New York real estate: Lower East Side

By Hesper Desloovere | Special to amNewYork

March 20, 2008

The Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street was designed to chronicle and preserve New York immigrant history. The Museum has been is designated as a National Historic Site and serves roughly 125,000 vsitors per year. (RJ Mickelson / March 19, 2008)

Like the neighborhood Whole Foods that was perpetually "coming soon," the transformation of the Lower East Side has been a long time coming. Once the first stop after Ellis Island for newcomers, the enclave has probably played host to more immigrant populations than any other New York neighborhood.

In the second half of the 19th century, the influx of immigrants was so enormous that landlords couldn't throw buildings up fast enough. To squeeze as many people into -- and as much money out of -- each narrow plot of land, the city devised a New York classic: the tenement.

A fixture of the LES landscape, tenements were the first buildings in America built specifically for more than one family to live in independently. While anxiety about smallpox, cholera and tuberculosis prompted successively stricter laws requiring ventilation and light, many of the tenements still standing in the neighborhood predate these upgrades.

Where towering glassy structures haven't cropped up, tenements with original details such as tin ceilings, clawed bathtubs and airshafts -- vertical pits designed to skirt rules requiring fresh air -- remain virtually untouched.

While German, Polish, Ukranian, Italian, Latino, Chinese and Bangladeshi immigrants have all passed through the area's tenements, the area's Jewish community has played the largest role in shaping the neighborhood. At the turn of the last century, the LES was teeming with pushcarts, synagogues, Yiddish theaters and Kosher vendors. Today, among boutiques and bars, the odd pickle shop or fabric warehouse represent the neighborhood's Jewish heritage.

Though American Apparel billboards and luxury apartments loom over the area, a little digging turns up vestiges of the old world neighborhood on every block. From bialys to dim sum, the immigrant influence is still palpable on the side streets of the Lower East Side.

Find it

The Lower East Side is bounded by the East River to the east, the Bowery to the west, East Houston Street to the north and Grand Street to the south.

TO PARTY

The most commonly heard phrase uttered about the Lower East Side is: "I used to like that place until [insert complaint about hipsters or yuppies]." That said, the area is brimming with bars -- even a few untouched dives.

205 Club
A funny combination of high and low, 205 offers bottle service under a glimmering disco ball and what looks like tin foil peeling off the walls. Get there before the lines get long, and stick around until the dancing is under way downstairs.
205 Chrystie St. 212-477-6688

The Magician
While not exactly a dive bar, The Magician is about as close as it gets to a regular place with regular people -- no particular scene. To enjoy this phenomenon to the fullest, stick to weeknight visits.
118 Rivington St. 212-673-7851

The Annex
If you've outgrown your fake ID, chances are you'll feel old at The Annex on a Friday night. But if you can put down your walker long enough to dance, the fun music is worth braving the sometimes silly crowd.
152 Orchard St. 212- 673-3410

Stanton Public