Atlantica - 01.09.2003, Qupperneq 24

22 A T L A N T I C A
mounds of milk-coloured plastic vials,
which my friend, a resident of the city,
told me had contained crack. And this
was supposedly the better end of the
neighbourhood which at the time was
already showing signs of improvement.
“It was very, very rough. It used to be
a heavy drug place, but thankfully it’s
has changed fast over the last seven or
eight years,” says Elizabeth Hall, a
Swedish writer who has lived here for
nearly 30 years. Indeed, it’s amazing
how much the Lower East Side has
changed in recent years. It’s currently
considered one of the hottest neighbour-
hoods in New York, with its bustling
cafés, bars and shops filled with young
and creative types.
On the Lower East Side, Ludlow Street
is the place to be, whether you’re mixing
with the crowds of bohemians over a
cup of coffee, listening to the piano
sounds of Eric Satie emanating from the
jukebox at the Pink Pony, or getting
yourself a tattoo from Michelle at the
Dare Devil next door.
Then there’s the lower part of Orchard
Street, which is dead quiet except for
the Good World Bar and Grill (between
Division and Canal Street), where you
can dig into real Swedish meatballs (the
kind your mother would make if she
were Swedish) served with potato mash
and strawberry jelly. Or if you like, min-
gle with the hip locals who show up
after dark.
“The Lower East Side is the real
Manhattan; it’s how it used to be,” says
French-Italian photographer Jerome
Albertini as we stand on a football field
between Christie and Forsythe Street,
where Chinatown and the Lower East
Side intersect.
What exactly does he mean? Well,
despite the trendy shops and the main-
stream bars, there’s still a certain sense
of anticipation laced with attitude in the
air.. This probably stems from the Lower
East Side still going through a certain
transition, instead of being all grown-up
and well behaved like so many other
parts of Manhattan.
Jón Kaldal is the editor of Atlantica magazine.
The Lower East Side is
one of the hottest
neighbourhoods in
New York, with its
bustling cafés, bars
and shops filled
with young and
creative types.
Icelandair flies 4-5 times a week between JFK and Keflavík International
Airport where passangers can connect to major European cities and
gateways.
Ludlow Street is the place
to be. Clockwise from left:
Asoko Kitaori sells used
books at the Pink Pony on
the weekends; Alina is a
regular at Dare Devil’s
tattoo parlour; Waiting for
the Misses outside one of
the Lower East Side’s
many colourful shops.
New York
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