Lower East Side


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by Hanna Robinson



Henry Street Settlement
photo by Hanna Robinson

Founded in 1893 by the philanthropist Lillian Wald and still in operation today, the Henry Street Settlement has provided the underprivileged inhabitants of the Lower East Side with over a hundred years of medical care, youth programs, social services, and financial aid. Originally the headquarters for the Visiting Nurses Service, an organization of medical care headed by Wald, the Henry Street Settlement has, over time, greatly expanded from its small group of nurses making house-calls in 1893 to an expansive organization that today provides recreation leagues, public school programs, psychiatric help, and even transitional shelter to its impoverished constituency. Through the tireless efforts of its altruistic directors and dedicated employees, the Henry Street Settlement has surpassed all constraints of time to continue, in the present day, to be considered one of the most influential landmarks of social service and reform on the Lower East Side.



	In the mid 20th Century, over 90,000 subsidized apartments were built by the City of New York, with many of the buildings still in use. Reflective of the flow of immigration and migration of low-income people, the presence of such modern-day tenements depicts the present existence of poverty and strife. Because the Lower East Side continues to be a haven for new immigrants and the struggles accompanying them, it seems that while the fundamental compositions of the area may have changed somewhat, the overall theme of the area seems to be remain parallel throughout time. Though people have shifted their locations and moved in and out of the area, the Lower East Side is filled with those who are still new to the country. Holding on dearly to their previous culture and traditions or simply beginning to adopt American ideals, these peoples comprise the dynamic Lower East Side, finding their new lives in America filled with struggle, poverty, and an intense desire to succeed.