May is Lower East Side History Month!
About
Lower East Side History Month was launched in 2014 in the hope that a collective celebration of our neighborhood would strengthen our connection to each other and strengthen our sense of community.
Finding ways to come together to share stories, honor neighbors, respect histories—to remember our roots, past struggles, and past joys—feels profoundly important. It’s clear that the bonds of community have been critical in sustaining us as we navigate overlapping crises of health, economic survival, and the ongoing battle for racial justice. Our history sheds light on our present and can motivate us to continue building a future of mutual support, respect, and inclusion.
We invite you to celebrate the LES with us! Lower East Side cultural and community groups, small businesses, and residents will host a variety of public events, exhibits, tours, and learning opportunities. Celebrations proudly feature Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and other community histories of the LES as defined by its historical boundaries which includes the East Village, Chinatown, Two Bridges and Loisaida.
2023 PARTICIPANTS
Each May, over 65 organizations honor the multi-layered, diverse history of the Lower East Side in celebration of Lower East Side History Month!
A Abrons Arts Center, Artists Alliance Inc., Art Loisaida Foundation B Bond Street Theatre, Bullet Space C Chen Dance Center, Chinatown Partnership, The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, Cooper Square Committee, Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association, Creative Time D Downtown Art E Earth Celebrations, East Village Community Coalition, East Village Vintage Collective F FRIGID New York G Good Old Lower East Side, Grand Street Settlement, Green Map System H Hester Street Fair I IATI Theater, ICP K Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum, KGB Bar & Red Room L La MaMa, La Sirena Mexican Folk Art, Laura Nova / Feed Me A Story, Loisaida Inc, Loisaida Open Streets Community Coalition, Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy, Lower East Side Preservation Initiative M Magnum Foundation, Merchant’s House Museum, Metropolitan Playhouse, Middle Collegiate Church, Museum at Eldridge Street, Museum of Chinese in America N Nazareth Housing, New York Marble Cemetery, New York Neo-Futurists, New York Theater Workshop, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development O Office of Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, Office of Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, Office of Councilman Christopher Marte P Performance Project @ University Settlement, Performance Space NY, Poetic Theater Productions, The Poetry Project, Printed Matter / St Marks R Rod Rodgers Dance Company S Siempre Verde Garden, Sixth Street Community Center T Tenement Museum, Think!Chinatown U The Ukrainian Museum, University Settlement V Village Alliance W wild project, WOW Cafe Theater # 4th Street Photo Gallery