Pitt St, Lower East Side

Pitt street is what Avenue C turns into as the East Village becomes the Lower East Side. It starts off with the ole Hamilton Fish Park. The park is about 100 years old and is named for the one of the biggest political families in New York history. The next few blocks after the park are all public housing buildings, so I guess you can say this is quite the public street (read: don't live here). It's a pretty dramatic change from the street on the other side of Houston. It's a pretty far departure from what we generally think of when we imagine the LES nowadays. Pitt up until about Delancey seems to be more in line with the old Lower East Side. It's a really low income few blocks with little in the way of bars or restaurants.
Once you get past Delancey, there's a pretty cool, Precinct house that has both police and fire departments. That's pretty rare in any city, let alone in one with so little space. If there's any kind of emergency, this is a one-stop shop. Across from the precinct is the Abron Arts Center which is a space designed for music, drama and other performance arts. That place doesn't interest me, but what does is what the Arts center was built around: The Neighborhood Playhouse. The Neighborhood Playhouse is kind of legendary in the writer / actor world. It went up in 1915 and has housed works from O'Neill, Shaw, Joyce and Orson Welles with performers such as Ethel Barrymore, James Cagney and Isadora Duncan. The Neighborhood Playhouse is also where the Sanford Meisner technique of acting was born and it's where he taught. It's a pretty massive name as far as the theatre world goes and I highly recommend visiting it even though the magic of it mostly died after Meisner did.
It's amazing how a street can have nothing noteworthy or special about it (and can even be downright ugly) but just having one great thing makes it an ok street. I wouldn't live on Pitt by any means, but I would recommend going there for the Playhouse. Obviously, you'd have to leave right after and go to a different street for drinks, food and living but at least it's not too far from those things.

To be honest, I have no idea who Hamilton Fish is, but this park is beautiful and nestled in are some very nice housing options. I liked Pitt Street's simplicity of design, marred by the overdressed residents. I could see myself settling down in this area, raising a family, and relaxing with my youth only a few blocks away.

Pitt St is close to the following metro stations: 6 at Spring Street, F, J, M, Z at Essex St- Delancey St, and the J, M, Z at Bowery. It is also accessible to many buses. Foot traffic is moderate, and it is a good neighborhood for all people!