IMMIGRANT NEW YORK
Today we met at Penn Station and took the subway to the Lower East Side. The Lower East Side is a place in which many immigrants live. However, with gentrification little by little it is changing (BG p 1188). We learned that in the 18th century the Lower East Side was the land of three wealthy families. In 1850, due to the increase in population (immigrants) the Lower East was not doing well financially and the real estate properties were selling for less than it cost. Eventually, Irish, Jewish, German and Russian immigrated to NY and came to live in the Lower East Side. With the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge many of these people moved out of the Lower East Side. During the 60s and 70s new Latino and Asian immigrants came to live here (BG p 119).
The first place we visited was Essex Street Market. This market was built in 1940 (BG p 123). We met our tour guide Jim here and he gave us some history about this market. Jim said that this market was done when Fiorello La Guardia was the Mayor of NY. We went inside to observe this market and they had different types of food and vegetables from different countries. For example, there were Jamaican and Hispanic food and Jewish wine. Then we walked for about a block to observe the Blue Building. This Blue tower is a 16 story residential tower (BG p 123). We learned that it was designed by a famous architect, but what’s more interesting is the price of each apartment …4 million dollars wow! (BG p 123). We continued on our walk and pass by some interesting historical places such as the Eldridge Street Synagogue. The architectural design of this church is a mixture of Gothic, Roman and Moorish Revival (BG p 129). Of course being in the Lower East Side we could not miss Allen Street. This street used to be a dark place (for prostitution) decades ago. The next stop on this hot and sticky day was the Neighborhood Guild University Settlement. We learned that this house is the first settlement house of the world. Another interesting building we observed was the Church of Grace, this used to be a public bath. The Tenement Museum is another much visited place that we walked by. Back in the 1800s the tenements were places in which immigrants used to live. These people did not have water in their kitchen, there was no bathroom and they shared their rooms with other people. In other words, they lived in subhuman conditions. Due to this fact, people acquired many communicating diseases. Eventually, New York created state laws to protect the rights of tenants and reduce or limit the number of people living in one apartment. Consequently, dumbells apartment were built which had running water and toilets in the apartment, but still was not good enough. Therefore, Dumbells were also forbidden in New York (BG p 122). Undoubtedly, the conditions of the people living in the tenements were miserable, but that brought consciousness to city authorities and forced them to create laws to improve the living conditions of these immigrants. Very close to the Tenements Museum is the William Seward High School and we learned that this building used to be a jail called the Ludlow Street Jail. Since this jail was a county and federal jail, in the 50s, someone named Rosenberg was executed here (BG p 123). Our tour guide told us that some important famous people have attended this high school, which I forgot their names. Anyway those stories gave flavor to the tour.
We also went to the old Macy’s Department Store building, which is located in Orchard Street and Grand Street. Since Macy’s is one of my favorite stores I was surprised to know that Macy’s store originated in the Lower East Side. Our tour guide Jim also spoke a little bit about Canal Street. Basically, Canal Street is the place for knockoffs. Here in this street people sell fake items using famous brand names. At this point, the heat was beating us up, but it was finally time for lunch. We went to a Chinese Restaurant named Congee Village Rest, where our dear instructors had already chosen the menu for lunch. I loved the food, I’m so grateful to live in this wonderful city where we can enjoy the cuisine from other countries. After our delicious lunch we headed up to the Williamsburg Bridge. This bridge opened in 1903 and was considered to be the longest bridge in the world. The Williamsburg Bridge connects Manhattan with Brooklyn (BG p 110). Crossing the Williamsburg Bridge was an unforgettable experience. Even though it was hot and humid, I enjoyed crossing the Williamsburg Bridge. When we arrived to Brooklyn we had a tour in this area. The first thing we heard from our instructors was “gentrification.” Actually, Williamsburg is one of the areas that have been gentrified. We saw how developers are building brand new apartment buildings and are attracting people from the city to move in. Of course, they are attracting educated rich people who are able to afford apartments that cost thousands or even millions of dollars.
The first place we visited was Essex Street Market. This market was built in 1940 (BG p 123). We met our tour guide Jim here and he gave us some history about this market. Jim said that this market was done when Fiorello La Guardia was the Mayor of NY. We went inside to observe this market and they had different types of food and vegetables from different countries. For example, there were Jamaican and Hispanic food and Jewish wine. Then we walked for about a block to observe the Blue Building. This Blue tower is a 16 story residential tower (BG p 123). We learned that it was designed by a famous architect, but what’s more interesting is the price of each apartment …4 million dollars wow! (BG p 123). We continued on our walk and pass by some interesting historical places such as the Eldridge Street Synagogue. The architectural design of this church is a mixture of Gothic, Roman and Moorish Revival (BG p 129). Of course being in the Lower East Side we could not miss Allen Street. This street used to be a dark place (for prostitution) decades ago. The next stop on this hot and sticky day was the Neighborhood Guild University Settlement. We learned that this house is the first settlement house of the world. Another interesting building we observed was the Church of Grace, this used to be a public bath. The Tenement Museum is another much visited place that we walked by. Back in the 1800s the tenements were places in which immigrants used to live. These people did not have water in their kitchen, there was no bathroom and they shared their rooms with other people. In other words, they lived in subhuman conditions. Due to this fact, people acquired many communicating diseases. Eventually, New York created state laws to protect the rights of tenants and reduce or limit the number of people living in one apartment. Consequently, dumbells apartment were built which had running water and toilets in the apartment, but still was not good enough. Therefore, Dumbells were also forbidden in New York (BG p 122). Undoubtedly, the conditions of the people living in the tenements were miserable, but that brought consciousness to city authorities and forced them to create laws to improve the living conditions of these immigrants. Very close to the Tenements Museum is the William Seward High School and we learned that this building used to be a jail called the Ludlow Street Jail. Since this jail was a county and federal jail, in the 50s, someone named Rosenberg was executed here (BG p 123). Our tour guide told us that some important famous people have attended this high school, which I forgot their names. Anyway those stories gave flavor to the tour.
We also went to the old Macy’s Department Store building, which is located in Orchard Street and Grand Street. Since Macy’s is one of my favorite stores I was surprised to know that Macy’s store originated in the Lower East Side. Our tour guide Jim also spoke a little bit about Canal Street. Basically, Canal Street is the place for knockoffs. Here in this street people sell fake items using famous brand names. At this point, the heat was beating us up, but it was finally time for lunch. We went to a Chinese Restaurant named Congee Village Rest, where our dear instructors had already chosen the menu for lunch. I loved the food, I’m so grateful to live in this wonderful city where we can enjoy the cuisine from other countries. After our delicious lunch we headed up to the Williamsburg Bridge. This bridge opened in 1903 and was considered to be the longest bridge in the world. The Williamsburg Bridge connects Manhattan with Brooklyn (BG p 110). Crossing the Williamsburg Bridge was an unforgettable experience. Even though it was hot and humid, I enjoyed crossing the Williamsburg Bridge. When we arrived to Brooklyn we had a tour in this area. The first thing we heard from our instructors was “gentrification.” Actually, Williamsburg is one of the areas that have been gentrified. We saw how developers are building brand new apartment buildings and are attracting people from the city to move in. Of course, they are attracting educated rich people who are able to afford apartments that cost thousands or even millions of dollars.