Deriving its name from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan with single letter names, Alphabet City is bordered by Houston Street to the south and 23rd Street to the north where Avenue C ends. The neighborhood once considered a slum area is now part of the trendy East Village. Tompkins Square Park, Nuyorican Poets Cafe and the Stuyvesant Town housing project are some of the historic landmarks located within this neighborhood.

Like so many of the neighborhoods in New York City, Alphabet City has been home to a succession of immigrants. In the 1840's and 1850's it was home to mostly German immigrants and was know as "Little Germany". By the 1880's the majority of the German immigrants had migrated Uptown to Yorkville and were replaced by Eastern European Jewish, Italian and Irish immigrants.

At the turn of the century, Alphabet City was one of the most densely populated areas due to its closeness to the garment district where many of the residents worked. After the building of the subway system, many residents moved out to the Bronx and surrounding areas. By the 1960's and 70's the neighborhood was seeing another transition as thousands of Puerto Ricans began to settle in the area. It became an important site for the development for the strengthening of the Puerto Rican culture in New York.

Today, Alphabet City has been going through a gentrification. Housing costs have risen sharply since the late 1990's. Many of the abandoned buildings have been renovated and converted into storefronts, restaurants and nightclubs. Empty lots have been made in community gardens providing much needed green spaces in this densely built area.

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