First time for the "Third Place" with LESP

A few days ago, I attended the Lower East Side Partnership’s Annual Meeting .

In its own words, the Lower East Side Partnership (LESP) is:

a Business Improvement District (BID) [that] provide[s] neighborhood marketing , sanitation , and public space improvements , as well as programmatic services at the Essex Market .

P.S. They don’t use emojis to describe themselves, but, y’know.

Ostensibly, it supports, advocates for, and observes local community affairs and commerce , receiving funds—including grants —to perform activities that ensure the preservation and beautification of the Lower East Side . In short, it’s here to help residents and business owners .

LESP handles things like graffiti and trash removal , Open Streets on Orchard , and broader community safety and awareness programs .

The organization is overseen by board members that include property owners , commercial tenants , residents , government officials , and community stakeholders .

At the meeting, I heard from several people , including Tim Laughlin, the President who led the event , as well as presenters speaking to LESP’s marketing , community engagement , and sanitation efforts .

I learned about:

How LESP uses Essex Market as its “Third Place” — a nod to sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s reference to the third most important place after home and work , popularized in commercial-speak by Starbucks . The organization hosts events at Essex Market , has a free book corner for young people , a kitchen to teach healthy eating , and other touchpoints to donate food and goods to the less fortunate .

How LESP has tracked activities like:

• Trash bags collected on the LES: 22.5k in Fiscal Year 2025

• Stickers peeled from public spaces: 1.5k in FY25

• Graffiti removed: 1.3k in FY25 (although I don’t know what a “unit” of graffiti equates to )

How LESP plans to promote and leverage the recognition that Orchard Street has received as one of TimeOut’s “Coolest Streets in the World”

What the organization’s budget is going into Fiscal Year 2026 (~$2.6M)

Which people sit on the board; check them out here

I recognized a number of local business owners , including operators from Essex Market , Grand Street , and various brick-and-mortar establishments along Orchard and Ludlow Streets . (Our friends, the Pickle Guys and Chinatown Snacks , were there.)

One unexpected part of the meeting was a moment to recognize long-time community figure Daisy Paez . Daisy recently led an initiative to add illuminated snowflakes to the streetlights — an elegant touch that has even been mentioned in our local Facebook group . (This was just one of many of Daisy’s efforts over her decades on the LES .) She and I chatted over coffee before the meeting, and I learned how much love and work she has put into serving the LES.

Here’s what I learned, though.

Cities are complex places. They consist of multiple, interwoven layers based on the following. People that:

• Live there

• Work there

• Go there

• Oversee all of the thereness that happens there

The more “local” you get — i.e., when you peel away from New York City → to Manhattan → to 10002 → to your home address — things simplify, but only slightly.

There are few formal or structured mechanisms through which to navigate between the Live → Work → Go → Oversee layers .

LESP is one that (in theory) does this locally —which is one reason I am excited about it and plan to get more involved in what it’s doing .