The Lower East Side
From 1892 to 1934, between twelve and twenty million men, women, and children took their first steps onto American soil at Ellis Island. The next stop from the tiny island for a great number of these immigrants was the small pocket of land near the Brooklyn Bridge along the East River, Manhattan's Lower East Side. In the early 1900s, the neighborhood was the most overcrowded in America.
On what had been farmlands, builders crammed three- and four-story row houses that barely fit on the narrow strips of land that had been sectioned off for single-family dwellings. These Lower East Side tenements were quickly filled and then overcrowded, housing more people than they were designed for. Many ethnic groups lived together in the area, including an enormous Jewish population, immigrants from Eastern Europe, and large contingencies from Ireland and Italy.
Many New York celebrities grew up on the Lower East Side, including Robert DeNiro, Zero Mostel, James Cagney, George Burns, and Jimmy Durante. The Marx Brothers, George Gershwin, and others honed their skills in its burlesque houses, Yiddish theaters, and (in later years) the settlement houses there. One of New York's most famous gangsters of the 1930s, Lucky Luciano, and one of the city's most renowned mayors, Fiorello LaGuardia (who would later put Luciano behind bars), were also born in the neighborhood.
Today the population of the neighborhood is in transition. Latino and Chinese immigrants have settled in waves, but professionals are slowly gentrifying the neighborhood. The boutiques and bistros have inevitably followed, but discount shopping stores along Orchard Street still draw clients.
A Brief ItineraryTo get to the Lower East Side, take the subway to Delancey-Essex Street (F, J, M, or Z train). Stroll along Orchard, Delancey, and Grand streets to find bargains on vintage clothing, hip-hop wear, designer clothes, shoes, and inexpensive packs of underwear, linens, and housewares. For many years, vendors took their wares out to the streets on Sunday along these popular shopping locales. Some still do so today, although most of the old storefronts are home to trendy boutiques.
Visit the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (page 164) for a guided tour through an 1863 tenement at 108 Orchard Street, between Delancy and Broome streets. The furnishings give you an idea of the daily existence of the thousands of immigrants who lived there. The unique museum is a tribute to urban housing.
Get a bite to eat at either Ratner's Restaurant or Katz's Delicatessen, where the portions are big, the décor isn't fancy, and the traditional Jewish-style food is still first rate.
If you expect deli fare like you order at home, be prepared to be dazzled. New York is the birthplace of delicatessen, so don't miss the authentic: pickles straight from a barrel, homemade coleslaw, potato salad, and pickled peppers. Get pastrami on rye, a knish or two, the matzo ball soup, a hot dog with sauerkraut, and a blintz with applesauce. Seltzer goes with everything.
Stop by and tour the beautiful Eldridge Street Synagogue (12 Eldridge Street), the nation's first Eastern European Orthodox synagogue, built in 1887. It has been restored and converted into a cultural center and gift shop.
Streit's manufactures matzos, as they have since 1925, at 148 Rivington Street. You can visit this working bakery and watch as the different kinds of matzos bake in the ovens. A family member (founder Aron Streit's great-grandchildren) might even give you a tour. This is the only family-owned and operated matzo company in America.
