Tompkins Square Park Basketball Courts

It's always worth walking through this park at the heart of the East Village to soak in its history, including two violent riots: one in the 1870s and one in the 1980s. In both periods, New Yorkers were railing against unfair living, food, and wage conditions. What happened here, when the powerless stood up to the powerful, speaks to the spirit of the city. Across the street, at Avenue B & 8th, is a Victorian Gothic building that was built during the Gilded Age as a lodging house for homeless newsboys and bootblacks. Here, a nickel gave a working boy a meal, a bed, and the chance to learn a trade.