Exceprt from Chapter 3 of To Be Heard “That’s how the lower...

Exceprt from Chapter 3 of To Be Heard

 

“That’s how the lower east side immigrants did it. When the Williamsburg Bridge was completed around 1903, this became the most populated neighborhood in the country. The Polish and the Jewish put their possessions on their backs and walked them across the bridge, just like you.”

“My neighborhood was all Chinese and blacks.”

“What part did you live?”

“It’s hard to say, lower east side I suppose, but not really. It was at Market and Madison, right under the Manhattan Bridge.”

“Oh CHUMBLES, that is a weird area.”

“What’s CHUMBLES?”

“CHinatown-Under-Manhattan-Bridge-Lower-East-Side.”