DAY #7: LAST ADVENTURE AROUND IMMIGRANT NYC

        It was our last adventurous class, and we got to explore the different immigrant parts of the city. Our first stop was at the Essex Street Market, where we got to explore for a bit inside. As I walked around I saw all the different types of food and ingredients from a variety of different cultures, which really brought my attention. The Essex Street Market was built in 1940 to house pushcarts peddlers whom Mayor Fiorello La Guardia legislated off the streets, the market offers for all tastes, such as Latino, Jewish, and upscale urbanite (BG, 123). In addition, in the early years the Essex Street Market’s identity was shaped by the Lower East Side’s Jewish and Italian immigrants, who served as both the merchants and the customers.

        We later made our way to the Tenement Museum. I thought the Tenement Museum was the best part of the day because I learned so much about how early immigrants lived. The Tenement Museum preserves and interprets the history of immigration through the personal experiences of the generation of newcomers who settled in and built lives on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, known as the immigrant neighborhood. The Lower East Side of the city had the largest German community and different speaking languages in America. In addition, the museum was a former tenement that was founded in 1988, honoring the million of immigrants (BG, 122). Five apartments in the six-story Italianate brownstone have been restored to their 19th century appearance to recreate the experiences of the families who lived there (BG, 122). We got separated from other classmates and half of our classmates, including myself were in the Blue team. We headed with our tour instructor to 97 Orchard Street.

No. 97 is five short stories with basement, and designed to house 20 families, and was one of three adjoining tenements erected on the site of the former Orchard Street Church. I learned that 97 Orchard Street was build in 1863-1864 by Lucas Glockner, a German born tailor, and 97 Orchard Street is earliest form of tenement house constructed in New York. Also, the tenement was the first to be individually listed on the National of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. As I listened to our tour guide explain about the tenements, I was shocked that tenements weren’t provided with light, heat, or plumbing, toilets, showers and the neighborhood did not have a sanitation system. I was also shocked at the fact that up to 3 families of 12 to 14 individuals lived in one single apartment in horrible conditions. Tenements were built to exploit all available space and maximize the return for the landlord, were one of the horrors of immigrant life (BG, 122).

Furthermore, we got to learn a little bit of information on the Moore Family, one of the families that lived in the tenements. Joseph and Bridget Moore were a family that migrated from Ireland from the years of 1869 to 1870. Almost every year, they moved to a different apartment on the Lower East Side, as their fortunes fell, rose, and fell again. Within two years of arriving in New York, they were living at 65 Mott Street in Five Points, among Irish, African-American, Chinese and other cultures. The Moore’s lived in horrible conditions, where they experienced the death of their daughter Agnes who dies of marasmus, the first of many losses the Moores would endure during their lives in New York.

        We later headed to the Tom and Jerry’s bar, where we learned about the NYC bar life while having a drink by an extremely talented girl named Ruby.

I admire how Ruby does a little bit of everything from dancing to a bartender at the Tom and Jerry’s bar. It was interesting to learn how she interacts with the customers and creates strong bonds with them; however at the end of their visit she has to charge them their bills. I thought the name Tom and Jerry was an association with my favorite cartoon, but it was named after the drink. After an interesting talk with Ruby and the NYC bar life, we headed to have our last class lunch together at the Congee Village. After filling our stomachs we headed on a tour around the areas of old and new Chinatown for an hour and a half.

Chinatown grew only slowly for centuries and although the China trade brought sailors and merchants from the Far East in the late 18th century, only about 150 Chinese had established residence a hundred years later (BG, 108). In addition, Andrew our guide explained how Chinatown had push carts that were horse drawn, which lead to horse manure and there were no street cleaners to clean the neighborhoods. Also, in 1882 the Chinese exclusion was passed and China became a bachelor’s society with 40 men to every 1 women. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed by Congress and signed by President Chester A. Arthur. This act provided a 10 year suspension on Chinese labor immigration.

Also, the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869 brought a significant increase in Chinese population (BG, 108). We also got to explore the tongs of Chinatown. Chinatown’s tongs were neighborhood and business associations that were formed at the turn of the 20th century as immigrant aid societies (BG, 109). Our tour guide explained how tours of the neighborhood were given to high class rich people in order for them to learn the culture. We finally ended around five points and Canal Street, which was extremely sad that 7 weeks had all come to an end at this location. My classmates and I later headed to Red Lion on Bleecker Street were some of us celebrated our accomplishments. My classmates and I became so close throughout the class and I am we created these friendships and I hope to continue speaking to them in the future. I am extremely happy I took this class because I learned so much about New York City and explored places I have never been to in my 21 years of life.