THE LOWER EAST SIDE

           The Lower East Side was originally an elegant neighbour­hood. When New York was the capital of the United States, President George Washington lived in the Lower East Side.

          By the mid-1880s the Lower East Side had changed great­ly. It was characterized by crime and poverty. By the mid- 1800s, the Lower East Side had become an area in which immi­grants settled. First there were many Irish, and then came many Jews from Eastern Europe.,

         Near the Lower East Side, there are two other neighbour­hoods that also attracted immigrants and that are famous for their food. The Italian restaurants of Little Italy remain po­pular among tourists and Italian people. Today Chinatown is the only immigrant community that’s still growing. China­town has seven newspapers of its own. There are also nearly 200 restaurants.

QUESTIONS:

1. What kind of neighborhood was the Lower East Side ori­ginally?
2. How was the Lower East Side characterized by the mid- 1880s?
3. Who among immigrants settled there first?
4. What is the only growing immigrant community?

VOCABULARY:

originally — первоначально

neighbourhood — округа, окрестности

crime — преступление

poverty — бедность

to settle — поселиться

to attract — привлекать

to remain — оставаться