On the third day of our walking adventure with Ed O’Donnell we saw yet another side of New York. When thinking about the various neighborhoods that were seen today, it was interesting to think what life was like. When we first went into some of the neighborhoods and discussed what were they originally, even back into colonial times the term ethnic layering was used by our guide as he described some of these early neighborhoods. During the early eighteen hundreds the neighborhoods dividing the Lower East Side were mostly made up of Irish and German immigrants. As we continued to walk the streets it was difficult searching out the remnants of these early groups with the exception of some street names little evidence could be found. As they later became Jewish and Italian immigrant neighborhoods there were more references to their former occupants in those neighborhoods. But in looking at all of the Lower East Side today one would be hard pressed to find a enclave of anything other then Asian immigrants. As our guide explained by this time it had become Little China so naturally that culture would leave their mark on the neighborhoods.
In a classroom setting when explaining the change over in neighborhoods from one ethnic group to another it would be interesting to look at the statistics involved. If possible looking at past census reports and trying to evaluate what the average income was and how that related to the standard of living. It would then be interesting to look at those neighborhoods now and see what the statistics tell us about living conditions, cost of living and standard of living. This could tell a student a great deal about quality of life for the average immigrant. It would also tell the student where they were coming from. If they were interesting they could research why these groups of people came out here in the first place. When looking at this type of activity it would be interesting to see how neighborhoods in Pueblo were formed and what groups of immigrants lived in them and under what conditions. Would it have been better to move out west where it was less crowded or to stay in the east where there were more opportunities?
Although these walking tours were exhausting they were so worth it, it was wonderful to walk along the same streets that the immigrants did. Even though the names of the businesses have changed and the people living there are from a different immigrant group, the crowded streets with all the sights and sounds were surely somewhat similar, with the exception of the smell of horse thrown in. This was definitely the way to really see New York.
