Matthew McLeod

Dr. Russo
ENY Gotham experience
10/29/14


The Lower East Side

For todays class instead of going with my normal Saturday crew I joined the Friday
class on their exploration of the city. Today we were blessed with great weather,
which is a nice change from the Saturday class where weve been saddled with
rainy/muggy weather. Our journey first started off by us taking the F train to
Delancy Street. Once we got off of the train we began our journey of the lower east
side, specifically Chinatown. Present day Chinatown wasnt always as luxurious as it
is today. We got to see how the lower classes of the city use to live.

The Lower east side during the late 1800s was predominantly made up of Eastern
European Jewish people, which were considered the poorest part of New York City.
This part of the city was most famous for the overpopulated tenement houses where
the area was the most populated place in the world having 720 people per acre.
Tenement houses are apartment buildings that have at least 5 residential floors.
Each floor was approximately 325 square feet with multiple families on each floor
all sharing a common bathroom. Each family was given 2-3 rooms, which included
the kitchen and a family room. The average size of each family was around 8-10
people. Think about it, 2 rooms, and one being the kitchen, to house 8 family
members (ENY 67).

These horrific living conditions were for the most part preserved in the Lower East
Side Tenement Museum on Orchard Street. This museum throughout the years was
home to an estimated 7,000 people from over 20 countries prominently European
countries. Upon completion of the tour we were immediately taken by surprise.
Mike gave us a list of instructions to follow and sent us off in groups of five to
explore the rest of Chinatown (ENY 67).

Chinatown from the year 1965 began to grow tremendously. This was evidenced by
the census which reported that it took in an influx of 20,000 immigrants per year
making it the largest Chinese population in the city. In my group I was lucky enough
to have someone who was pretty familiar with the area so instead of following
mikes step by step instructions we went our own way and still was able accomplish
his agenda and also get a great and firm grasp for the culture of Chinatown (ENY 72-
73).

On our trip we saw a variety of different kind of Chinese delicacies. For example, I
tried sweet bread and these little dough balls that had a taste which reminded me of
pancakes. We also came across many different markets that sold different types of
fish, crabs, live lobsters, and much more seafood delights. I also was able to get my
full Chinatown bargaining experience where I was able to buy a hat but not before
lowering the price from $12 to 7. I felt like a native New Yorker after negotiating
that deal.

We then walked through Columbus Park where we took a pit stop to enjoy the
beauty of the park. Additionally, I was able to try the famous bubble tea, which most
of my classmates had been bragging about. I was able to personally bare witness
and understand that all of the fuss was for good reasons. Consequently, as we
started walking back to our designated meeting point we were had to stop because
we came upon a very mesmerizing and exotic graffiti wall depicting the name
Chinatown. As we took time to behold this urban work of art, I felt fortunate to be
able to have had this experience.

Once we finished up our own little mini tour of Chinatown it was finally time for us
to eat lunch. The good news was that lunch was on Mike today and boy did he treat
us well. Lunch was at Congee Village and here Mike ordered us a wide variety of
food from the house chicken, vegetable fried rice, and to my personal favorite
General Tso Chicken. There was also much more seafood samplers, but because of
my allergies to shell fish I stayed clear of the other choices.

Once lunch was over we were joined by our most favorite tour guide, (next to Mike),
John Duncan. Mr. Duncan brought us along Edgeridge Street where we were able to
see the very first ever settlement house in the United States. We then walked by the
Williamsburg bridge which is also know as the Jewish bridge because of the highly
populated area filled with Jews that the bridge transported. Continuing our walk we
passed by the Mickva, which was a public bath for Jews to go to get purified before
marriage.

We then went to Henry Street where we saw the Henry Street settlement, which was
the founding place for the famous Lillian Wald. Next we walked through the first
urban park in the city, Seward Park where we also saw Seward Parks Library, which
is one of the most active libraries in the city. We then crossed the street and looked
at the Forward building, which was the most popular Jewish newspaper. Finally, we
finished off at the Eldridge street synagogue. Todays trip with the Friday class was a
great one. I always knew where Chinatown was but I never truly explored it myself
until today. I really enjoyed it along with the food and can definitely see myself
coming back here to further experience all of the wealth of culture that exist in this
geographic region of the city.