Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Lower East Side, a neighborhood in Manhattan that was a center of Jewish immigrant culture in the 20th century.
Lower East Side
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The Schmooze Orthodox Neighbors Angry Over Pornographic Exhibit on Lower East Side
While adolescent yeshiva students may not share their dissatisfaction, Orthodox Jewish neighbors of a Lower East Side art gallery have issued a chorus of complaints over a current exhibition involving pornographic images According to the New York Post, the Allegra LaViola Gallery’s new “Pornucopia” show “features a slew of sexy nude images of men and…
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The Schmooze Getting to the Bottom of Show Business
Crossposted From Under the Fig Tree Much has been written of late about the ways in which celebrated American musicals such as “Oklahoma” or “South Pacific” carry considerable Jewish freight. While most audiences come away humming rather than thinking, the American musical, many scholars suggest, is actually where American Jewish playwrights, lyricists, choreographers and designers…
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Food Jews and Chinese Food: A Christmas Story
Chinese food is the most prolific cuisine on the planet, and, aside from the Chinese themselves, no one loves it more than American Jews, according to Andrew Coe, author of “Chop Suey: A Cultural History of Chinese Food in the United States.” On Christmas, noodle, rice and savory dish consumption quite possibly peaks among Jews,…
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The Schmooze Slideshow: Jews of the Fillmore
With the opening of San Francisco’s Jewish Community High School of the Bay’s (JCHS) new building on Ellis Street in 2002, the city’s organized Jewish community finally returned to the Fillmore. Only local Jewish history buffs appreciated the significance; the neighborhood in which the school is situated — now called The Western Addition — was…
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The Schmooze A Window for the Ages on the Lower East Side
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was the Lower East Side’s Eldridge Street Synagogue — not the first time, and not the second time either. The synagogue, which was originally erected in 1887, has just announced the completion of a 24-year-long restoration process, with the installment of a 16-foot circular window, commissioned by…
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Life A Kinky Stroll Though the Old Neighborhood
Looking to put some kinkiness into your weekend? The kind that even your rabbi might (might!) approve? The group KinkyJews is hosting an afternoon stroll replete with “Jews, Sex, and Politics” this Sunday on New York’s Lower East Side. Back in April, The Forward reported on the kinkiest Seder (more S&M than bitter herbs) put…
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Life There Goes the Neighborhood: Streit’s Looks To Leave Lower East Side
The recent news that the Streit’s matzo factory is looking to move from its longtime Lower East Side home has received plenty of media attention. After all, it has been a constant presence on the Lower East Side for… Well, it’s not at all clear, from reading press coverage, exactly how long it’s been there….
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Life The New Yorker Goes to Shul
Adam Gopnick of The New Yorker has a nice report on the recently restored Eldridge Street Synagogue. The story features some colorful historical background on the majestic Lower East Side landmark, which was founded in 1887 (making it 10 years older than the Forward): “The synagogue was the first grand gesture on the part of…
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