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Warnings against drinking water from lead pipes in old buildings are posted in Chinese, Spanish, Hebrew and English on the Lower East Side revealing its diverse populace and potential poor living conditions. Home to one of the largest immigrant populations in New York City the neighborhood spreads from Houston in the North, the East River in the East, Brooklyn Bridge to the South and Broadway to the West. Essentially the Lower East Side encompasses three areas: Little Italy, Chinatown and the Jewish/Hispanic section.
Chinatown is Manhattan’s largest and most successful ethnic neighborhood and home to the largest Chinese population in the Western Hemisphere. With the highest number of inhabitants employed, lowest crime rate and near absence of juvenile delinquency outsiders wonder how it can be done. Two words: Self Sufficiency. The Chinese here need little from outside their community. Banks cater to Chinese customers, movie theatres and video rental stores feature Chinese movies, stores carry Chinese foods and newsstands carry Chinese newspapers. It’s possible to live here and never learn to speak English. Although there is a Mayor of New York City, the elders of various factions among the Chinese population rule their neighborhood. The Chinatown police chief also is extremely powerful, maintaining a balance between city law enforcement and the local powers that be. The two most significant “political” groups in the community are the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (pro-Taiwanese) of Chinatown and the United Chinese Associations of New York (pro-mainland China). Allegiance to either one usually depends on the region of China you are from. Although sweatshops, gangs and extortion still exist, the Chinese keep to themselves and put few demands on the city for interference. Where the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 kept Chinese from becoming American Citizens and their presence in the US to a minimum, the act’s repeal in 1943 allowed Chinese to immigrate as easily as the Irish. Chinatown is a sensory experience. People pushing past stalls of fresh produce on crowded streets. Exotic looking vegetables and fruits accompany Florida oranges. Fresh fish. Live lobsters. Tiny turtles. Herb stores filled from ceiling to floor with mysterious mélanges. Reasonable prices make it hard to walk away without carrying 5 pounds of produce. Those looking for counterfeit Gucci’s and $10 Rolex watches can find them here too.
Little Italy, or what’s left of it, is primarily centered around Mulberry Street and clustered in the blocks just south of Houston, East of Crosby and North or Kenmare (though it dips all the way down to Canal on Mulberry Street) and West of Bowery. If you sit at a café across from the Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the corner of Mott and Prince you might be able to convince yourself that you’re in the old country, for a moment. Once a densely populated enclave of Italian folk, few of this group remains. While signs posted in Chinese are more and more prevalent those desperately trying to preserve an Italian presence sometimes seem to go overboard. Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin music is played over Mulberry Street where tourists are tempted to buy plastic trinkets and postcards. In milder months outdoor diners and strolling out-of-towners vie for limited sidewalk space. A wonderful place to grab desert and coffee, better meals can be found elsewhere. Many of the Italian families moved to the suburbs years ago and trek back to the neighborhood to man family run businesses or show grandchildren old stomping grounds. A converted police station and several warehouses on Bowery add luxury condos to the housing stock. Overall the neighborhood looks pretty schnazzy. The streets are clean and many tenements having been refurbished to justify higher rents. When looking at an apartment here you should find out if it’s in the path of the San Genarro Festival. If it is, factor the cost of buying an annual ticket out of town into the cost of acquiring and maintaining the apartment. Otherwise every year from the 2nd Thursday in September and the ten days following you’ll find yourself struggling against huge crowds, pushing past overflowing trash cans and through unctuous clouds of sausage smoke trying to get into your place.
While there are some Jewish residents who still live in the Lower East Side most tend to be older people who grew up in the neighborhood and never moved out. Once the largest Jewish population in the United States the area is now mostly Puerto Rican. Despite today’s sizable Hispanic population the streets are quiet and many buildings are boarded up making it hard to believe people actually live here. Walking through the neighborhood you see old Synagogues converted to churches or sealed off. Home of the Bargain District, Sundays on the Lower East Side are still spent by some haggling with shopkeepers on everything from pantyhose to kitchen utensils and eyeglasses. Still a good source of buying must haves for the Jewish holidays, beautiful menorahs and items used in religious ceremony are also found here.
Regardless of which ethnic enclave, most housing stock on the Lower East Side consists of old tenements with a few prewar buildings and a sprinkling of new high-rises. On the outside, many older buildings were constructed with intricate architectural details and elaborate stone workings to impress immigrants looking for apartments. Newcomers would see the first floor entryway where the ceilings were painted with frescos and chandeliers sparkled. Impressed, the visitors would sign a lease and hand over the rent without seeing their personal space first. Opening the door to their place immigrants would find a few poorly kept rooms with little light and ventilation. Today many of these buildings will remain vacant. With the immense demand for apartments in Manhattan, abandoned spaces here and everywhere are being refurbished.
There are many resources on the Lower East Side. Essentially everything under the sum is down here if you know where to find it. Pickles sold out of brine filled vats, roasted duck hanging in shop windows, fresh crusty Italian bread, etc. Those that speak the native language of certain shop keepers can often get the proprietor to lower prices after the little haggling or hanging out. Recreation wise, the East River Park provides many options for the athlete. Tennis courts, baseball diamonds and a running path along the river are for some, while full grown trees provide shade for those who just want to sit and enjoy the river breeze.
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Metropolis Real Estate of Manhattan | 167 Lexington Avenue Suite 100 | New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212.696.1900, Fax: 212.696.0220 | Email: info@metropolisre.com
Our Connecticut Branch:
1200 Summer Street, Suite 105, Stamford, CT 06905
Tel: 203.653.1406, Fax:203.653.7219
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