Two Bridges, Manhattan

Two Bridges is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City, United States. Although the exact boundaries of the neighborhood are not clearly defined, it is the East River waterfront area, roughly between the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge at the southern end of the Lower East Side.

Two Bridges, with its tenements and a high concentration of public housing projects, has traditionally been an immigrant neighborhood, previously populated by immigrants from Europe, more recently from Latin America, and now from China. The Two Bridges Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in September 2003.

Boundaries
Although Two Bridges has no exact borders, the neighborhood is roughly bounded by East River to the south, East Broadway to the north, Montgomery Street to the east, St. James Place and Brooklyn Bridge to the west. However, the Two Bridges Urban Renewal district lies between Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge to the north.

Nearby neighborhoods include:
 * To the north: Lower East Side and Chinatown
 * To the west: Civic Center, South Street Seaport and Financial District

Demographics
Two Bridges has historically been an Irish and Italian neighborhood, but after the war and the building of public housing high rises in the 1950s, black and Hispanic residents moved into the area. More recently, Two Bridges has been populated by first- and second-generation Chinese immigrants. The area remains a home to low- to moderate-income families and maintains a reputation for being gritty. Guns N' Roses guitarist and area resident Richard Fortus called Two Bridges, "the only neighborhood left in Manhattan that doesn’t have a Starbucks".

However, families and young professionals are arriving in search of deals, and condos with units going for as much as $1.8 million are being built.

Two Bridges Historic District
In September 2003, the Two Bridges Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The district is a nine-block area, roughly bounded by East Broadway, Market Street, Cherry Street, Catherine Street, Madison Street and St. James Place.

The district includes the following landmarks on state and federal historic registers:
 * First Cemetery of Congregation Shearith Israel
 * Knickerbocker Village housing development
 * Mariners Temple
 * The Sea and Land Church
 * St. James Church
 * 51 Market Street
 * 25 Oliver Street (house where Governor Al Smith was born)