SoHo, Manhattan

Because of the nature of neighborhoods in New York City,{{refn|group=notes|Neighborhoods in New York City do not have official status, and their boundaries are not specifically set by the city, although the boundaries of related areas, such as zoning districts and historic districts are set and specific. Because of this, the definition of where neighborhoods begin and end is subject to a variety of forces, including the efforts of real estate concerns to promote certain areas, the use of neighborhood names in media news reports, and the everyday usage of people.Scherzer, Kenneth A. "neighborhoods" in {{cite enc-nyc2}}, pp.886-87. Quote: "Most neighborhoods in New York have a generally recognized central district, but their boundaries are difficult to define, especially if the population is transient and heterogeneous, the neighborhood is centrally situated, or the question of boundaries is politically sensitive ... Perceptions play a large role in shaping the evolution of neighborhoods: areas that are perceived as desirable tend to grow and prosper, which in turn makes them more desirable. At the same time the boundaries of a prosperous neighborhood inevitably expands, which serves the interests of residents of adjoining areas, of real estate brokers and speculators, and sometimes of government. A similar process works in reverse to the detriment of declining neighborhoods. Sometimes neighborhoods are renamed in an effort to improve their image."}} different sources will often give different boundaries for each one. In the case of SoHo, all sources appear to agree that the northern boundary is Houston Street, and the southern boundary is Canal Street, but the location of the eastern and western boundaries is disputed.

In 1974, shortly after SoHo first came into existence, The New York Times described the boundaries as "stretching from Houston to Canal Streets between West Broadway and Lafayette Street"Shulman, Wendy (November 24, 1974) [https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1974/11/24/91085427.pdf "SoHo a 'Victim of its Own Success'"] The New York Times – a definition it continued to hold to in 2016Jacobsen, Aileen (April 27, 2016) [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/realestate/living-in-soho-chic-stores-and-cobblestones.html?_r=0 "SoHo: Chic Stores and Cobblestones"] The New York Times – but The Encyclopedia of New York City reports that SoHo is bounded by Crosby Street on the east, and Sixth Avenue to the west.Gold, Joyce. "SoHo" in {{cite enc-nyc2}}, pp.1202-03 These are the same boundaries shown by Google Maps.[https://www.google.com/maps/place/SoHo,+New+York,+NY/@40.7236447,-74.0050567,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c2598c5e51e2f3:0xce2f3449f490f818!8m2!3d40.723301!4d-74.0029883 "Soho, Manhattan"] Google Maps". Accessed: April 15, 2017 However, the AIA Guide to New York City gives the western boundary of SoHo north of Broome Street as being West Broadway, and New York magazine gives the eastern boundary as Lafayette Street and the western boundary as the Hudson River.Staff [http://nymag.com/realestate/articles/neighborhoods/soho.htm "Neighborhood Profile: SoHo"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518153557/http://nymag.com/realestate/articles/neighborhoods/soho.htm |date=May 18, 2017 }} New York. Accessed: April 15, 2017

The map at the Community Board 2 profile page on New York City's official website has "SOHO" written near Broadway in the space roughly equidistant between Houston Street and Canal Street.[http://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/community/community-portal-1.page?cd=mn02 "Community Portal: Manhattan Community District 2"] nyc.gov. Accessed: April 18, 2017[https://www1.nyc.gov/html/mancb2/html/home/home.shtml Community Board No. 2, Manhattan, New York City]. 2014. Accessed April 5, 2019.

In the 1990s, real estate agents began giving an adjacent neighborhood below West Houston Street various appellations, with no general agreement on whether it should be called (or included as part of) West SoHo, Hudson Square or the South Village.Wilson, Clare. [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/15/realestate/living-in-west-soho-eschewing-a-name-and-becoming-an-address.html "Living in: West SoHo; Eschewing a Name and Becoming an Address"]. The New York Times (August 15, 2004) The AIA Guide calls that neighborhood "An intersection of brick and glass, searching for an identity", and refers to the western section of it as "The Glass Box District".{{cite aia5|page=}}185 Unlike Hudson Square, the South Village has traditionally appeared on maps of Community District 2, centered near the intersection of Houston Street and Avenue of the Americas.[http://msmanhattan.blogspot.com/2006/06/let-your-voice-be-heard-guide-to.html Let Your Voice Be Heard: A Guide to Manhattan's Community Boards], [http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7514/2288/1600/cb2%20map.jpg map], June 3, 2006. The more recent map of Community District 2 contains both the South Village and Hudson Square, with the latter written in the area below Houston Street, between Hudson Street and the Hudson River.

The SoHo–Cast Iron Historic District is contained within the zoned SoHo neighborhood. Originally ending in the west at the eastern side of West Broadway and to the east at the western side of Crosby Street, the SoHo–Cast Iron Historic District was expanded in 2010 to cover most of West Broadway and to extend east to Lafayette and Centre Streets. The boundary lines are not straight, and some block-fronts on West Broadway and Lafayette are excluded from the District.New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission [http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/maps/sohodextmap.pdf "SoHo–Cast Iron Historic District Extension Map"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215164919/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/maps/sohodextmap.pdf |date=February 15, 2017 }}Designation Report, p.1

File:Niblo's Garden c.1887.jpg, seen here around 1887, was an entertainment venue on Broadway near Prince Street from 1823 to 1895]]

During the colonial period, the land that is now SoHo was part of a grant of farmland given to freed slaves of the Dutch West Indies Company, and the site of the first free Black settlement on Manhattan island.Designation Report, p. 4 This land was acquired in the 1660s by Augustine Hermann, and then passed to his brother-in-law, Nicholas Bayard. The estate was confiscated by the state as a result of Bayard's part in Leisler's Rebellion, but was returned to him after the sentence was annulled.Designation Report, p.5

In the 18th century natural barriers – streams and hills – impeded the growth of the city northward into the Bayard estate, and the area maintained its rural character. During the American Revolution, the area was the location of numerous fortifications, redoubts and breastworks. After the war, Bayard, who had suffered financially because of it, was forced to mortgage some of the property, which was divided up into lots, but even then there was very little development in the area, aside from some manufacturing at Broadway and Canal Street.

Serious development of the area did not begin until the Common Council, answering the complaints of landowners in the area, drained the Collect Pond, which had once been an important source of fresh water for the island, but which had become polluted and rank and a breeding ground for mosquitoes. A canal was built to drain the pond into the Hudson, and the canal and pond were both later filled in using earth from nearby Bayard's Hill. Once Broadway was paved and sidewalks were built there and along Canal Street, more people began to make their homes there, joining earlier arrivals such as James Fenimore Cooper.

By the mid-19th century, the early Federal- and Greek Revival-style homes were replaced by more-solid structures of masonry and cast iron, and along Broadway, large marble-skinned commercial establishments began to open, such as Lord & Taylor, Arnold Constable & Company and Tiffany & Company, as well as grand hotels such as the St. Nicholas and the Metropolitan.Designation Report. p.6 Theatres followed in their wake, and Broadway between Canal and Houston Streets became a lively theater and shopping district and the entertainment center of New York; as usual with such areas, it was home to many brothels as well,{{Cite web| title = West Broadway: once a slum called 'Rotten Row' | work=Ephemeral New York | date = March 16, 2011 | url = http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/west-broadway-once-a-slum-called-rotten-row/}} and the side streets off of Broadway became the city's red-light district. As this change in character drove out the middle-class, their place was taken by small manufacturing concerns, including cabinet-makers and the lumberyards that supplied them, brass and copper firms, makers of china and glassware, locksmiths, snuff manufacturers and book publishers.Designation Report, p.7

This dramatic shift in the nature of the neighborhood continued to drive out residents, and between 1860 and 1865 the Eighth Ward, which included the SoHo area, lost 25% of its population. After the Civil War and the Panic of 1873, in the 1880s and 1890s, large manufacturers began to move into the area, especially textile firms, and the area became the mercantile and wholesale dry-goods trade center of the city, and was the subject of significant real-estate speculation. This phase came to an end by the close of the 19th century, and as the center of the city continued to move uptown, the quality of the area declined.Designation Report, p.8

After World War II, the textile industry largely moved to the South, leaving many large buildings in the district unoccupied. In some buildings they were replaced by warehouses and printing plants, and other buildings were torn down to be replaced by gas stations, auto repair shops and parking lots and garages.Betts, Mary Beth (ed.) [http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/sohoextdesignation.pdf "SoHo – Cast-Iron Historic District Extension Designation Report"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204125743/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/sohoextdesignation.pdf |date=February 4, 2017 }}, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (May 11, 2010) pp.5–6 By the 1950s, the area had become known as Hell's Hundred Acres, an industrial wasteland, full of sweatshops and small factories in the daytime, but empty at night. It would not be until the 1960s, when artists began to be interested in the tall ceilings and many windows of the empty manufacturing lofts, that the character of the neighborhood began to change again.

File:E._V._Haughwout_Building,_1_(cropped).JPG at Broadway and Broome Street was built in 1856–57, and has a cast-iron facade by Daniel D. Badger]]

File:28 Greene St, New York City-L1002592.jpg of 28 Greene St. The building, known as "The Queen of Greene Street", was built in 1873 to the design of architect Isaac F. Duckworth.]]

SoHo boasts the greatest collection of cast-iron architecture in the world.{{cite nycland|pages=39-41}} Approximately 250 cast-iron buildings stand in New York City, and the majority are in SoHo. Cast iron was initially used as a decorative front over a pre-existing building. With the addition of modern, decorative facades, older industrial buildings were able to attract new commercial clients. Most of these facades were constructed during the period from 1840 to 1880. In addition to revitalizing older structures, buildings in SoHo were later designed to feature the cast iron.

An American architectural innovation, cast iron was cheaper to use for facades than materials such as stone or brick. Molds of ornamentation, prefabricated in foundries, were used interchangeably for many buildings, and a broken piece could be easily recast. The buildings could be erected quickly; some were built in four months. Despite the brief construction period, the quality of the cast-iron designs was not sacrificed. Bronze had previously been the metal most frequently used for architectural detail. Architects found that the relatively inexpensive cast iron could provide intricately designed patterns. Classical French and Italian architectural designs were often used as models for these facades. Because stone was the material associated with architectural masterpieces, cast iron, painted in neutral tints such as beige, was used to simulate stone.

There was a profusion of cast iron foundries in New York, including Badger's Architectural Iron Works, James L. Jackson's Iron Works, and Cornell Iron Works.

Since the iron was pliable and easily molded, sumptuously curved window frames were created, and the strength of the metal allowed these frames considerable height. The once-somber, gas-lit interiors of the industrial district were flooded with sunlight through the enlarged windows. The strength of cast iron permitted high ceilings with sleek supporting columns, and interiors became expansive and functional.

During cast iron's heyday, many architects thought it to be structurally more sound than steel. It was also thought that cast iron would be fire-resistant, and facades were constructed over many interiors built of wood and other flammable materials. When exposed to heat, cast iron buckled, and later cracked under the cold water used to extinguish fire. In 1899, a building code mandating the backing of cast-iron fronts with masonry was passed. Most of the buildings that stand today are constructed in this way. It was the advent of steel as a major construction material that brought an end to the cast iron era.

In the 1960s, the SoHo area was to have been the location of two enormous elevated highways that comprised the two branches of the Lower Manhattan Expressway, a Robert Moses project that was intended to create an automobile and truck through-route connecting the Manhattan Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge on the east with the Holland Tunnel on the west.{{cite web |url=http://www.nycroads.com/roads/lower-manhattan/ |title=Lower Manhattan Expressway (I-78 and I-478, unbuilt) |first=Steve |last=Anderson |work=NYCRoads |access-date=April 29, 2013}}

The young historic preservation movement and architectural critics, stung by the destruction of the original Pennsylvania Station in 1963 and the threat to other historic structures, challenged the plans because of the threatened loss of a huge quantity of 19th-century cast-iron buildings.{{Cite news|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/29/remembering-a-pioneer-of-the-preservation-movement/|title=Remembering a Pioneer of the Preservation Movement|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 29, 2008|access-date=October 18, 2017}}

File:Cast-Iron_451-Broome-Street_from_Greene_Street.jpg on Broome Street]]

When John V. Lindsay became mayor of New York City in 1966, his initial reaction was to try to push the expressways through, dubbing the project the Lower Manhattan Expressway, depressing some of the proposed highway in residential areas and stressing the importance of the artery to the city. Nevertheless, through the efforts of Jane Jacobs, Tony D'Apolito, Margot Gayle, and other local, civic, and cultural leaders, as well as SoHo artist residents themselves, the project was derailed.

After the abandonment of the highway scheme, the city was left with a large number of historic buildings that were unattractive for the kinds of manufacturing and commerce that survived in the city in the 1970s. The upper floors of many of these buildings had been built as commercial Manhattan lofts, which provided large, unobstructed spaces for manufacturing and other industrial uses. These spaces attracted artists who valued them for their large areas, large windows admitting natural light and low rents. Most of these spaces were also used illegally as living space, despite being neither zoned nor equipped for residential use. This widespread zoning violation was ignored for a long period of time, as the artist-occupants were using space for which there was little demand due to the city's poor economy at the time, and would have lain dormant or been abandoned otherwise.

File:105 Mercer Street.jpg house built in 1819–20.]]

Nevertheless, as the artist population grew, the city made some attempts to stem the movement, concerned about the occupation of space that did not meet residential building codes, and the possibility that the occupied space might be needed for the return of manufacturing to New York City. Pressured on many sides, including by organizations such as the Artist Tenant Association and later the Soho Artist Association,[https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/491ZVJcvyoAOFD "Zoning Resolutions: The Soho Artists and the Making of Urban Policy, 1961-1971 (2017)"]{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} the city abandoned attempts to keep the district as strictly industrial space, and in 1971, the Zoning Resolution was amended to permit Joint Live-Work Quarters for artists, and the M1-5a and M-5b districting was established to permit visual artists, certified as such by the Department of Cultural Affairs, to live where they worked.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} In 1987, non-artists residing in SoHo and NoHo were permitted to grandfather themselves, but that was the only extension to non-artists and was a one-time agreement.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

The area received landmark designation as the SoHo–Cast Iron Historic District in 1973.

In 2005, the construction of residential buildings on empty lots in the historic district was permitted. Nevertheless, with no enforcement of the new zoning laws by the city, beginning in the 1980s, in a way that would later apply elsewhere, the neighborhood began to draw more affluent residents. Due to rent protection and stability afforded by the 1982 Loft Law, in addition to the fact that many of the artists owned their co-ops, many of the original pioneering artists remained despite the popular misconception that gentrification forced them to flee. Many residents have lived in the neighborhood for decades. In the mid-1990s, most of the galleries moved to Chelsea, but several galleries remain as of 2013, including DTR Modern Galleries, William Bennett Gallery, Martin Lawrence Galleries, Terrain Gallery, Franklin Bowles Gallery, and Pop International Gallery.

File:428 Broadway.jpg in the Queen Anne style]]

SoHo's location, the appeal of lofts as living spaces, its architecture, and its reputation as a haven for artists all contributed to this change. The pattern of gentrification is typically known as the "SoHo Effect" and has been observed elsewhere in the United States.{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/10/arts/artistic-enclave-gets-its-footing-in-rhode-island.html?pagewanted=2 | title = Artistic Enclave Gets Its Footing In Rhode Island | first= Katie | last= Zezima | work = The New York Times | date =August 10, 2004 | access-date=December 27, 2013}}{{cite news | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0928/p01s01-ussc.html | title= In New England, a city revival built on creativity | first=Sara B. | last=Miller | work = The Christian Science Monitor | date =September 28, 2004 | page = [http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0928/p01s01-ussc.html/(page)/2 2] | access-date=December 27, 2013}} A backwater of poor artists and small factories in the 1970s, SoHo became a popular tourist destination for people seeking fashionable clothing and exquisite architecture, and home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country.{{cite web|title=America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes| work = Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/special-report/2012/1016_zip-codes_rank.html|access-date=April 5, 2013}}

SoHo's chain outlets are clustered in the northern area of the neighborhood, along Broadway and Prince and Spring Streets. The sidewalks in this area are often crowded with tourists and with vendors selling jewelry, T-shirts, and other works. SoHo is known for its commercialization and eclectic mix of boutiques for shopping – although in 2010, it had twice as many chain stores as boutiques and three times as many boutiques as art galleries.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/nyregion/21gentrify.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=A Contrarian's Lament in a Blitz of Gentrification|date=Feb 21, 2010|work=The New York Times|last=Powell|first=Michael}}

Despite the significant change in the neighborhood's character in the previous decades, by the end of the 2010s the area's zoning still reflected its industrial heritage; any new residential development required special permits.{{cite news |last1=Schuerman |first1=Matthew |title=7 Things You Ought To Know About The SoHo/NoHo Rezoning |url=https://gothamist.com/news/7-things-you-ought-know-about-sohonoho-rezoning |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=Gothamist |date=April 4, 2021 |quote=}} As such, in 2019 the city began a public consultation process called "Envision SoHo/NoHo" to plan for future growth and manage change, and ultimately to bring land use rules in line with the mainly residential and commercial present-day reality of the neighborhood.{{cite web |title=About the SoHo/NoHo Planning Process |url=https://www.envisionsohonoho.nyc/about-the-sohonoho-planningprocess |website=Envision SoHo/NoHo |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=September 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920212213/https://www.envisionsohonoho.nyc/about-the-sohonoho-planningprocess |url-status=dead }}

A coalition of nearly two dozen housing and social organizations, led by pro-housing advocacy group Open New York, and including the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, the Regional Plan Association, and Habitat for Humanity, seized on the idea of a rezoning as a means of alleviating the city's housing shortage.{{cite news |last1=Kim |first1=Elizabeth |title=Pro-Development Group Targets Soho & Noho For Affordable Housing |url=https://gothamist.com/news/pro-development-group-targets-soho-noho-for-affordable-housing |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=Gothamist |date=August 16, 2019}} In October 2019, the coalition put forward a rezoning plan that would produce 3,400 additional housing units, nearly 700 of which would be affordable, and later that month the city officially proposed a similar plan that envisaged the creation of 3,200 new residential units and up to 800 affordable units.{{cite news |title=Mayor de Blasio Announces Start of Public Process for SoHo-NoHo Neighborhood Plan |url=https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/699-20/mayor-de-blasio-start-public-process-soho-noho-neighborhood-plan |access-date=20 September 2021 |publisher=City of New York |date=October 7, 2020 |format=Press Release}}{{cite news |last1=Flynn |first1=Gerard |title=Nonprofits behind Soho/Noho rezoning are packed with power players |url=https://thevillagesun.com/nonprofits-behind-soho-noho-rezoning-are-packed-with-power-players |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=Village Sun |date=April 9, 2021}} Observers suggested that the coalition's campaign for a residential rezoning had spurred a previously reluctant mayor to act, noting that even real estate industry groups like the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the city's largest real estate trade organization, had shown no interest in a rezoning of SoHo and NoHo. The proposal was immediately contentious; while most major candidates in the Democratic mayoral and Manhattan borough president primaries endorsed the plan, at least in principle, candidates for the city council district were more divided.{{cite web |title=Pressing Mayoral and City Council Candidates on Upzoning and SoHo/NoHo |url=https://www.villagepreservation.org/campaign-update/pressing-mayoral-and-city-council-candidates-on-upzoning-and-soho-noho/ |website=Village Preservation |publisher=Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation |access-date=20 September 2021 |format=Press release |date=April 19, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Lewis |first1=Rebecca C. |title=SoHo rezoning not a safe bet with Manhattan BP candidates |url=https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2020/10/soho-rezoning-not-a-safe-bet-with-manhattan-bp-candidates/175552/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=City and State |date=October 15, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Lucente Sterling |first1=Anna |title=Land use issues in Lower Manhattan at forefront of council race |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2021/06/07/land-use-issues-in-lower-manhattan-at-forefront-of-council-race |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=NY1 |date=June 7, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Holliday Smith |first1=Rachel |title=Backyard Politics: These Candidates Want More Housing in New York's Rich Neighborhoods |url=https://www.thecity.nyc/housing/2020/9/24/21455149/candidates-want-more-housing-in-new-yorks-rich-neighborhoods |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=The City |date=September 24, 2020}}

A group of a half-dozen neighborhood groups, led by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, put forth a "community alternative plan" which they claimed would create more affordable housing without any major new development, and a report attacking the city's plan, a claim that was challenged by the city and other civic organizations.{{cite news |last1=Moses |first1=Dean |title=Lower Manhattan groups fight against SoHo and Chinatown rezoning plans |url=https://www.amny.com/news/lower-manhattan-community-groups-fight-against-soho-and-chinatown-rezoning-plans/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=amNY |date=May 11, 2021}} Carl Weisbrod, former chairman of the New York City Planning Commission said the GVSHP's report was "misleading and disingenuous", and a spokesman for the mayor's office described the "community alternative plan" as "an exercise in magical

thinking".{{cite news |last1=Sachmechi |first1=Natalie |title=Experts blast 'misleading' report attacking SoHo rezoning plan |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/residential-real-estate/experts-blast-misleading-report-attacking-soho-rezoning-plan |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=Crain's New York Business |date=March 9, 2021}} In July 2021, the area's community board voted to reject the proposal, although the vote was ultimately non-binding. In September 2021, Manhattan Borough president Gale Brewer expressed concerns about the plan, particularly the potential for the plan to incentivize commercial development rather than residential, a criticism echoed by some of the housing advocates who had initially pushed for the plan.{{cite news |last1=Baird-Remba |first1=Rebecca |title=Manhattan BP Gale Brewer Comes Out Against SoHo Rezoning |url=https://commercialobserver.com/2021/09/manhattan-bp-gale-brewer-comes-out-against-soho-rezoning/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=Commercial Observer |date=September 3, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Brand |first1=David |title=SoHo-NoHo Rezoning Plan Needs Work, BP Brewer Says |url=https://citylimits.org/2021/09/03/soho-noho-rezoning-plan-needs-work-bp-brewer-says/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=City Limits |date=September 3, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Berkovitz |first1=Casey |title=Opinion: A Truly Equitable SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Should Focus on More Housing, Not Office Space |url=https://citylimits.org/2021/08/17/opinion-a-truly-equitable-soho-noho-rezoning-should-focus-on-more-housing-not-office-space/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |work=City Limits |date=August 17, 2021}}

In 2022, a team of over 2,000 players constructed a recreation of Soho in the sandbox game Minecraft, as part of the COVID-19 Build the Earth movement.{{Cite web |last=Karel |first=Daniel |date=2022-03-10 |title=The 2,731-Person Project to Build New York City in Minecraft |url=https://www.curbed.com/2022/03/global-minecraft-team-building-new-york-city.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Curbed |language=en}}

For census purposes, the New York City government classifies SoHo as part of a larger neighborhood tabulation area called SoHo-TriBeCa-Civic Center-Little Italy.[https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/ntas.pdf New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010], Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of SoHo-TriBeCa-Civic Center-Little Italy was 42,742, a change of 5,985 (14%) from the 36,757 counted in 2000. Covering an area of {{convert|581.62|acres}}, the neighborhood had a population density of {{convert|73.5|PD/acre|PD/sqmi PD/sqkm}}.[http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p5_nta.pdf Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010], Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 66.1% (28,250) White, 2.2% (934) African American, 0.1% (30) Native American, 22.2% (9,478) Asian, 0% (11) Pacific Islander, 0.4% (171) from other races, and 2.6% (1,098) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.5% (2,770) of the population.[http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/data-maps/nyc-population/census2010/t_pl_p3a_nta.pdf Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010], Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.

The entirety of Community District 2, which comprises SoHo and Greenwich Village, had 91,638 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 85.8 years.{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/data/2018chp-mn2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321170937/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/data/2018chp-mn2.pdf |archive-date=2019-03-21 |url-status=live|title=SoHo and Greenwich Village (Including Greenwich Village, Hudson Square, Little Italy, Noho, Soho, South Village and West Village)|date=2018|website=nyc.gov|publisher=NYC Health|access-date=March 2, 2019}}{{Rp|2, 20}} This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/tcny/community-health-assessment-plan.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909004755/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/tcny/community-health-assessment-plan.pdf |archive-date=2017-09-09 |url-status=live|title=2016-2018 Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan: Take Care New York 2020|date=2016|website=nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene|access-date=September 8, 2017}}{{Rp|53 (PDF p. 84)}}{{cite web | title=New Yorkers are living longer, happier and healthier lives | website=New York Post | last=Short | first=Aaron | date=June 4, 2017 | url=https://nypost.com/2017/06/04/new-yorkers-are-living-longer-happier-and-healthier-lives/ | access-date=March 1, 2019}} Most inhabitants are adults: a plurality (42%) are between the ages of 25 and 44, while 24% are between 45 and 64, and 15% are 65 or older. The ratio of youth and college-aged residents was lower, at 9% and 10% respectively.{{Rp|2}}

As of 2017, the median household income in Community Districts 1 and 2 (including the Financial District and Tribeca) was $144,878,{{cite web|url=https://censusreporter.org/profiles/79500US3603810-nyc-manhattan-community-district-1-2-battery-park-city-greenwich-village-soho-puma-ny/|title=NYC-Manhattan Community District 1 & 2--Battery Park City, Greenwich Village & Soho PUMA, NY|access-date=July 17, 2018|archive-date=March 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321011101/https://censusreporter.org/profiles/79500US3603810-nyc-manhattan-community-district-1-2-battery-park-city-greenwich-village-soho-puma-ny/|url-status=dead}} though the median income in SoHo individually was $124,396. In 2018, an estimated 9% of SoHo and Greenwich Village residents lived in poverty, compared to 20% 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, is 38% in SoHo and Greenwich Village, compared to the boroughwide and citywide rates of 45% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, {{as of|2018|lc=y}}, SoHo and Greenwich Village are considered high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.{{Rp|7}}

File:453-467 Broome Street.jpg between Mercer and Greene Streets]]

SoHo and Lower Manhattan are patrolled by the 1st Precinct of the NYPD, at 16 Ericsson Place.{{Cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/bureaus/patrol/precincts/1st-precinct.page|title=NYPD – 1st Precinct|website=www.nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Police Department|access-date=October 3, 2016}} The 1st Precinct ranked 63rd safest out of 69 city precincts for per-capita crime in 2010. Though the number of crimes is low compared to other NYPD precincts, the residential population is also much lower.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/crime-safety-report/manhattan/downtown/|title=Downtown: Battery Park, Financial District, SoHo, TriBeCa – DNAinfo.com Crime and Safety Report|website=www.dnainfo.com|access-date=October 6, 2016|archive-date=April 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415051453/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/crime-safety-report/manhattan/downtown|url-status=dead}} With a non-fatal assault rate of 10 per 100,000 people, SoHo's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 100 per 100,000 people is also lower than that of the city as a whole.{{Rp|8}}

The 1st Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 86.3% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct saw 1 murder, 23 rapes, 80 robberies, 61 felony assaults, 85 burglaries, 1,085 grand larcenies, and 21 grand larcenies auto in 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-001pct.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026113057/http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nypd/downloads/pdf/crime_statistics/cs-en-us-001pct.pdf |archive-date=2017-10-26 |url-status=live|title=1st Precinct CompStat Report|website=www.nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Police Department|access-date=July 22, 2018}}

SoHo is served by two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations:{{Cite FDNY locations}}

• Engine Co. 24/Ladder Company 5/Battalion 2 – 227 6th Avenue{{cite web | title=Engine Company 24/Ladder Company 5/Battalion 2 | website=FDNYtrucks.com | url=http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/manhattan/e24.htm | access-date=March 14, 2019}}
• Ladder Company 20/Division 1 – 253 Lafayette Street{{cite web | title=Squad 18 | website=FDNYtrucks.com | url=http://www.fdnytrucks.com/files/html/manhattan/e20.htm | access-date=March 14, 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Preterm births are more common in SoHo and Greenwich Village than in other places citywide, though teenage births are less common. In SoHo and Greenwich Village, there were 91 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 1 teenage birth per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide), though the teenage birth rate is based on a small sample size.{{Rp|11}} SoHo and Greenwich Village have a low population of residents who are uninsured. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 4%, less than the citywide rate of 12%, though this was based on a small sample size.{{Rp|14}}

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in SoHo and Greenwich Village is {{convert|0.0095|mg/m3|oz/ft3}}, more than the city average.{{Rp|9}} Sixteen percent of SoHo and Greenwich Village residents are smokers, which is more than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.{{Rp|13}} In SoHo and Greenwich Village, 4% of residents are obese, 3% are diabetic, and 15% have high blood pressure, the lowest rates in the city – compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.{{Rp|16}} In addition, 5% of children are obese, the lowest rate in the city, compared to the citywide average of 20%.{{Rp|12}}

Ninety-six percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is more than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 91% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", more than the city's average of 78%.{{Rp|13}} For every supermarket in SoHo and Greenwich Village, there are 7 bodegas.{{Rp|10}}

The nearest major hospitals are the Bellevue Hospital Center and NYU Langone Medical Center in Kips Bay, and NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital in the Civic Center area.{{cite web | title=Manhattan Hospital Listings | website=New York Hospitals | url=http://www.allny.com/health/hosp-manhattan.html | access-date=March 20, 2019}}{{cite web | title=Best Hospitals in New York, N.Y. | website=U.S. News & World Report | date=July 26, 2011 | url=https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/area/new-york-ny | access-date=March 20, 2019}} In addition, Beth Israel Medical Center in Stuyvesant Town operated until 2025.{{Cite web |date=2025-04-09 |title=Mount Sinai Beth Israel in East Village officially closes after judge dismisses bid to stay open |url=https://abc7ny.com/post/mount-sinai-beth-israel-east-village-officially-closes-judge-dismisses-community-group-bid-stay-open/16148740/ |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=ABC7 New York |language=en}}

SoHo is within two primary ZIP Codes. The area north of Broome Street is in 10012 while the area south of Broome Street is in 10013.{{cite web | title=Soho, New York City-Manhattan, New York Zip Code Boundary Map (NY) | website=United States Zip Code Boundary Map (USA) | url=https://www.zipmap.net/New_York/New_York_County/Z_Soho.htm | access-date=March 21, 2019 | archive-date=March 21, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321173040/https://www.zipmap.net/New_York/New_York_County/Z_Soho.htm | url-status=dead }} The United States Postal Service operates two post offices near SoHo both in ZIP 10014:

• Village Station – 201 Varick Street at King Street.{{cite web | title=Location Details: Village | website=USPS.com | url=https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=po&address=10003&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1385988&locationName=VILLAGE&address2=&address1=201+VARICK+ST+FRNT+1 | access-date=March 7, 2019}}
• West Village Station – 527 Hudson Street between West 10th and Charles streets.{{cite web | title=Location Details: West Village | website=USPS.com | url=https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=po&address=10003&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1387230&locationName=WEST+VILLAGE&address2=&address1=527+HUDSON+ST+FRNT+A | access-date=March 7, 2019}}

File:Broome St 6th Av td (2018-11-07) 14 - Chelsea HS.jpg, located just outside SoHo]]

SoHo and Greenwich Village generally have a higher rate of college-educated residents than the rest of the city. The vast majority of residents age 25 and older (84%) have a college education or higher, while 4% have less than a high school education and 12% 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.{{Rp|6}} The percentage of SoHo and Greenwich Village students excelling in math rose from 61% in 2000 to 80% in 2011, and reading achievement increased from 66% to 68% during the same time period.{{Cite web|url=http://furmancenter.org/files/sotc/MN_02_11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918052845/http://furmancenter.org/files/sotc/MN_02_11.pdf |archive-date=2013-09-18 |url-status=live|title=Greenwich Village / Soho – MN 02|date=2011|publisher=Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy|access-date=October 5, 2016}}

SoHo and Greenwich Village's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City. In SoHo and Greenwich Village, 7% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, less than the citywide average of 20%.{{Rp|24 (PDF p. 55)}}{{Rp|6}} Additionally, 91% of high school students in SoHo and Greenwich Village graduate on time, more than the citywide average of 75%.{{Rp|6}}

There are no New York City Department of Education schools in SoHo, although there are several just outside its borders, including:

• Broome Street Academy Charter School (M522, 121 Avenue of the Americas){{cite web|url=http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/02/M522/default.htm|title=Welcome - Broome Street Academy Charter School - M522 - New York City Department of Education|access-date=April 16, 2017}}
• Chelsea Career & Technical Education High School (M615, 131 Avenue of the Americas){{cite web|url=http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/02/M615/default.htm|title=Welcome - Chelsea Career and Technical Education High School - M615 - New York City Department of Education|access-date=April 16, 2017}}
• NYC Ischool (M376, 131 Avenue of the Americas){{cite web|url=http://www.nycischool.org/index.php?s=9|title=NYC iSchool|access-date=April 16, 2017|archive-date=April 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417155315/http://www.nycischool.org/index.php?s=9|url-status=dead}}
• P.S. 130 Hernando de Soto School (M130, 143 Baxter Street){{cite web|url=http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/02/M130/default.htm|title=Welcome - P.S. 130 Hernando De Soto - M130 - New York City Department of Education|access-date=April 16, 2017}}
• Unity Center for Urban Technologies (M500, 121 Avenue of the Americas){{cite web|url=http://www.ucfut.net/|title=School website|access-date=April 16, 2017|archive-date=October 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008105857/http://ucfut.net/|url-status=dead}}

The Montessori School in SoHo is at 75 Sullivan Street.[http://themontessorischools.reachlocal.net/page.cfm?p=502 "Contact Us"] on the Montessori Schools website

The New York Public Library's Mulberry Street branch is located at 10 Jersey Street, where it occupies three floors of a former SoHo chocolate factory, including two basement levels.{{cite web | title=About the Mulberry Street Library | website=The New York Public Library | url=https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/mulberry-street | access-date=March 9, 2019}}

By vehicle, SoHo borders the Holland Tunnel, which carries vehicular traffic under the Hudson River, connecting SoHo and Lower Manhattan with Jersey City and New Jersey to its west.

SoHo can be reached by the New York City Subway, using the {{NYCS trains|Eighth south local}} to Spring Street; {{NYCS trains|Broadway-Seventh local}} to Houston Street; the {{NYCS trains|Broadway local}} to Prince Street; and the {{NYCS trains|Lexington local}} to Spring Street. The crosstown {{NYC bus link|M21}} on Houston Street and the north–south {{NYC bus link|M1|M55}} bus routes also serve the neighborhood.{{Cite NYC bus map|M}}

{{Portal|New York City}}

• Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation
• Soho Grand Hotel
• Vesuvio Playground
• SoHo Memory Project

Informational notes

{{Reflist|group=notes}}

Citations

{{Reflist | 30em}}

Bibliography

• {{cite web|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/SoHo_HD.pdf |title=SoHo – Cast-Iron Historic District Designation Report |publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission |date=August 14, 1973|archive-date=March 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315221758/http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/SoHo_HD.pdf}}

{{Commons category|SoHo, Manhattan}}

{{Wikivoyage|Manhattan/SoHo}}

• [http://www.sohoalliance.org/ SoHo Alliance] Community organization
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080708145243/http://www.barrgazetas.com/papers/SoHo.pdf SoHo, New York – Mixed Use, Density and the Power of Myth] by Alistair Barr, Architect

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{{SoHo, Manhattan}}

{{Manhattan}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}

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Category:Arts districts

Category:Cast-iron architecture in New York City

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan

Category:Historic districts in Lower Manhattan

Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan

Category:New York City designated historic districts

Category:National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan

Category:Former red-light districts in the United States

Category:Red-light districts in New York (state)