If you were down and out on the Bowery in the 1940s or 1950s, you wouldn’t want to earn the reputation as a “toes-up mokus” or aggressive “pinker” because you just might “catch some heat” from the “bulls” – or… Read More »A Look Back at the Bowery “Blue Book”
St. Patrick holds a special place in the hearts of many New Yorkers. Not only is he the primary patron saint of Ireland, he is also the adopted patron saint of the Archdiocese of New York, so it is no… Read More »A Look at St. Patrick’s Day Parade’s Lower East Side Roots
When the City Planning Commission formed on January 1, 1938, one of its primary initiatives was to revitalize the most poverty-stricken neighborhoods of New York City. After identifying the Lower East Side waterfront as one of the Big Apple’s neediest… Read More »A Brief History of Public Housing on the Lower East Side
In February of 1917, thousands of local women organized to combat sharply rising food prices. Spurred on by well-known anarchist and socialist leaders, many protesters turned violent and wreaked havoc on local businesses for several days. It is hard for… Read More »The Food Riots of February, 1917
For over a century, the East Side hosted at times the largest concentration of factories, stables, warehouses, coal, lumber and iron yards in the city.