The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 borough

Borough (New York City)

New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...

 of Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street

Canal Street (Manhattan)

Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...

, Eldridge Street, East Broadway

East Broadway (Manhattan)

East Broadway is a two-way east-west street in the Chinatown and Lower East Side neighborhoods of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Broadway begins at Chatham Square and runs eastward under the Manhattan Bridge, continues past Seward Park and the eastern end of Canal Street, and ends...

, and Grand Street

Grand Street (Manhattan)

Grand Street is a street in Manhattan, New York City. It runs east-west parallel to and south of Delancey Street, from SoHo through Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side to the East River....

.

It was traditionally an immigrant, working class

Working class

Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...

 neighborhood. But it has undergone rapid gentrification

Gentrification

Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...

 in recent years, prompting The National Trust for Historic Preservation to place the neighborhood on their list of America's Most Endangered Places

America's Most Endangered Places

Each year since 1987, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has released a list of places they consider the most endangered in America. The number of sites included on the list has varied, with the most recent lists settling on 11...

.