School of the New York Times article

During my intensive two weeks in New York, we were assigned the task of finding a story in a certain bureau, investigating, and reporting about it. As I wandered around the Lower East Side, I stubbled upon a settlement house that began in the 1800s and is still running today. That is how this story came about.

As Lower East Side transforms, historic settlement houses have remained prominent

“Some circumstances change,” Clovis Thorne said. “The challenges remain the same.” These persistent challenges are why settlement houses from over a century ago continue to have a role in the Lower East Side.

Settlement Houses began as shelters and medical services for immigrants and low income residents during the first waves of the Progressive Era. Today they still serve local residents by providing health services, educational programs, childcare, and more. Thorn, Director of Development and Communications at Grand Street Settlement, says that settlement houses serve as the bridge between the old neighborhood and the new, even as poverty decreases and property value increases on the LES.

“The Lower East Side is frankly not as poor as it used to be and the need has shifted to other parts of the city so it is important that settlement houses move to meet these needs, but it is also important that we don’t do that to where we are not building from the community,” Thorn said.

Because the area is transforming, it is important for Grand Street to help longtime residents and maintain the historical significance of the neighborhood.

“I think that is the role of an organization like Grand Street is to equip them not just to survive but to thrive and one thing we say is we work to end the cycle of inter generational poverty.”

Settlement houses in the Lower East Side are still prevalent in the works of preserving of the community. Grand Street serves as the community partner with the developers of Essex Crossing, which helped begin GrandLo Cafe in 2018. GrandLo serves as a nonprofit working to create jobs for young adults who are not in school or have few economic opportunities. When GrandLo made the decision to be a cashless organization, they knew they would lose customers. But, according to both Thorn and manager Adam Perez, safety of the workers is their priority.

Perez, a resident of the Lower East Side for 22 years, believes that the cafe provides more than just a job.

“Growing up there was not a lot of opportunity in this area and for us to kind of be a hub, a place where they can come and learn and grow and develop in a meaningful way instead of hanging out in the streets,” Perez said.

Settlement houses have used the evolution of their neighborhood to expand their founding community values, but to Thorn, there are still signs of the 1916 organization today.

“With the incredible amounts of immigration and meeting essential needs like teaching English and helping people find stable housing and taking care of their nutrition and their health has always been a priority of settlement houses like Grand Street and that remains the same and the need stays the same.”

The settlement houses began in the United States during the late 1800s. At the height of the Settlement House Movement, there were over 400 houses in the United States. According to historian at Henry Street Settlement Katie Vogel, some workers today still live onsite at the shelters, similar to how the founder of Henry Street, Lillian Wald, and her fellow workers did in 1893.

As the Lower East Side grows into a new phase of development, other areas of New York face the dense population and poverty that the LES has historically dealt with. Thorn believes that the work of settlement houses is continuously needed for New York City residents.

“Neighborhoods like Brooklyn, East New York, Brownsville, and Bushwick are very heavily populated by low income immigrants the way the Lower East Side has always been, and so they can use the example of the Lower East Side as a way to deliver community services largely through organizations like settlement houses to help deal with the pressures of the income disparities,” Thorn said.

While the Lower East Side living standards have improved since the early 20th century, there are still reminisces of old New York City.

“So yeah, history is repeating itself,” Thorn said.