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How the Lower East Side has changed since the 1988 rom-com ‘Crossing Delancey’
(New York Jewish Week) — The classic and very Jewish 1988 film “Crossing Delancey” is one of those movies that feels both extremely of its time and also completely timeless.
Director Joan Micklin Silver’s film has all the classic rom-com trappings: A woman who’s torn between two men (and to that end, two worlds); complaints about how hard it is to meet a man in New York City (as true in 1988 as it is in 2022), and a “mother” figure who knows better (here, a Jewish grandmother known as Bubbe, and in this case, she actually does know better). You could pluck all these specifics and drop them into a present-day film — and, if told with the heart and care of “Crossing Delancey,” still have a pretty good movie.
Yet there’s one thing about the “Crossing Delancey” that fully anchors it in the past, and that is its late-1980s Lower East Side setting. While our heroine, Izzy (Amy Irving), lives and works on the Upper West Side, she pays frequent visits to her Bubbe (Yiddish theater actress Reizl Bozyk), her grandmother, downtown. From the moment that Izzy steps off the train at Delancey Street, she’s transported to another world: a bustling Jewish enclave with market-goers shopping for produce, friends and neighbors in the streets kibbitzing and a Hasidic child sitting outside the subway, enjoying a treat from a local bakery.
This dichotomy between the “Old World” of the Lower East Side and the “New World” uptown is the central conflict of the film: Izzy’s inability to reconcile her Jewish roots with her desire to live a secular, intelligentsia lifestyle, as represented by her two love interests (Sam the Pickle Man and Anton, the self-important author).
However, rewatching the film in the present day, I can’t help but wonder: Would Izzy run from the shtetl if she knew that in a few years, it wouldn’t exist anymore? That due to rising rents and a shift in population, many Jewish businesses would meet their end — or, somewhat ironically, be part of the flight to Brooklyn that began in the early-to-mid 2000s? In some ways, 1988 itself was the beginning and the end: It marked the opening of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, an effort to preserve the neighborhood’s immigrant past, and it was the very same year that Mayor Koch created a new redevelopment proposal for the Seward Park Extension, a canary in the coal mine for the sea change of development the city would see over the next 30 years.
Re-watching the film in 2022, it struck me how the Lower East Side’s bustling Jewish enclave — the same place where my grandparents were born and raised — has since been lost to time, gentrification and re-zoning plans. These days, the neighborhood paints a different picture entirely: giant buildings hog entire city blocks, with construction promising even more sky-high buildings. There’s no specific character to the neighborhood, no story to tell, few places more integral to the city’s fabric than the Delancey-Essex McDonald’s.
Of course, if you’ve lived in the city long enough, you know there’s no getting comfortable. New Yorkers have to, in essence, harden their hearts. We must accept that the local business you love that’s here today very well could be gone tomorrow — even if that business is a Duane Reade. The Lower East Side of today is not the neighborhood of 1988, or 1968 or 1928.
But amongst all of the present-day residential developments, upscale clothing stores and fast food chains, old-school Jewish businesses like The Pickle Guys, Kossar’s Bagels and Bialys and Yonah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery are still thriving. (And, I’d like to think that if you look hard enough, you’ll find some meddling but well-meaning bubbes and yentas, too.)
While we might not be able to fully experience the Lower East Side as the cast and crew of “Crossing Delancey,” here are four places from “Crossing Delancey” that you can still visit, and four that are sadly gone forever.
What Remains Today
Bubbe’s Apartment
154 Broome Street
The interior shots of Bubbe’s apartment, where Izzy fulfills all of her granddaughterly duties, like singing with her grandmother in Yiddish and plucking her chin hairs, were filmed at 154 Broome Street. The 181-unit building sits at the mouth of the Williamsburg Bridge — which is why Bubbe has that spectacular view — and is part of the New York City Housing Authority’s Seward Park Housing Extension. So while you still can visit the exterior of Bubbe’s apartment building today, don’t linger too long — it might weird out the current tenants.
Essex Market
108 Essex Street
This one is a little complicated. The original Essex Market, where Bubbe shows off her Korean-language skills, still stands today. (If you get off at the subway at Delancey Street, you can’t really miss it.) But that iteration of the market closed its doors in 2019 — in order to relocate to a building across the street so big and so glassy it would make Michael Bloomberg blush. In addition to apartments, office space and a movie theater (it’s a truly mixed-use building for our modern times!), Essex Market does boast local, independent vendors, such as Essex Olive & Spice, Porto Rico Importing Co. and Puebla Mexicana food. Per the New York Times, only one of the market’s vendors decided to forgo the move, opting instead for retirement. But you might want to pay a visit to the original Essex Market while you still can — even if only to give it one last look. Following the move, Essex Market initially housed some avant-garde art installations, but it has since seemingly closed its doors for good. According to Gothamist, it’s to be razed to create — what else? — more condos.
Seward Park Handball Court
Essex Street between Grand and Hester Streets
From the moment Sam and Izzy meet, he makes no effort to hide his ardor. In fact, I’d say he uses every weapon in his arsenal to demonstrate his interest — even going so far as to try to impress her with his handball skills when she unexpectedly drops by the court. (You might also clock his CUNY sweatshirt, as I most certainly did.) The handball court is still there, should you decide you want to play a pickup game, but sadly the court’s colorful mural depicted in the film has since been painted over.
Bonus: Gray’s Papaya
2090 Broadway
While this article is focused on the film’s Lower East Side locations, and with good reason, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that one important New York institution Izzy visits triumphantly remains: The Upper West Side Gray’s Papaya. There, Izzy celebrates her birthday with a friend and a hot dog — the right way to do it, in my opinion — when a woman bursts in singing “Some Enchanted Evening,” for everyone and no one in particular. It’s one of many of the film’s classic New York moments.
What’s Been Replaced
Steinberg’s Dairy
21 Essex Street
When Izzy emerges from that train at Delancey Street, director Silver takes great care to immerse us in this world. The camera stays on Izzy as she walks from the subway to Bubbe’s apartment, passing a host of local businesses along the way. Among them is Steinberg’s Dairy, which once lived at 21 Essex Street. Steinberg’s Dairy, which also had an Upper West Side location, offered staples like herring, egg salad and vegetarian chopped liver for less than a dollar back in 1941. Today, if you’re in the area, you can grab a drink at the punk rock bar Clockwork, which opened in 2013.
Zelig Blumenthal
13 Essex Street
Izzy also takes us by Zelig’s Blumenthal (also known as Z & A Kol Torah), where three older women sit outside, enjoying the sights and sounds around them. Once a popular Judaica store, it unexpectedly closed its Lower East Side doors in 2010 after 60 years in business. At the time, then-owner Mordechai Blumenthal made the decision to relocate the store to Flatbush due to a dwindling Orthodox population and foot traffic in the area, and a landlord who made clear he “wanted him gone.” It’s unclear if the Flatbush location remains open today, but a vintage clothing store called Country Of has taken up its original spot.
Posner’s Pickles (AKA Guss’ Pickles)
35 Essex Street
Posner’s Pickles, as run by Sam the Pickle Man in the film, was never exactly a real place to begin with. Filming took place at the world-famous Guss’ Pickles, which first opened on Hester Street in 1920, before relocating to Essex Street, where there were once over 80 pickle vendors for locals to choose from. After a stint on Orchard Street, Guss’ Pickles followed in the footsteps of so many others by then, leaving Manhattan to open up shop in Brooklyn’s Dekalb Market in 2017. While Guss’ Pickles is today based out of the Bronx, their delicious pickles are available to order no matter where you are in the country, via Goldbelly. Today, 35 Essex Street is home to Delancey Wine — appropriately named, but doesn’t offer possibilities for a slogan like “a joke and a pickle for only a nickel,” as Posner’s Pickles did in the film.
Schapiro’s Kosher Wines
124 Rivington Street
For 100 years, Schapiro’s Kosher Wines proudly served the Jewish community as the only kosher winery in New York City. It’s where Bubbe chides Izzy for her lack of interest in Sam, and while today the pair couldn’t have this conversation outside Schapiro’s, they could grab brunch at the restaurant Essex. Home to New York City’s “longest-running Brunch Party,” Essex salutes its Lower East Side roots with dishes like potato pancakes and Israeli couscous.
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Austria Uncovers Hamas-Linked Weapons Cache Amid Surge in Anti-Jewish Incidents
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Vienna. Photo: Reuters/Andreas Stroh
Austrian authorities have uncovered a weapons cache linked to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas intended for attacks on Jewish communities in Europe, amid a surge in antisemitic incidents and a government warning that anti-Jewish hate is on the rise.
On Wednesday, the Antisemitism Reporting Office of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG) released its new report on anti-Jewish outrages, recording 726 incidents in Austria in the first half of 2025.
The Jewish community in Austria has faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Austrian Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes they continue to face.
According to the newly released report, antisemitic incidents peaked at 808 from the first six months of 2024, with this year’s first-half total slightly lower but on pace once again to far surpass pre-Oct. 7, 2023, figures if current trends continue.
In 2023, before the Oct. 7 atrocities, 311 cases were documented, with current figures having more than doubled since then.
Of the incidents reported this year, five involved physical assaults, eight were threats, 78 involved property damage, 203 were hate-related communications, and 432 involved offensive behavior. The vast majority of the incidents were classified as “Israel-related antisemitism,” with roughly half the total outrages involving either Holocaust denial/distortion or antisemitic “othering,” defined as treating Jews as outsiders.
In the face of a growing wave of anti-Jewish hatred and a hostile climate, the Austrian government is set to unveil its revised National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism next week.
“If we are to preserve Jewish life in Austria, it demands protection, solidarity, and a firm stance every single day,” Secretary of State Alexander Pröll said in a statement.
“We need to send a clear message – the current statistics are a wake-up call,” he continued. “Antisemitism is still deeply ingrained in Austria and is becoming more and more normalized.”
The new report also warns that the declining willingness to report antisemitic incidents, with those affected “increasingly suppressing their complaints,” suggests the actual extent of the issue may be far greater than what is currently documented.
“We need to confront violence, hatred, and incitement with greater resolve,” Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said in a statement.
“Antisemitism targets not only Jewish people but also the core values of our democracy,” she continued.
Meanwhile, Vienna authorities on Thursday uncovered a hidden arsenal linked to Hamas, reportedly intended for “potential terrorist attacks in Europe” targeting Jewish communities.
The Austrian government confirmed that the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence Service (DSN) has been conducting an internationally coordinated investigation into a global terrorist network with ties to Hamas.
During the investigation, Austrian authorities uncovered evidence suggesting that this group had brought weapons into the country for potential terrorist attacks in Europe, and identified a possible suspect.
Earlier this week, London police arrested a 39-year-old British citizen who allegedly has “close ties to the weapons cache,” the British Interior Ministry confirmed in a statement.
“According to the current state of the investigation, Israeli or Jewish institutions in Europe were likely to be the targets of these attacks,” the statement read.
Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner praised the investigation, saying, “The mission is clear: zero tolerance for terrorists.”
“The current case shows once again that the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence has an excellent international network and takes consistent action against all forms of extremism,” he said.
Hamas issued a statement denying any connection to the criminal network, calling the allegations of its involvement “baseless.”
Last month, West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center released a study detailing how Hamas leaders in Lebanon have been directing operatives to establish “foreign operator” cells across Europe, collaborating with organized crime networks to acquire weapons and target Jewish communities abroad.
According to the report, the Palestinian terrorist group has expanded its operations beyond the Middle East, exploiting a long-established network of weapons caches, criminal alliances, and covert infrastructure that has been quietly built across Europe for years.
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Blood Spilled After Anti-Israel Mob Breaches IDF Event Near Toronto Metropolitan University
Anti-Israel mob moments before it shattered glass door to storm Jewish event featuring IDF soldiers near Toronto Metropolitan University. Photo: Provided by witness of incident
Members of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter on Wednesday led a mob that spilled blood and caused the hospitalization of at least one Jewish student after forcibly breaching a venue in which the advocacy group Students Supporting Israel had convened for an event featuring veterans of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The former soldiers agreed to meet Students Supporting Israel (SSI) to discuss their experiences at a “private space” on campus which had to be reserved because TMU denied the group a room reservation and, therefore, security personnel that would have been afforded to it. However, someone leaked the event location, leading to one of the most violent incidents of campus antisemitism since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel sparked a surge of anti-Jewish hostility in higher education.
By the time the attack ended, three people had been rushed to a local medical facility for treatment of injuries caused by a protester’s shattering the glazing of the venue’s door with a drill bit, a witness, TMU student Ethan Elharrar, told The Algemeiner during an interview.
Seconds after pro-Hamas agitator, captured from behind in this still, shattered a glass door with what students described as a drill bit. He was attempting to invade the event. Photo: Screenshot
“No one should have known where this event was, but they were setting up when a couple of girls with keffiyehs walked in yelling ‘baby killers!’ and ‘free Palestine!’” Elharrar said. “Then more started coming in, and then we closed the door trying to make sure no one could come in, and then these individuals in masks then began banging on the door and trying to open the door.”
He added, “One of the individuals had a weapon he used, a drill bit. He used it to break and shatter the door … Two individuals were transported to the hospital because of this. One was really badly cut all his arms and legs, and he had to get stitches. Another is afraid to publicly disclose her injuries because she doesn’t want anything to happen to her.”
Five people have been arrested and charged with forcible entry, unlawful assembly, and obstruction of a peace officer, according to Toronto police. The suspects are reportedly expected to appear in court in early January 2026.
In a statement, the university said it was “deeply concerned” about what transpired.
“TMU condemns acts of aggression, intimidation, or violence,” it said. “The actions that took place on Wednesday are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of our community. Our thoughts are with any students who may have been injured during the incident.”
Aftermath of the breach. Photo: Screenshot.
Elharrar said Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) was continuing a pattern of anti-Jewish intimidation and harassment, one to which the university had declined to respond with disciplinary measures because it is committed to dealing with the antisemitism crisis as a “political issue,” Elharrar said.
“Our universities don’t care, and it comes down to our government, which won’t do anything about it,” he continued. “They don’t want to support us. I’ve had maybe a dozen calls with the human rights division at the university, and they told me specifically that they won’t help with anything having to do with Israel.”
Injury sustained by event participant. Photo: Screenshot.
On Wednesday, Hillel Ontario director Jay Solomon, who serves Jewish TMU students, told The Algemeiner that his organization has been pushing for the school to be more proactive in defending the campus Jewish community, but to no avail.
“For quite some time Hillel Ontario has been calling on the administration take action to prevent antisemitism and ensure that Jewish students on campus are safe and able to learn, work, and study on a campus that is free from harassment, and unfortunately the actions of the administration have been inadequate,” Solomon said. “What happened is another illustration of the very challenges that we’ve been warning them about for some time now.”
Wednesday’s incident is not the first time an SJP group attempted to storm a Jewish event this academic year. It also happened last month, when masked pro-Hamas activists nearly raided an event held on the campus of Pomona College, based in Claremont, California, to commemorate the victims of the Oct. 7. massacre.
Footage of the act which circulated on social media showed the group attempting to force its way into the room while screaming expletives and pro-Hamas dogma. They ultimately failed due to the prompt response of the Claremont Colleges Jewish chaplain and other attendees who formed a barrier in front of the door to repel them, a defense they mounted on their own as campus security personnel did nothing to stop the disturbance.
Pomona College, working with its sister institutions in the Claremont consortium of liberal arts colleges in California (5C), later identified and disciplined some of the perpetuators.
“Given the gravity of the alleged offense — and the published statement that has raised significant concerns about similar disruptions in the future — I have initiated an interim campus ban for both individuals, pending further inquiries, and in line with our policy,” Pomona College president Gabrielle Starr said in a statement. “The alleged behavior here is serious, and to ensure an appropriate adjudication is reached, the college is committed to maintaining a fair process.”
She added, “I assure you that Pomona hopes for — and will advocate for — an outcome that ensures our campuses are free of the kind of targeted harassment we witnessed.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Kanye meets with Orthodox celebrity rabbi, says he wants to ‘make amends’
After years of virulent antisemitic comments, the American rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, told an Orthodox rabbi on Tuesday in New York that he was ready to “make amends” for his actions.
“I feel really blessed to be able to sit here with you today and just take accountability,” Ye told Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto in a video posted on social media.
Pinto is an Israeli rabbi who serves as the chief rabbi of Morocco. He has previously counseled celebrities including Lebron James and was jailed in Israel in 2016 for bribery.
Ye first appeared to distance himself from his antisemitic record, which included a song praising Hitler and several tirades on X that included a 2022 vow to “go death con 3 ON JEWISH PEOPLE,” in May when he declared on social media that he was “done with antisemitism.”
Since then, the incendiary rapper has been relatively quiet on social media. During his meeting with Pinto, he appeared to cast blame for his actions on his struggle with bipolar disorder.
“I was dealing with some various issues, dealing with bipolar also, so it would take the ideas I had and taking them to an extreme where I would forget about the protection of the people around me or and myself,” Ye said as the two men held hands.
Explaining his experience with bipolar disorder to the rabbi, Ye said it was like someone “left your kid at the house and your kid went and messed up the kitchen,” adding that it was his responsibility to “go clean up the kitchen.”
“It’s a big deal for me as a man to come and take accountability for all the things that I’ve said, and I really just appreciate you embracing me with open arms and allowing me to make amends,” Ye said. “And this is the beginning and the first steps, and the first brick by brick to build back the strong walls.”
Following Ye’s appeal, Pinto responded through a translator, who told Ye, “The Jews live on this way of if someone did something wrong, you can regret and fix it,” adding, “From now on, strong things and good things, you are a very good man.”
The two men then stood from their chairs and hugged.
“A person is not defined by his mistakes, but by the way he chooses to correct them. This is the true strength of man: The ability to return, to learn, and to build bridges of love and peace,” wrote Pinto in a post on Instagram of the interaction.
Two hours before Ye reposted the meeting with Pinto on his X account, he posted an advertisement for a planned concert this January in Mexico City. The post was his first since making an identical announcement in September.
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