It’s easy to describe where in Manhattan the Lower East Side is located: it’s south of Houston Street and north of the Brooklyn Bridge, and runs from The Bowery to the East River. Describing what the Lower East Side is a bit more complicated, primarily because this Manhattan neighborhood is so unique. 

The LES is the ancestral home of New York's Jewish culture, and vestiges of that old identity -- both at the definitively New York deli Katz's and at a number of smaller storefronts -- exist side by side with Michelin-starred fine-dining establishments and unpretentious burger joints, hip bars and clubs, and acclaimed art galleries. With Lower Manhattan increasingly smoothing into a uniform, urbane prosperity, the degree to which The Lower East Side has retained some uneven edges is refreshing. The Lower East Side and the East Village represent both the artistic frontier that Lower Manhattan has traditionally been and the distinctive new thing it is becoming. With a booming nightlife scene that includes several essential live music venues located -- from indie mecca Cake Shop to the beloved Bowery Ballroom -- and a wealth of different cultures, traditions and overlapping histories The Lower East Side is inarguably a fascinating place to spend time, and an increasingly desirable place to live. After all, there aren’t many Manhattan neighborhoods in which both the funky Essex Street Market and Whole Foods seem eminently at home.

While much of the Lower East Side’s housing stock is defined by its turn-of-the-century walk-ups, a number of new construction condominiums on the Lower East Side -- and a few high-profile LES condo conversions -- have changed the face and the character of the LES. The ultra-luxe Blue Condominium and 38 Delancey are rising stars on the Manhattan condo scene, and the signature new construction condominiums on the Lower East Side. Always a fun neighborhood to visit and always a quintessentially New York experience, the Lower East Side has also broken out as a great place to live.