Lower East Side: Lens on the Lower East Side is a photographic essay that explores through text a brief history of Manhattan's vibrant Lower East Side neighborhood, and through contemporary photographs the modern vitality of this historic community. The book highlights the area's energetic, often rowdy history that includes being a national center for immigration into our country, and a longtime magnet for innovative artists, musicians, writers and political activists. The book's sponsor, Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the East Village / Lower East Side's historic streetscapes, and was instrumental in the 2012 landmarking of two East Village New York City Historic Districts.