The Lower East Side

                                The Lower East Side. 

      The Lower East Side was originali an ellegant neighborhood. When New

York was the capital of the United States, Presedent George Washington

lived on the Lower East Side.

      By the mid-1880s the Lower East Side had changed greatly. It was

chracterized by crime and the poverty and hopes of it`s residents. By the

mid-1800s the Lower East Side had become an area in which immigrants

settled. First there were many Irish, then came many Jews from Easten

Europe.

      Near the Lower East Side there are two other neighborhoods that also

attracted immigrants and that are famous for their food. The Italian

restaurants of Little Italy remain popular to tourists and Italians alike.

Today Chinatown is the only immigrant community that`s still growing.

Chinatown has seven newspaper of it`s own. It also nearly 200 restaurants. 

                       Greenwich Village and the East Village. 

       Greenwich Village and the East Village have always been at the centre

of New York`s excitement. Both have been places for people with different

and creative ideas. Both have an active nightlife with plenty of bars,

restaraurants and clubs.

      In the early 1900s the charm Greenwich Village attracted bohemians -

writers and artists. By the 1920s, the streets of the Village were filled

with other peole, curious to see how these odd Villagers lived. The artists

and writers began moving out, some to the East Village. Today, the Village

has many elements: students attending New York University; an active jazz

scene; and in Washington Square - it`s centre - street performers, police.

Drug dealers, joggers, roller skates, and just about everyone else.

      When bohemiams moved to the East Village 1920s, they found an area

similar to the Lower East Side. There were many immigrants, much dirt and

grime. The East Village has changed very little. Over the years it has been

a centre for many movements - for the beat poets of the 1950s, the hippies

of the 1960s, and, more recently, for New York`s punk scene.