Arts and Culture Of The East Village
Researching and Exploring the heart and soul of the East
Friday, November 2nd, 2018
By Ashanté K. Charles
New York as we have been informed, is prestigious for its influence in the world of arts and culture, the neighborhood of East Village is one out of many boroughs that have made a significant impact in the city through its rich cultural, artistic and social atmosphere. The village is most renowned for its artistic attributes, dating back to the early 70s and 80s, and its overall abundance of ethnic diversity. The East Village is occupied immensely by a variety of immigrants and populated by students, elderly people, and families through my observation. This neighborhood before it fell through the process of gentrification it was a highly enticing environment for affordability, especially for artists financially.
The most distinguished aspect of the village is generating a diverse cultured community that has been overpopulated by many foreigners. As the village is transforming into a gentrified neighborhood, it is impacting families who have inhabited this area for many years. Residents are being affected by the cost of living that has been increased due to this refinement and as affordability ceases to exist for past settlers, businesses are struggling to maintain stability through this shift, and now the population of families with low income has significantly declined.
The Village accommodates a variety of venues that contribute to the art culture which the community embraces. In this neighborhood, a majority of places from cafes, bars to restaurants have been influenced by revolutionary artists such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Nuyorican is defined as a “person of Puerto Rican descent who is a current or former resident of New York City.” (Merriam-webster, 2018) The poet’s cafe encompasses social empowerment for aspiring and unprivileged artists in the community. One of the many influential artists who has actively participated in this movement was writer and poet Miguel Algarin. Miguel is renowned for his poetic works and contribution to the Nuyorican community. The Nuyorican poets cafe emerged in the late 70s, they’re purpose was to attract local artists who practiced a variety of art forms. Since then they have provided artists with a voice and platform to build a community to collaborate and advance their bond and artistic expression. The cafe continues to evolve in this region of New York.
I collected information from different age groups, such as a few kids who we thought could contribute we’ll into our research of their neighborhood, a Parsons graduate and a middle-aged lady accompanying her child. Each of these individuals expressed their views of their neighborhood and allowed us to gain different perspectives. The interviewees made comments on the style of the neighborhood which is said to casual, brands aren’t projected as much as upper Manhattan, a large number of students from NYU occupy the neighborhood and families are abundant.
A prominent attribute the village inhabits is Tompkins Square Park, where my workmate Alexandra and I, conducted a few interviews. The park was a lively environment to stroll around in, we saw families observing the kids in the playground, skater boys doing stunts and people playing basketball, the community was united. Beneath this observation, the park is a historical area named after Daniel D. Tompkins, located in the center of the East Village. Dating back to the 1800s, it was a space where protests were held by a large group of an ethnically diverse working class. One of the many protests that were held here was elicited by economic issues such as cases of unemployment that resulted in police raids.
As the East village is particularly renowned for their movements in art and culture, these features continue to reside in the neighborhood, and although gentrification has impacted the social geography, however, the community continues to strive through these shifts of change.
Resources
Abu-Lughod, Janet, “Diversity, Democracy, and Self-Determination in an Urban Neighborhood: The East Village of Manhattan” Social Research, 1994, (181-182)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/40971027
Gregor, Alison. “The East Village Clings to a Colorful Past.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/realestate/the-east-village-clings-to-a-colorful-past.html.
Mattson, Andrew and Duncomb, Stephen, “Public Space, Private Place: The Contested Terrain of Tompkins Square Park” 1992, (129-130)
