“Rendering of a new Public School on Hester Street between Orchard and Ludlow Streets.” Designed by Superintendent of School Buildings C.B.J. Snyder in the late 19th century, P.S. 42 today bears the name of Benjamin Altman, an entrepreneur and art collector born and raised on the Lower East Side. Altman worked in his father’s dry goods store on Attorney Street before founding B. Altman & Co. on Third Avenue and 10th Street, in 1865. Upon his death in 1913, Altman bequeathed his art collection, including works by Rembrandt, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Over a 130 years ago, New York’s Lower East Side was home to the world’s largest Jewish community. Between 1881-1924 over 2 million Eastern European Jews called this neighborhood home. And just as generations of immigrants have and continue to do, this community transformed the LES, creating a network of businesses, synagogues, public gathering spaces and more. Today, the LES has gone through many changes, but look closely. Tucked along these bustling blocks, signs of immigrant Jewish life – and hopes – still remain.

“A crowd of people on Orchard Street, lined with street vendors. Orchard Street at Hester Street, Looking South, 1898.” Division Street is visible at the end of Orchard Street. Orchard and Hester Streets were home to two of the Lower East Side’s largest open-air pushcart markets. These markets were a feature of daily life for the neighborhood’s poor tenement residents; they provided cheap food and goods for customers and income for vendors.

Central and Prospect Park parks dominate New York City park history. While that’s somewhat understandable, it’s about time smaller parks got some attention of their own.