Few neighborhoods in New York City carry as deeply rooted a Hispanic cultural identity as the East Village. The very name by which Avenue C has been officially known since 1987, “Loisaida” (a phonetic rendering in Spanish of “Lower East Side”), signals how thoroughly Puerto Rican life has shaped this part of the city. The […]
Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans, runs from September 15th through October 15th. There is a reason for this oddly scheduled “month.” On September 15th, 1821, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua declared their independence from Spain. Mexico and Chile celebrate their 1810 declarations […]
In 2015, Village Preservation conducted an oral history with community organizer Carlos “Chino” García, one of the co-founders of the legendary community organization CHARAS. CHARAS for many years occupied the landmarked former P.S. 64 building on East 9th Street in the East Village. That interview gave some unique, first person insights into one of the […]
“The Lower East Side is not gone yet,” Ryan Gilliam told the group assembled in the upstairs auditorium of University Settlement on the corner of Eldridge and Rivington Streets, the country’s first settlement house. “Asserting its identity, its history, its stories, and its complex culture is one way to push back at the forces that […]
Oh, if only Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s administration hadn’t auctioned off P.S. 64 to a private buyer back in the sultry days of July, 1998, a whole decade and a half ago. The community center called CHARAS/El Bohio that improved and inhabited the historic 1906 schoolhouse would not have gone homeless for 12 years (after finally […]
