One of the oldest neighborhoods of the city, the Lower East Side has long been known as a lower-class worker neighborhood and often as a poor and diverse part of New York. As well as Italians, Poles, Ukrainians, and other ethnic groups, it once had a sizeable German population and was known as Little Germany, Manhattan.
The neighborhood also presents 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), and various smaller synagogues along East Broadway. In addition, there are a major Hare Krishna temple and Buddhist houses of worship.
In what is now the East Village, the earlier population of Polers and Ukrainians has been largely supplanted with newer immigrants, and the arrival of large numbers of 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 Bangladreshis and other immigrants from Muslim countries, many of whom are congregants of the small Madina Masjid (Mosque), located on First Avenue and 11th Street.
Incoming Chinese people have also made their mark on the Lower East Side in recent decades. The part of the neighborhood south of
Delancey Street and west of
Allen Street has in large measure become part of
Chinatown, and
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.
There is still an Orthodox Jewish community with yeshiva day schools and a
mikvah. A few Judaica shops can be found along Essex Street and 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. Downtown Second Avenue in the Lower East Side was the home to many Yiddish theatre productions during the early part of the 20th century, and Second Avenue came to be known as 'Yiddish Broadway', though most of the theaters are gone. More recently, it has been settled by immigrants, primarily from Latin America. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org
One of the oldest neighborhoods of the city, the Lower East Side has long been known as a lower-class worker neighborhood and often as a poor and diverse part of New York. As well as Italians, Poles, Ukrainians, and other ethnic groups, it once had a sizeable German population and was known as Little Germany, Manhattan.
The neighborhood also presents 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), and various smaller synagogues along East Broadway. In addition, there are a major Hare Krishna temple and Buddhist houses of worship.
In what is now the East Village, the earlier population of Polers and Ukrainians has been largely supplanted with newer immigrants, and the arrival of large numbers of 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 Bangladreshis and other immigrants from Muslim countries, many of whom are congregants of the small Madina Masjid (Mosque), located on First Avenue and 11th Street.
Incoming Chinese people have also made their mark on the Lower East Side in recent decades. The part of the neighborhood south of Delancey Street and west of Allen Street has in large measure become part of Chinatown, and 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.
