The lower east side is alive with memories, a neighborhood still seeming to echo the calls of immigrants crowded into tenements, peddlers hawking wares from pushcarts, and children playing in the streets, the only open spaces to be found. Early churches became synagogues for the Jews who came in record numbers between 1880 and 1920. Some remain, but in recent years, Latinos and Chinese have moved in, adding to the area’s rich history. Meanwhile, Orchard Street tempts with bargains, and a hip, young generation is rediscovering the old neighborhood. Nearby, the East Village has its own layers of history, an early Dutch enclave that changed from German to Jewish before becoming a 1960s haven for hippies and the place where punk rock was born. A Ukrainian community has remained through most of these changes, including recent gentrification.
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From computer cases to carry-ons, brand names like Lark, TravelPro, and American Tourister are sold for less at this well-stocked emporium.
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Artists can often be seen sketching this small, picturesque building. It was constructed in 1850 as the Norfolk Street Baptist Church, but as the neighborhood changed, the membership moved uptown, and in 1885 the structure was converted to a synagogue by America’s oldest Russian, Orthodox Jewish congregation. Gothic woodwork and the iron fence from the original church remain.
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Built in 1826 as a Methodist Episcopal Church, the fieldstone building was acquired in 1905 to house a congregation from the Polish community of Bialystok. A recent two-year restoration has revealed an interior of glowing beauty, painted in bold colors, with Moorish motifs, biblical scenes, and the signs of the zodiac, which are found in some Jewish scriptures. As in all Orthodox synagogues, only men are allowed on the main floor; women are seated in the gallery upstairs.
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A big Pan-Asian diner offering specialties from all of Asia and potent cocktails in the busy bar.
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Morning
From the Delancey Street subway walk south to Grand Street and Kossar’s Bialys Bakery, 367 Grand, famous for chewy, onion-flavored rolls, or the Doughnut Plant, 379 Grand, where the oversize cakes achieve gourmet status. Walk east for two historic houses of worship, the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Synagogue and the Bialystoker and the Bialystoker Synagogue .
Return along East Broadway, passing the Henry Street Settlement at No. 281, in three restored Federal buildings. The gallery at the Educational Alliance, No. 197, has good art and photography exhibits. Walk to Orchard for Guss’ Pickles, and pick up a bargain at the shops here. If you’re hot try one of the 50 flavors of ice cream at Le Laboratorio del Gelato, or continue to East Houston Street, and have lunch at Katz’s Delicatessen , a New York institution.
Afternoon
After lunch, walk uptown on 2nd Avenue. Turn left on East 6th to visit the St. Mark’s Place, browsing through the funky shops and bars on your way, and then walk east again on Stuyvesant Street, admiring the landmark townhouses of the Renwick Triangle. Lastly, stop at St. Mark’s-in-the-Bowery Church, one of the oldest in the city, where you can pay your respects to Peter Stuyvesant’s grave.
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A National Historic Landmark. This 1887 Moorish-style synagogue was the first house of worship built in the U.S. by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, from where 80 percent of American Jews come. As many as 1,000 people attended services here at the turn of the century. As congregants left the neighborhood, attendance waned, and the temple closed in the 1950s. Restoration is now underway and the synagogue has become a vibrant cultural center.
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Well-known for its wide selection of high quality handbags and accessories, most at a discount.
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Women’s knits, clothing, and shoes by American, Italian, and French designers sold at discount.
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Whatever your size, you will find it at these adjacent shops stocking brand-name women’s fashions at discount prices.
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Four floors of designer clothing by European names such as Valentino, Escada, and Ungaro, promising 20 to 30 percent off retail.
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Restaurant price categories
For a three-course meal for one with a glass of house wine, and all unavoidable charges including tax.
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