The History of Lower East Side Housing & Knickerbocker Village

Recorded on Wednesday, February 28, 2024 Find all upcoming programs and events at https://www.eldridgestreet.org/events. Learn little-known housing history of the Lower East Side, such as how the Knickerbocker Village projects came about due to an ambitious, eccentric millionaire and his secret builders’ club where participants swore oaths of silence! Since the Colonial period of Dutch New Amsterdam, the Lower East Side has seen a variety of homes to meet the needs of its ever-changing immigrant population and the demands of a growing metropolis. From farm estates to row houses, and tenements to housing projects like Knickerbocker Village, we will explore the evolution of housing on the Lower East Side, the tricks of the Roaring Twenties real estate market, and what “affordable” housing meant in the past and today. Join Scott Brevda of the Museum at Eldridge Street and Andrew Fairweather of the Seward Park branch of the New York Public Library for this deep dive into our neighborhood’s dynamic housing history. This program was organized in partnership between the Museum at Eldridge Street and the Seward Park Library branch of The New York Public Library (NYPL). Learn more about the Museum at Eldridge Street at https://www.eldridgestreet.org/. Learn more about the Seward Park Library at https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/seward-park.