Jewish NYC: Neighborhoods

This section includes select resources on New York City neighborhoods known for their Jewish populations.

The earliest geographic Jewish communities in New York City began in lower Manhattan, when small and traditional communities gathered around necessities such as a synagogue, kosher butcher, and Jewish cemetery. As the population increased, the Lower East Side became the city's primary Jewish neighborhood, known for its density and teeming street life. Many Jewish people and organizations moved uptown and to other boroughs as housing and transportation opportunities expanded. The housing cooperative movement in the city also features substantial Jewish participation; please see the Housing Cooperatives box below for more information.

Geographic Jewish communities in New York City still flourish today, especially among those who maintain traditional religious observance. Today, Brooklyn has the largest Jewish population of all the city's boroughs. Please see also the Communities section of this guide for more information on specific Jewish ethnic, linguistic, religious, and cultural groups in the city.

Suggested Subject Headings:

• Jews -- New York (State) -- New York
• Jews -- Bronx (New York, N.Y.)
• Jews -- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
• Jews -- Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.)
• Jews -- Queens (New York, N.Y.)
• Jews -- Staten Island (New York, N.Y.)
• Eruv -- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
• Eruv -- New York (State) -- New York

American Jewish Committee Oral History Collection Series:

• Eldridge Street and Hebrew Orphan Asylum

Research Guides:

• New York City Neighborhood Research: How To Site See
• Navigating Research at the Map Division: Getting Started at the New York Public Library
• Boundaries, Districts, and Zones in New York City

Blog posts:

• Jewish New York Through the Lens of Morris Huberland
• Photographing the Rise and Fall of the Lower East Side's Synagogues
• From Odessa to New York City: The Unique Legacy of America’s Soviet Jewry
• Remembering Manhattan's Little Syria
• The Yiddish Broadway and Beyond