My idea for this project is to focus on the recent transformation of the Lower East Side. In the past few decades, this neighborhood has gone from a diverse, low income, immigrant and sometimes dangerous neighborhood to a hip, gentrified, safe, family-oriented one. The Lower East Side is full of stories of this transformation and I think that they would be interesting to look at. The neighborhood used to be a stop on the road to “making it”, and it is now the goal for many people, the mark of having “made it”.

One of the key changes that has led to the new Lower East Side is the gentrification and the moving out of small businesses and moving in of big ones. That is why I will primarily tell this story from the perspective of my boss John Casey, who has had his Rubber Stamp Shop on the LES for over 2 decades now. He has seen the neighborhood change and can be a great source. 

His shop is one of the few old LES spots left, one of the few original businesses. An Irish Immigrant and now the owner of a successful small business, John has definitely made it. His friends who stop by the store all of the time can also be my guides to the transformation of the LES.

I will record John and my interview as well as take videos and pictures of him and the neighborhood. I will locate certain spots that have transformed and maybe go through the history of businesses on a particular block to express that change.