Lower East Side

This morning began with Arielle racing to catch the train. We literally almost missed it by 2
minutes. Arielle and I are always late for everything but yet we managed to always make it to
Penn Station by 11am promptly and today was no exception. Though we barely made it, I had to
run a red light and speed but we managed to get on the train with 2 minutes to spare. It would
have been terrible to start our last class rushing to meet everyone at the next stop after Penn. It
was always a fear of mine to be late for Penn Station because I feared taking the trains without
Mike, but I grew to become very comfortable taking the trains. I dont think the thought would
be as scary anymore.
From Penn we got on the F train and took that to Delancy Street. Mike stopped here to
talk to us about the background history of the area. During the mid-19th century, millions of
immigrants came into New York escape famine, persecution, and wars that were common in
Europe. When they first arrived to this country they had little to no money to their name so they
settled in the crowded Lower East Side. In the 1880s, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe
migrated to this neighborhood that really gave its character (ENY, p. 65). Between 1880 and
1924, 2.5 million Ashkenazi Jews came to the United States who also settled on the Lower East
Side. The Jewish immigrants who lived on the Lower East Side tended to form enclaves with
those from their same country of origin, creating clusters of different Jewish communities
throughout the Lower East Side where languages, customs, and traditions could be quite
different from one block to the next (ENY, p. 65). "Despite these differences, however, the
Jews of the Lower East Side were united by their common faith and the Yiddish language that
many Ashkenazi Jews tended to speak" (ENY, p.65). This area was once the poorest area in the
country and the most crowded place to live in the world during the 1900s. They lived in
unsanitary living quarters which are known as tenements. Later the Italians and Chinese came
over and the area was very poor and most populated place in the 1920's. After new immigration
laws were passed it wasn't as easy for immigrants to come over which put the big wave to a halt.
Many of the Jewish crossed the Williamsburg Bridge, so many that they called it "Jews
Highway." Mike talked about gentrification, and how that was beginning to take place in this
upcoming neighborhood. Now its a much more desirable place to live. We went over to
Kossars Bialy's to get breakfast. We took it to go and went over to the park to sit and eat. This
park was named after William Seward who was Governor of New York from 1839-1842. In the
1900s, recreational space was scarce in lower Manhattan. The Progressives called for public
space for children to play instead of getting involved in crime and gangs. It wasnt until the
Small Parks Act of 1887 when New York City gained the power to take over private lands and
turn them into public space (ENY, p. 70). It was nice and very relaxing especially because we
were in a shaded area. Soon after Jim came, he was our tour guide from Harlem.
Jim started by telling us how the Lower east Side started out as three farms, Stuyvesant
farms, Delancey farms and Rutgers. Rutgers farm used to be Rutgers square but it was renamed
Strauss Square and was known at the time for having pasteurized milk. The first tenement was
built in 1833 on East 12th street and in 1867 they passed the law to have a ladder and running
water. Then in 1901 the next tenement law was there must be cold running water. In 1916 the
tenement law came out stating that any tenement building built after this time had height
restrictions and the fire cases must be fireproof, so if a fire started you could escape by the stairs.
(Jim)
While on our walk we came across a Beaux art style building with initials "ATH" on it. "The
Arnold Toynbee House of the Grand Street Settlement, the mission was to help Jewish
immigrants to assimilate into American society" (ENY, p.68). We then stopped at the Henry
Street Settlement which was funded by Lillian Wald a nursing student at that time. She hated the
tenement life and all of the diseases that were killing people, "in 1893 she founded the Nurses
Settlement to bring nursing care, education and the arts to the immigrant population of the
community" (ENY, p.69).
We then walked over to a synagogue on Eldridge Street Synagogue. "One of the
architectural masterpieces of the Lower East Side, this synagogue was constructed in 1887 and
was the first synagogue in New York built by Eastern European Jews" (ENY, p.71). It was
designed by Peter and Francis Herter and displays Gothic and Moorish influences.
We walked into Chinatown, The influx of new arrivals from China in the late 20th
century has helped swell the population Chinatown (Eny, p.73). I have to be honest the smell in
Chinatown was awful. I dont know how the people there are used to it. I saw a lot of the
women with umbrellas, which was something I wasnt used to seeing. They definitely had the
right idea. It was so hot outside, I kept finding myself looking for a shady area to stand in. We
walked around Chinatown a little more and finally met up with Mike. I have to say I was happy
about that because it was so hot outside. We then headed over to the restaurant where we all
shared our last meal together, Chinese food. I have to say I was worried about finding something
I like but surprisingly I found a couple of things that tasted good. It was nice to sit together at a
big round table where we can see everyone and all be in the same conversation. It was a nice
way to end our journey. After lunch we gave hugs and even exchanged phone numbers. We
said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I do hope I get to see some the classmates around
Molloy.