street between Park and Second Avenues contained more headquarters of industries than any other place in the United States except Chicago or Pittsburgh. During this time, there was much development outside the rundown entertainment district of Times Square, somewhat offsetting the perception of that part of 42nd Street. In the early 1990s, city government encouraged a cleanup of

2813-452: 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

2910-564: The Jewish neighborhood was one of the largest of these ethnic groupings, with 400,000 people, pushcart vendors and storefronts prominent on Orchard and Grand Streets, and numerous Yiddish theatres along Second Avenue between Houston 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

3007-405: 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 day schools and a mikvah . A few Judaica shops can be found along Essex Street, as are

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3104-474: 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

3201-579: The Minsky brand to Broadway, amid the respectable shows, and leased the Republic Theater on 42nd Street and staged their first show on February 12. The Republic became Minsky's flagship theater and the capital of burlesque in the United States. (The theater is now called the New Victory and specializes in children's entertainment.) Other burlesque shows were inspired to open on 42nd Street at

3298-513: The Minsky name to Las Vegas in a revue at the Dunes ,. Lou Costello , after splitting with Bud Abbott , appeared in the 1958 edition of that revue. Ray Vasquez worked for Harold Minsky and Joe Gordon at the Dunes and the Silver Slipper . He kept a chorus line , top-rate comedians, a snazzy band, and, of course, strippers. The revue ran for six years, then moved to other landmark casinos such as

3395-670: The Minskys, only Harold, Abe's adopted son, remained active in burlesque. At the height of the Great Depression , Harold began learning all facets of the business operating the Gaiety Theater in Times Square. "At nineteen, Harold took over the business from his father. Every summer, his parents went to Europe for vacation and the theatres would close due to the heat in New York City . Theatres weren’t air-conditioned. The performers begged Harold to keep his doors open;

3492-482: The November election when reformist mayor Fiorello La Guardia might be voted out. But business under the new code was so bad that many New York burlesque theaters closed their doors for good. By the time La Guardia was re-elected, the word "burlesque" had been banned and, soon after, the Minsky name itself, since the two were synonymous. With that final blow, burlesque and the Minskys were finished in New York. Of all

3589-492: The Times Square area. In 1990, the city government took over six of the historic theatres on the block of 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues , and New 42nd Street , a not-for-profit organization, was formed to oversee their renovation and reuse, as well as to construct new theatres and a rehearsal space. In 1993, Disney Theatrical Productions bought the New Amsterdam Theatre , which it renovated

3686-552: The adult houses promenade down the block. ... Were you a freak? Not when you stepped onto the Deuce. Being a freak there would get you money, attention, entertainment, a starring part in a movie. Or maybe a robbery and a beating. For much of the mid and late 20th century, the area of 42nd Street near Times Square was home to activities often considered unsavory, including peep shows . East 42nd Street was, for some time, spared from similar decline, especially east of Third Avenue, where

3783-538: The aristocratic planned square for a grid, effacing Delancey's vision of a New York laid out like the West End of London . 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

3880-495: The book and film The Night They Raided Minsky's . By this time it was permissible for women in shows staged by Ziegfeld, George White , and Earl Carroll – as well as burlesque – to appear topless in a static "tableaux". (A similar rule in London burlesque was famously demonstrated in the film Mrs. Henderson Presents ). But in a show at the National Winter Garden, Mademoiselle Fifi (née Mary Dawson from Pennsylvania), stripped to

3977-421: The city grid up to 42nd Street, which thus became – for a time – the northern boundary of the city. Cornelius Vanderbilt began the construction of Grand Central Depot in 1869 on 42nd Street at Fourth Avenue as the terminal for his Central, Hudson , Harlem and New Haven commuter rail lines, because city regulations required that trains be pulled by horse below 42nd Street. The Depot, which opened in 1871,

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4074-593: 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

4171-559: The company in 1924 after graduating from New York University , and worked at the Little Apollo Theater on 125th Street. There was a raid during the very first show. For the next four years, the theater showed a weekly profit of $ 20,000 after payola . Billy's attempt, however, to present classy burlesque at the Park Theater on Columbus Circle failed miserably. Another famous raid occurred in April 1925, and inspired

4268-633: The development of the United Nations supported a thriving business district and prompted the widening of that section of 42nd Street. The demolition of the Second and Third Avenue elevated lines by the 1950s led to increased development on East 42nd Street, such as annexes to the Chrysler and Daily News Buildings, as well as the construction of the Socony–Mobil and Ford Foundation Buildings . By

4365-450: 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

4462-512: The elevated IRT Second Avenue Line and IRT Third Avenue Line , and accordingly, initially considered unattractive for major development. By the 1920s, The New York Times reported that several high-rise developments were "radically changing the old-time conditions" along East 42nd Street, including the Chanin, Lincoln , Chrysler , and Daily News Buildings , as well as Tudor City . The block of 42nd Street between Second and First Avenues

4559-470: The first time in 1917 when Mae Dix absentmindedly began removing her costume before she reached the wings. When the crowd cheered, Dix returned to the stage to continue removing her clothing to wild applause. Billy ordered the "accident" repeated every night. This began an endless cycle: to keep their license, the Minskys had to keep their shows clean, but to keep drawing customers they had to be risqué. Whenever they went too far, they were raided. Morton joined

4656-424: 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

4753-428: 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 Jean-Michel Basquiat . 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

4850-505: The girls were broke, and they desperately needed the money from the performances. So Harold stayed open and, though a ticket cost a dime, 'He made over a million dollars,' claimed his wife Dardy Minsky.” Harold discovered and groomed dozens of famous names throughout the 1930s into the '50s. He claimed to have discovered future headliner fourteen-year-old Sherry Britton from an audition. Harold also employed and nurtured first-rate comic talents such as Phil Silvers . In 1956, Harold brought

4947-485: The influx of African Americans and Puerto Ricans . 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

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5044-675: The intersection of Jackson and Cherry Streets along the East River Drive. 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 tenements 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,

5141-579: The large burlesque wheels, collapsed during the Depression, Minsky's became the standard bearer for stock burlesque. In Harlem, they leased the Harlem Opera House 1924, then Hurtig and Seamon's Apollo in 1928 (later the famous venue for black performers). Billy realized that while burlesque could not be classy it could be presented in classy surroundings. In 1931, many legitimate theaters in New York closed. Billy saw an opportunity to bring

5238-604: The large theater chains. The Minskys tried to bolster their shows by bringing in vaudevillians but could not afford good acts. Then they considered burlesque . Burlesque acts were cheaper, and circuits (called "wheels") supplied a new show every week, complete with cast, costumes, and scenery. There was the Columbia Wheel , the American Wheel and, in the 1920s, the Mutual Wheel . Burlesque during this period

5335-570: The late 1980s, 42nd Street, nicknamed the "Deuce", was the cultural center of American grindhouse theaters , which spawned an entire subculture. The book Sleazoid Express , a travelogue of the 42nd Street grindhouses and the films they showed, describes the unique blend of people who made up the theater-goers: depressives hiding from jobs, sexual obsessives, inner-city people seeking cheap diversions, teenagers skipping school, adventurous couples on dates, couples-chasers peeking on them, people getting high, homeless people sleeping, pickpockets... While

5432-540: The length of 42nd Street between the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises ferry terminal on the Hudson River and the headquarters of the United Nations on the East River . Westbound service originates at First Avenue. Its predecessor, the 42nd Street Crosstown Line streetcar, had used 42nd Street until 1946. In 2019, bus lanes were installed along the length of the street. There have also been proposals for light rail on 42nd Street over

5529-412: The nearby Eltinge and Apollo Theaters. The Great Depression ushered in the greatest era for burlesque, and Minsky burlesque in particular. Few could afford to attend expensive Broadway shows, yet people craved entertainment. Furthermore, there now seemed to be an unlimited supply of unemployed young pretty women who considered the steady work offered by burlesque. By the time they finished expanding,

5626-517: 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

5723-545: 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 from about the Manhattan Bridge and Canal Street up to 14th Street , and roughly bounded on

5820-418: 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 and restaurant supply shops on the Bowery. While the Lower East Side has been a place of successive immigrant populations, many American Jews relate to

5917-568: 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

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6014-486: 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

6111-422: The oldest neighborhoods of the city, the Lower East Side has long been a lower-class worker neighborhood and often a poor and ethnically diverse section of New York. As well as Irish , Italians , Poles , Ukrainians , and other ethnic groups, it once had a sizeable German population and was known as Little Germany (Kleindeutschland) . Today it is a predominantly Puerto Rican and Dominican community, and in

6208-555: 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

6305-714: The original as the Fuzhou cultural center of the New York metropolitan area , and is still rapidly growing in contrast to Manhattan's Little Fuzhou that is shrinking under gentrification . 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, professionals moving into this area, including high-end hipster -owned businesses. The neighborhood has become home to numerous contemporary art galleries. One of

6402-462: 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. 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

6499-558: 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, as of 2018 , 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. One of

6596-419: The police) ABC No Rio kept its sense of activism , community, and outsiderness. The product of this open, expansive approach to art was a space for creating new works that did not have links to the art market place and that were able to explore new artistic possibilities. Other outsider galleries sprung up throughout the Lower East Side and East Village—some 200 at the height of the scene in the 1980s, including

6693-774: 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

6790-403: 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 city Commissioners of Forfeiture eliminated

6887-418: The process of gentrification (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 immigrant culture. In her 2000 book Lower East Side Memories: A Jewish Place in America , Hasia Diner explains that

6984-765: The renovation of Bryant Park between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, as well as the renovations of Times Square and Grand Central Terminal, led to increases in office occupancy along both sections of 42nd Street. (from East to West): Every New York City Subway line that crosses 42nd Street has a stop on 42nd Street: There are two subway lines under 42nd Street. The 42nd Street Shuttle ( S train) runs under 42nd Street between Broadway/Seventh Avenue ( Times Square ) and Park Avenue ( Grand Central ). The IRT Flushing Line ( 7 and <7> ​ trains) curves from Eleventh Avenue to 41st Street, under which it runs until Fifth Avenue ; shifts to 42nd Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues ; and continues under

7081-427: 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. 42nd Street (Manhattan) 42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan , spanning the entire breadth of Midtown Manhattan , from Turtle Bay at the East River , to Hell's Kitchen at

7178-417: The route of Broadway . One encampment in the Lower East Side area, near Corlears Hook was called Rechtauck or Naghtogack. The population of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam 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

7275-817: The small Madina Masjid, a mosque 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,

7372-580: 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. By the turn of the twentieth century, the neighborhood had become closely associated with radical politics, such as anarchism , socialism , and communism . It was also known as a place where many popular performers had grown up, such as Eddie Cantor , Al Jolson , George and Ira Gershwin , Jimmy Durante , and Irving Berlin . Later, more radical artists such as

7469-804: The southeast corner of Times Square, is the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway , the first road across the United States , which was conceived and mapped in 1913. An elevated railroad line, running above East 42nd Street from Third Avenue to the Grand Central station , was closed in 1923, leading to the development of such structures as the Chanin Building and 110 East 42nd Street west of Lexington Avenue . The street east of Lexington Avenue continued to be made up of mostly low-rise buildings; these blocks were adjacent to

7566-445: The street outside the theatres was populated with: phony drug salesman ... low-level drug dealers, chain snatchers ... [j]unkies alone in their heroin/cocaine dreamworld ... predatory chickenhawks spying on underage trade looking for pickups ... male prostitutes of all ages ... [t]ranssexuals, hustlers, and closety gays with a fetishistic homo- or heterosexual itch to scratch ... It was common to see porn stars whose films were playing at

7663-565: The street widening in June 1949, and Manhattan's borough president announced in December 1949 that work would commence shortly. The neighboring stretch of 42nd Street was temporarily closed from February 1951 to October 1952 while the widening was underway. West 42nd Street, meanwhile, prospered as a theater and entertainment district until World War II . According to historian Robert A. M. Stern , West 42nd Street's decline started in 1946, when

7760-407: The streetcars on 42nd Street were replaced by less efficient buses. Lloyd Bacon and Busby Berkeley 's 1933 film musical 42nd Street , starring 30s heartthrobs Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler , displays the bawdy and colorful mixture of Broadway denizens and lowlifes in Manhattan during the Depression . In 1980, it was turned into a successful Broadway musical which ran until 1989, and which

7857-513: 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 and Nolita in the previous decade. More recently, the gentrification that was previously confined to

7954-518: 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 , 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

8051-801: The various Minskys controlled over a dozen theaters – six in New York and others in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Albany, and Pittsburgh. They even formed their own small "wheel." Minsky's featured comics Phil Silvers , Joey Faye , Rags Ragland , Zero Mostel , Jules Munshin , B.S. Pully , Jimmy Savo , Eddie Collins , Pinky Lee , Morey Amsterdam , Red Buttons , Benny Rubin , Irving Benson , Red Skelton , and Abbott and Costello , as well as headlining stripper Gypsy Rose Lee . Others included Danny Kaye , Jack Albertson and Robert Alda , as well as strippers Georgia Sothern , Ann Corio , Margie Hart , Mara Gaye and Sherry Britton . These women, who began stripping in their teens, made between $ 700 and $ 2,000

8148-531: The waist, moved. Occasionally a raid was triggered by the comedy material, but dirty comics did not last long because they were a liability to the management. Business boomed for the Minskys during Prohibition and the National Winter Garden's notoriety grew. Regular patrons included John Dos Passos , Robert Benchley , George Jean Nathan , Condé Nast , and Hart Crane (see Crane's poem "National Winter Garden" in The Bridge) . Then, when Columbia and Mutual,

8245-492: 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". Politically, the neighborhood is in New York's 7th and 12th congressional districts. It is in the New York State Assembly 's 65th district and 74th district;

8342-562: The women were featured. Abe, who had been to Paris and the Folies Bergère and Moulin Rouge , suggested importing one of their trademarks: a runway to bring the women out into the audience. The theater was reconfigured and the Minskys were the first to feature a runway in the United States. Billy had the sign out front changed to "Burlesque As You Like It – Not a Family Show," and the Minskys were on their way. The Minskys were raided for

8439-570: The years, such as in 2005. 42nd Street is also used by the SIM8 , SIM22 , SIM25 , SIM26 and SIM30 Staten Island express buses. "Dorty-deuce" is street slang for Manhattan's former live peep show district on 42nd Street. The 1982 film Forty Deuce and the 2017 TV series The Deuce reference the phrase "forty-deuce". Notable CCP Politboro Standing Comittee member Wang Huning referenced 42nd Street in his book America Against America mentioning it's "pornographic culture" as an example of

8536-511: 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

8633-549: 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 colony killed forty Wiechquaesgecks at their encampment in

8730-520: 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 tenements built in New York City. Corlears Hook is mentioned on the first page of Chapter 1 of Herman Melville 's Moby Dick , first published in 1851: "Circumambulate

8827-461: 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

8924-406: 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 epidemic, a two-story wooden workshop in the neighborhood

9021-428: Was originally only 40 feet (12 m) wide, passing through a steep bluff known as Prospect Hill. On either side of the street, 30-foot-wide (9.1 m) service roads ascended to Tudor City Place, which crossed over 42nd Street. To improve access to the newly developed United Nations headquarters , in 1948, the city government proposed widening that block of 42nd Street, eliminating the service roads, and constructing

9118-493: Was relatively "clean"; a fourth wheel, the Independent, actually went bankrupt in 1916 after refusing to clean up its act. The Minskys briefly considered signing with a wheel but decided to stage their own shows because it was cheaper and Billy longed to be the next Florenz Ziegfeld . But Minsky's clientele needed a compelling reason to trek up to a sixth-floor theater. Billy realized that success in burlesque depended on how

9215-478: Was replaced by Grand Central Terminal in 1913. Between the 1870s and 1890s, 42nd Street became the uptown boundary of the mainstream theatre district , which started around 23rd Street, as the entertainment district of the Tenderloin gradually moved northward. 42nd Street was developed relatively late compared to other crosstown thoroughfares such as 14th Street and 23rd Street , which had grown during

9312-576: Was revived for a four-year run in 2001. In the words of the Al Dubin and Harry Warren title song , on 42nd Street one could find: Little nifties from the Fifties, innocent and sweet, Sexy ladies from the Eighties who are indiscreet, They're side by side, they're glorified, Where the underworld can meet the elite Naughty, gawdy, bawdy, sporty, Forty-second Street! From the late 1950s until

9409-484: 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 neighborhood, it began rapid gentrification 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

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