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71-616: The Asser Levy Recreation Center is a recreational facility in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City , composed of the Asser Levy Public Baths and Asser Levy Playground . It is bounded by East 23rd Street to the south, East 25th Street to the north, and FDR Drive to the east. Along with the former Asser Levy Place to the west, it was named after Asser Levy , one of New York City's first Jewish citizens and

142-550: A ceremony led by borough president John F. Ahearn . Competitive swimmers such as Charles Daniels competed at the bathhouse's indoor pool during the opening ceremony. Men and women were allowed to use the pool on alternating days of the week. The outdoor pool southeast of the bathhouse, as well as the adjacent diving pool, opened in 1936. The 23rd Street Bathhouse was transferred to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) in 1938. Prior to that, it

213-414: A college education or higher, while 3% have less than a high school education and 15% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 64% of Manhattan residents and 43% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Kips Bay and East Midtown students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during

284-420: A grid of windows containing diagonal muntins , while the archways themselves contain scrolled keystones at their tops. Architectural historian Robert A. M. Stern wrote that the main arches "were more like portals to a great amphitheatre than frames around doors to a hygienic facility". Between the archways, there is a decorative niche with a fountain, which is topped by the shield of New York City. The top of

355-652: A lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 80.7% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 0 murders, 13 rapes, 63 robberies, 91 felony assaults, 80 burglaries, 748 grand larcenies, and 26 grand larcenies auto in 2018. Kips Bay is served by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY)'s Engine Company 16/Ladder Company 7 fire station, located at 234 East 29th Street. As of 2018 , preterm births and births to teenage mothers in Kips Bay and East Midtown are lower than

426-595: A microapartment building on a city-owned site and pilot the use of compact apartments to accommodate smaller households. Kips Bay is patrolled by two precincts of the NYPD . The 13th Precinct is located at 230 East 21st Street and serves the part of the neighborhood south of 30th Street, while the 17th Precinct is located at 167 East 51st Street and serves the part of the neighborhood north of 30th Street. The 13th and 17th Precincts ranked 57th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. The high per-capita crime rate

497-404: A minimum depth of 4 feet (1.2 m) at the western end and a maximum depth of 7 feet (2.1 m) at the eastern end. The pool contains a bronze lion's head fountain at its shallow end and is surrounded by a gutter. The surrounding deck, as well as the lowest 10 feet (3.0 m) of the perimeter walls, are clad in ceramic tiles. There is a balcony on the second floor of the natatorium, overlooking

568-573: A result of urban renewal . Located between East 30th and 33rd streets, the NYU-Bellevue urban renewal project resulted in the development of Kips Bay Towers , a 1,112-unit apartment complex designed by architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1963. The Bellevue South urban renewal project, located between 23rd and 30th streets, resulted in multiple housing developments, including East Midtown Plaza and Phipps Plaza (named after 19th century industrialist and philanthropist Henry Phipps ). Waterside Plaza

639-399: A single space with a double-height vaulted ceiling. The space serves as the modern lobby and contains tables for table tennis and pool . Just east of the waiting room, in the center of the bathhouse, is a triple-height natatorium room with an enclosed rectangular swimming pool extending from west to east. According to NYC Parks, the pool measures 66 by 26 feet (20.1 by 7.9 m). It has

710-526: A small man-made brownfield land mass extending out into the East River, which was created from excess concrete dumped into the river when the site was a ready-mix plant. For census purposes, the New York City government classifies Kips Bay as part of a larger neighborhood tabulation area called Murray Hill-Kips Bay. Based on data from the 2010 United States census , the population of Murray Hill-Kips Bay

781-519: A soccer field, and a running track are in the western section of the Asser Levy Recreation Center, on the former path of Asser Levy Place. Lighting, benches, and water fountains were also installed on the street's former site. The baths were an important part of the drive to alleviate sanitary problems in the city. Many New Yorkers, especially immigrants living in overcrowded tenements, had no place to bathe. An 1896 survey found that there

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852-466: A strong and influential advocate for civil liberties . The Asser Levy Public Baths, the recreation center's main building, was designed by Arnold W. Brunner and Martin Aiken . Its main entrance on Asser Levy Place consists of two large arches flanked by pairs of columns. Inside are recreational rooms, a swimming pool, and lockers. It originally had separate waiting rooms and showers for men and women, though

923-633: Is 42% in Kips Bay and East Midtown, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018 , Kips Bay and East Midtown are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying . Within Kips Bay, the area along First Avenue is dominated by the institutional buildings of New York University , including Tisch Hospital, NYU College of Dentistry , NYU School of Medicine , and Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine ; Bellevue Hospital Center teaching hospital , including Hunter College 's Brookdale Health Sciences Center and

994-609: Is a neighborhood on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan . It is roughly bounded by 34th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 23rd Street to the south, and Third Avenue to the west. Kips Bay is part of Manhattan Community District 6 , and its primary ZIP Codes are 10010 and 10016. It is patrolled by the 13th and 17th Precincts of the New York City Police Department . According to The Encyclopedia of New York City and

1065-512: Is a residential and business complex built on a pier above the East River between East 25th and East 28th Streets which includes the United Nations International School . There were plans to build additional above-water apartments, offices, and a hotel in the 1980s, but environmental concerns and community opposition doomed the project. Today, the waterfront south of Waterside Plaza is Stuyvesant Cove Park . The park includes

1136-520: Is adjacent to Tudor City and the United Nations / Turtle Bay area on the north, Murray Hill and Rose Hill on the west, and the Stuyvesant Square area and Peter Cooper Village on the south. Other popular definitions of the neighborhood, such as that by The New York Times , include 23rd Street to the south, 34th Street to the north, Lexington Avenue to the west, and the East River to

1207-450: Is an outdoor swimming area with a general swimming pool and a wading pool. According to NYC Parks, the outdoor pool measures 120 feet (37 m) long, 45 feet (14 m) wide, and 4 feet (1.2 m) deep. Next to the general pool is a wading pool measuring 41.67 by 25 feet (12.70 by 7.62 m), with a depth of 1.5 feet (0.46 m). At one point, there was also a diving pool measuring 10 feet (3.0 m) deep. The pools are separated from

1278-661: Is attributed to the precincts' high number of property crimes. As of 2018 , with a non-fatal assault rate of 35 per 100,000 people, Kips Bay and East Midtown's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 180 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 13th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 80.7% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 18 rapes, 152 robberies, 174 felony assaults, 195 burglaries, 1,376 grand larcenies, and 37 grand larcenies auto in 2018. The 17th Precinct also has

1349-521: Is bounded by 23rd Street to the south, the VA Medical Center to the west, 25th Street to the north, and the FDR Drive and the East River to the east. The western side was formerly bounded by Asser Levy Place (originally Avenue A), a street between First Avenue to the west and FDR Drive in the east. Asser Levy Place was removed in 2013. The Asser Levy Public Baths, at the southwestern corner of

1420-505: Is higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 90% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", more than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Kips Bay and East Midtown, there are 7 bodegas . The Bellevue Hospital Center and NYU Langone Health are located in Kips Bay, as is the Manhattan campus of VA New York Harbor Healthcare System . In addition, In addition, Beth Israel Medical Center

1491-415: Is less than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Kips Bay and East Midtown, 10% of residents are obese , 5% are diabetic , and 18% have high blood pressure —compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 7% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Ninety-one percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which

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1562-555: Is located in Stuyvesant Town . Kips Bay is located in two primary ZIP Codes . The area south of 26th Street is located in 10010, while the area north of 26th Street is in 10016. The United States Postal Service operates two post offices in Kips Bay: Kips Bay and East Midtown generally have a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018 . A majority of residents age 25 and older (82%) have

1633-788: Is not near the main Broadway . In 1940 the Madison Square Boys (and later Girls) Club, which previously had been located on East 30th Street just east of Second Avenue, built its own facilities on East 29th Street (back-to-back with its older facility). In the 1990s, the Club sold its building to the Churchill School and Center, and moved its office in the Empire State Building . In the 1960s and 1970s, several high-rise apartment complexes were constructed between First and Second avenues as

1704-526: Is unknown but has been variously dated from around 1790 to as late as 1870; currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places , the house is privately owned and not open to the public. South of the Kips Bay Farm stood the substantial Federal-style villa erected facing the East River by Henry A. Coster, in the thirty-acre estate that was purchased in 1835 by Anson Greene Phelps ; towards

1775-512: The 6 and <6> ​ trains. The Second Avenue Subway is expected to eventually expand south to Lower Manhattan and pass through the neighborhood. New York City Bus routes include the M9 , M15 , M15 SBS , M23 SBS , M34 SBS and M34A SBS . Kips Bay is served by two ferry landings on the East River, Stuyvesant Cove in Stuyvesant Cove Park near East 20th Street and

1846-688: The Alexandria Center for the Life Sciences ; and the Manhattan VA Hospital for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs . Further north on First Avenue, in Murray Hill between East 37th and East 38th Streets, is the former Kips Bay Brewing Company , originally constructed in 1895 and now occupied by offices. Many businesses in the neighborhood use the neighborhood's name: e.g. Kips Bay Cinemas, Kips Bay Cleaners, Kips Bay Endoscopy Center and

1917-518: The East 34th Street Ferry Landing . Stuyvesant Cove is served by NYC Ferry 's Soundview route and East 34th Street is served by three NYC Ferry routes (Astoria, East River, and Soundview) as well as Seastreak . Other transportation facilities in the area include the East 34th Street Heliport and the New York Skyports Seaplane Base , the latter of which is located in the East River at

1988-476: The New York City Department of City Planning , Kips Bay proper is generally bounded by East 34th Street to the north, the East River to the east, East 27th Street to the south, and Third Avenue to the west. City documents have also used New York City census tract 70 (from 29th to 34th Streets, First to Third Avenues) as an approximation for Kips Bay, and referred to tract 66, immediately below it, as "Bellevue South". The American Guide Series defines

2059-706: The Rivington Street municipal bath , until 1901. There were twenty-three bathhouses across New York City by 1912, including what became the Asser Levy Public Baths. In 1903, the city's Department of Docks and Ferries released land for a new bathhouse at East 23rd Street and Avenue A. Aiken and Brunner were hired as the architects. The building plans, completed in October 1904, were projected to cost $ 250,000. A construction contract had been issued by early 1905, and contractor Luke A. Burke & Sons started constructing

2130-740: The Asser Levy Playground was completed in October 2014, although the official opening of the playground expansion did not occur until the following February. Part of the playground was temporarily closed in December 2020 as part of the East Side Coastal Resilience Project, a series of flood barriers and infrastructure upgrades along the East River coast. The playground was completed in May 2022. Notes Citations Sources Kips Bay, Manhattan Kips Bay , or Kip's Bay ,

2201-580: The Asser Levy Recreation Center. The agreement was made as part of a land swap. The city had sold the western end of the Robert Moses Playground , at 42nd Street and FDR Drive, to the United Nations so that the UN could build an office tower on the Robert Moses Playground's site. Asser Levy Place was permanently closed in 2013, and work on the park extension began that November. The expansion of

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2272-527: The East River from a Royal Navy fleet which had first landed earlier on Staten Island , then Long Island for the pivotal Battle of Brooklyn (also known as the Battle of Long Island) the previous month. Howe's forces defeated about 500 American militiamen stationed at Kips Bay by Washington and commanded by Colonel William Douglas . The American forces immediately retreated, and the British occupied New York Town at

2343-477: The Kips Bay branch of the New York Public Library . Since 1965, the area has had a commercial strip mall on Second Avenue between East 30th and 32nd Streets, set back from the street by a driveway running parallel to Second Avenue. This group of stores is referred to as "Kips Bay Plaza". New York City's first microapartment tower opened in Kips Bay in 2016. Named Carmel Place after its location at

2414-596: The bathhouse that June. The original plans called for two separate indoor pools, one each for men and women, but these plans were changed so that both genders shared one pool. The pool at the East 23rd Street Bathhouse, along with another at the West 60th Street Bathhouse (now the Gertrude Ederle Recreation Center ), was included to attract greater patronage of the bathhouse. The bathhouse opened on January 20, 1908, with

2485-426: The city average. In Kips Bay and East Midtown, there were 78 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 1.5 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide), though the teenage birth rate was based on a small sample size. Kips Bay and East Midtown have a low population of residents who are uninsured . In 2018, this population of uninsured residents

2556-422: The city to provide $ 5–6 million for a renovation. After the funds were finally provided in the city's fiscal year 1988 budget, work on an $ 8 million renovation started on November 30, 1988. The bathhouse reopened on June 28, 1990. A 1.7-acre (0.69 ha) accessible playground opened adjacent to the recreation building in October 1993, after six years of planning. At the time, it was Manhattan's first playground that

2627-512: The city, the Bull's Head cattle market fronting the Boston Post Road extended southwards from 27th Street to 23rd Street, affording a distinctly less rural aspect; the villa was removed to make way for row houses in the 1860s and the cattle market was moved farther out of town, to 42nd Street. The neighborhood has been rebuilt in patches, featuring both new high-rise structures often set back from

2698-505: The combined Kip's Bay– Turtle Bay area as running from 27th Street north 59th Street , and from Third Avenue to the East River, excluding the neighborhoods of Beekman Place and Sutton Place . For its entry on Kips Bay, the American Institute of Architects ' AIA Guide to New York City uses the area from 23rd Street north to roughly 38th Street, and from the East River west to just past Second Avenue . In AIA Guide , Kips Bay

2769-540: The east. To the north is Murray Hill; to the west is Madison Square , NoMad , and/or Rose Hill; and to the south is the Bellevue area or the Gramercy Park neighborhood and Peter Cooper Village. Kips Bay was an inlet of the East River running from what is now 32nd Street to 37th Street . The bay extended into Manhattan Island to just west of what is now First Avenue and had two streams that drained into it. The bay

2840-491: The facade above the main entrance contains a frieze , a cornice supported by modillions , and an architrave . The frieze contains the words free public baths above the northern arch and city of new york above the southern arch. There are also decorative urns at the top of the building. These features are made of terracotta created by the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company . There are round window openings on

2911-536: The following public schools in Kips Bay: Students in grades 6-8 are zoned to IS 104 Simon Baruch School in Gramercy Park . In addition, the United Nations International School is located in Waterside, just east of Kips Bay. as well as Rose Hill Montessori Preschool The New York Public Library (NYPL) operates two branches in the neighborhood: Manhattan Community District 6, which includes Kips Bay, has

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2982-418: The foot of East 23rd Street. Frieze In interiors, the frieze of a room is the section of wall above the picture rail and under the crown moldings or cornice. By extension, a frieze is a long stretch of painted , sculpted or even calligraphic decoration in such a position, normally above eye-level. Frieze decorations may depict scenes in a sequence of discrete panels. The material of which

3053-428: The former path of Asser Levy Place, now part of the recreation center's outdoor facilities. It contains two arches, each flanked by a pair of round columns, that were originally separate entrances for men (northern doors) and women (southern doors). Within each arch is a pair of small doors, flanked by scrolled brackets supporting triangular pediments atop each doorway. The remainders of either archway are infilled with

3124-563: The frieze is made of may be plasterwork , carved wood or other decorative medium. More loosely, "frieze" is sometimes used for any continuous horizontal strip of decoration on a wall, containing figurative or ornamental motifs. In an example of an architectural frieze on the façade of a building, the octagonal Tower of the Winds in the Roman agora at Athens bears relief sculptures of the eight winds on its frieze. A pulvinated frieze (or pulvino )

3195-512: The indoor facilities of the recreation center. Because of the composition of the underlying soil, the structure was built on pilings and lacks a basement. As originally arranged, the men's spaces were in the north end of the building, while the women's spaces were in the south end. There were waiting rooms for the different genders just inside each entrance, with each of these rooms measuring 25 by 50 feet (7.6 by 15.2 m). The formerly separate men's and women's waiting rooms have been combined into

3266-460: The intersection of East 27th Street and Mount Carmel Place, the building contains 55 units ranging in size from 260 to 360 square feet (24 to 33 m ) and was constructed using modular units prefabricated at the Brooklyn Navy Yard . The project was the winner of a competition sponsored by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development to design, construct and operate

3337-460: The lowest ratio of public park space per capita of all community districts in the borough and also ranks second to last among all community districts in New York City with regards to the percentage of district land that is parkland. There are three public parks in Kips Bay: The nearest New York City Subway stations are the 23rd Street and 28th Street stations at Park Avenue South, served by

3408-467: The mid-20th century. Albert H. Blumenthal , the liberal candidate for the 1973 New York City mayoral election , visited the Asser Levy Bathhouse to mark the start of the "official" campaign season for that election, jumping into the pool there. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Asser Levy Public Baths as a New York City landmark on March 19, 1974, and the building

3479-425: The pool, with smooth brick walls. The skylight above the natatorium is supported by large steel girders that rest on stone modillions along each of the western and eastern walls. A rear entrance allowed spectators to observe activities in the pool. Leading east from each waiting room, flanking the pool, were the shower rooms, which occupy the northern and southern wings of the building. All bathers were required to use

3550-504: The population. The entirety of Community District 6, which comprises Kips Bay and East Midtown, had 53,120 inhabitants as of NYC Health 's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 84.8 years. This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are adults: a plurality (45%) are between the ages of 25 and 44, while 22% are between 45 and 64, and 13% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents

3621-428: The recreation center, is roughly cross-shaped in plan and measures roughly 163 by 140 feet (50 by 43 m). Built in the first decade of the 20th century, it was designed by Arnold W. Brunner and Martin Aiken of the shortlived partnership Brunner & Aiken, although Aiken may have been more involved than Brunner. The Roman Revival design was inspired by Roman baths and the " City Beautiful " movement. The building

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3692-476: The same time period. Kips Bay and East Midtown's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City. In Kips Bay and East Midtown, 8% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year , less than the citywide average of 20%. Additionally, 91% of high school students in Kips Bay and East Midtown graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%. The New York City Department of Education operates

3763-576: The showers before entering the swimming pool. The structure contained more than 150 shower stalls when it opened. The men's shower room measured 42 by 66 feet (13 by 20 m) while the women's shower room measured 25 by 49 feet (7.6 by 14.9 m). The shower rooms were also equipped with five tub baths at their opening, to be used by "invalids" or by mothers with small children. The shower rooms contained floors, walls, and changing booths made of marble. The shower rooms also had separate exits to Avenue A, which allowed bathers to exit without having to return to

3834-476: The sides of the main entrance wing, as well as in the northern and southern wings, where the showers and dressing rooms were. The eastern wing contains a similar, but more simple, design. These wings also contain cornices, which are supported by dentils . There is a copper gable roof atop the bathhouse, with an iron skylight overlooking the pool at the center of the building. Inside the Public Baths building are

3905-483: The south point of the island soon afterward forcing General Washington to retreat northward to the Harlem River . A single survivor of the late 18th or early 19th century in the neighborhood is the simple vernacular white clapboard house, much rebuilt, at 203 East 29th Street . The house, standing gable-end to the street, is one of a mere handful of wooden houses that remain on Manhattan Island. Its date of construction

3976-453: The street by a fence. The recreation center also has outdoor exercise equipment, handball courts, basketball courts, an artificial turf field, a running track, and a sprinkler. The basketball court and playground are along the FDR Drive, just north of the bathhouse. There are four handball courts at 25th Street and the FDR Drive, in the recreation center's northeastern corner. Fitness equipment,

4047-415: The street, and a multitude of exposed party walls that were never meant to be seen in public. A nearly forgotten feature is the private alley called Broadway Alley , between 26th and 27th Streets, halfway between Lexington and Third Avenues, reputedly the last (* as of recently, 2024, the alley has been paved-with asphalt) unpaved street in Manhattan; it is not known what this alley is named after, since it

4118-421: The waiting room. After a 1990 renovation, a multipurpose room, a media lab, and a fitness room were added to the space. The toilets were at the eastern end of each shower room. A small annex extends east of the natatorium. It originally contained a boiler room on the north and an engine room on the south. There were overhead storage rooms to store the coal for the boiler room. Southeast of the bathhouse building

4189-416: The waiting rooms were subsequently combined and the showers relocated. Outdoor recreational facilities, including additional swimming pools and the playground, surround the bathhouse. The bathhouse was built in 1905–1908 to alleviate sanitary problems in the city and was transferred to the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) in 1938. Originally known as the East 23rd Street Baths, it

4260-533: Was 50,742, a change of 2,323 (4.6%) from the 48,419 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 334.93 acres (135.54 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 151.5 inhabitants per acre (97,000/sq mi; 37,400/km ). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 66.6% (33,818) White , 4.8% (2,423) African American , 0.1% (55) Native American , 16.2% (8,233) Asian , 0% (16) Pacific Islander , 0.4% (181) from other races , and 2% (1,008) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.9% (5,008) of

4331-463: Was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1980. By late 1978, the bathhouse's indoor pool was not used or heated during the winter, although a small number of staff remained in the bathhouse. After the indoor pool's boiler ruptured in March 1979, the indoor pool was closed indefinitely, while the outdoor pool remained operational. During the 1980s, Manhattan Community Board 6 asked

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4402-636: Was claimed to have been the first garden to have grown it in the Thirteen Colonies . Kips Bay was the site of the Landing at Kip's Bay , an episode of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and part of the New York and New Jersey campaign . About 4,000 British Army troops under General William Howe landed at Kips Bay on September 15, 1776, near what is now the foot of East 33rd Street off

4473-416: Was demolished was the last farmhouse from New Amsterdam remaining in Manhattan. Iron figures fixed into the gable-end brickwork commemorated the year of its first construction. Its orchard was famous, and, when first President George Washington was presented with a specimen of its Rosa gallica during his first administration (1789–1793), when New York was serving as the first national capital city, it

4544-400: Was estimated to be 3%, less than the citywide rate of 12%, though this was based on a small sample size. The concentration of fine particulate matter , the deadliest type of air pollutant , in Kips Bay and East Midtown is 0.0102 milligrams per cubic metre (1.02 × 10  oz/cu ft), more than the city average. Twelve percent of Kips Bay and East Midtown residents are smokers , which

4615-471: Was fully accessible for disabled children. In 1995, the city government found that lead chips from the FDR Drive viaduct, to the east, were blowing into the Asser Levy Recreation Center's outdoor pool area, resulting in extremely high lead levels. By the beginning of the 21st century, the Asser Levy Recreation Center was one of the city's last remaining public bathhouses. In 2011, the New York City government agreed to convert Asser Levy Place into an extension of

4686-523: Was lower, at 7% and 12% respectively. As of 2017, the median household income in Community District 6 was $ 112,383. In 2018, an estimated 10% of Kips Bay and East Midtown residents lived in poverty, compared to 14% in all of Manhattan and 20% in all of New York City. One in twenty-five residents (4%) were unemployed, compared to 7% in Manhattan and 9% in New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent,

4757-453: Was named after New Netherland Dutch settler Jacobus Hendrickson Kip (1631–1690), son of Hendrick Hendricksen Kip , whose farm ran north of present-day 30th Street along the East River. The bay became reclaimed land , yet "Kips Bay" remains the name of the area. Kip built a large brick and stone house, near the modern intersection of Second Avenue and East 35th Street. The house stood from 1655 to 1851, expanded more than once, and when it

4828-534: Was one bathtub in the Lower East Side for every 79 families. Progressive social reformers pushed for the construction of public bathhouses modeled on those of ancient Rome . In 1895, the state passed a law requiring that localities build public baths. At the time, floating baths still existed along the Hudson and East rivers, but these were widely considered unsanitary. New York City did not build its first bathhouse,

4899-505: Was operated by the borough of Manhattan. After the construction of Stuyvesant Town–Peter Cooper Village to the south, in the 1940s and 1950s, the two-block section of Avenue A outside the East 23rd Street Bathhouse was cut off from the rest of the avenue. The segment outside the bathhouse was renamed in 1954 after Asser Levy , one of the first Jewish citizens of New York City and a strong and influential advocate for civil liberties . The bathhouse also came to be known for Asser Levy during

4970-420: Was particularly ornate, even in comparison to other New York City bathhouses built in the first decade of the 20th century. Other bathhouses were designed to be "easily recognizable", but lacked "all outward display of lavishness [...] as it would only keep the poor people away". The bathhouse's facade is made largely of red Harvard brick with a base made of Indiana limestone . The main entrance faces west onto

5041-449: Was renamed for Levy in the mid-20th century. The building was designated a New York City landmark in 1974 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It was restored by NYC Parks in 1988–1990, and the other recreational facilities were built in 1993 and 2014. The Asser Levy Recreation Center is in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City , on Manhattan's East Side . The 2.44-acre (0.99 ha) site

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