IMMIGRATION AND TRANSFORMATION ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE
Cramped tenements. Filthy streets. Searing sweatshops. Starving immigrant families. New York City in the late 19th century became home to millions of Jewish and Italian immigrants. Many of them settled on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Later, in the early 20th century Puerto Rican migrants started moving to the area and dubbed it as “Loisaida,” Spanglish for Lower East Side. Currently, this community is one of the most historically interesting neighborhoods in New York City. Lydia Gonzalez, a Puerto Rican beautician, migrated from Puerto Rico after World War II with her family and moved to the Lower East Side in the 1950s. “I remember when I was young, growing up in this neighborhood,” says Gonzalez, 67. “We were looked down upon.” Gonzalez vividly remembers restaurant signs that read “No dogs or Puerto Ricans allowed.” She said she would have never foreseen the Lower East Side’s current transformation. “Now, they embrace our culture,” says Gonzalez. “They have no choice; we’ve inspired change and continue to do so.” Now ruddy auburn brownstones, cozy lounges, and chic fashion boutiques line the streets of this cosmopolitan neighborhood, attempting to preserve its long time residents while welcoming newcomers. Home to an amalgamation of cultures, the Lower East Side is comprised of not only Jewish, Italian, and Puerto Rican descendents but also Russian and Chinese. Councilman Alan J. Gerson, who represents the area, said the neighborhood is bringing in various classes of people and changing the area’s once prominent immigrant community. “Young professionals, college students, and businessmen are slowly becoming the face of this neighborhood,” said Gerson. “First and second generation immigrants and migrants are here, conserving the Lower East Side’s old soul; the soul of hard workers and innovators.” Located between Broome and Delancey Street, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a preserved tenement built in 1863 by a German immigrant. The museum is now a National Historic Landmark and currently runs hour-long tours through the restored homes of Irish, German, and Italians immigrants and features a number of educational exhibits. “The museum’s goal is to promote tolerance and give a historical outlook by presenting various immigrant and migrant experiences on the Lower East Side of Manhattan,” says 24-year-old Alex King, the museum’s tour guide. “It’s like a piece of Asia in New York,” said Kim Young, a waitress at Chinatown’s popular Moon House restaurant. The neighborhood also has one of the trendiest poetry spots in the Metropolitan area. With the theme, “every child is born a poet,” the Nuyorican Poets Café was founded in 1974 by Puerto Rican poet and writer Miguel Algarín. The poetry café draws in a diverse, ethnically mixed crowd into its small quarters nestled in the Lower East Side. A few tables and metal chairs surround the cafes’ small stage where talented poets from all over New York City recite incredible stories, with themes ranging from immigration and self-discovery to politics and daily life. ''Do you know what a Nuyorican is?'' Luis Chaluisan, 44, the show's creator asked. ''It's someone who finds solutions.” Manhattan’s Lower East Side is synonymous with immigration. It’s a place where people from other nations arrived, determined to make a better life for themselves. Where garments shops and fruit stands once lined the streets, now million-dollar lofts and trendy French bistros flourish. A new generation of emerging artists, working-class families, and professionals continue to transform this neighborhood. ”We are learning to respect one another's habits and share the truth and the integrity of being diverse,” says Gonzalez. “Loisaida [Lower East Side] represents what every other neighborhood in the world should offer: hope.”
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