Loisaida

The Lower East Side of Manhattan; the East Village. Where the Avenues have letters instead of numbers. In olden times, this was a tuff place - the "Dead End Kids" (a.k.a. the East Side Kids, or the Bowery Boys) from the Bogart film Dead End (and their own series of films) were allegedly from 'round these parts. In later decades, it became a venue for gentrification, slumming German "artists", EZ druggage (caveat emptor), the Missing Foundation, and police riots.

Portions of Avenue C have, nowadays, "Loisaida Ave" street signs underneath the traditional "AVE C" ones.

Instrumental track off of the 1984 Joe Jackson album Body And Soul inspired by the above neighborhood. The song is a jazzy Latin ballad, with a delicate lead trumpet. (If you couldn't tell, "Loisaida" is a Spanish transliteration of "Lower East Side".)

I have friends who live in a beautiful new apartment building in the East Village. The place has certainly gentrified. It's still a bit rough around the edges, though.