Neighborhoods

The very first Jews in New York City arrived when the colony was called New Amsterdam, controlled by the Dutch, and located in what is now Lower Manhattan. Over time, they moved to the Lower East Side, which became the most densely populated place on the planet around 1890. From 1881 to 1924, 2.5 million Jews arrived in New York, and over 70% took up residence on the Lower East Side, which is why it is so burned into our psyche as the "Jewish Lower East Side" - even though the demographics have changed over time. The best measure of success for an immigrant is moving out of their immigrant neighborhood, and many of the Lower East Side Jews left as they prospered. Many went to Harlem, Brooklyn, and then the Bronx. During the late 19th century to the turn of the 20th century, well-to-do Reform Jews called the Upper East Side home, helping to usher in a gilded age, with that neighborhood being called the "Gold Coast of NYC." 

The Lower East Side remains home to many Jews of all denominations. During the 1930s and 1940s, so many German Jewish immigrants called Washington Heights home that the neighborhood was nicknamed "Frankfurt on the Hudson." The Upper West Side has become a "powerhouse" of shuls, schools, and Jewish culture.

Manhattan remains home to Jews of all denominations, and there is not a neighborhood on that island that does not have a Jewish presence.

Whether online or on a walking tour, please join the Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative to explore these neighborhoods with us.