JovitaA68626256 at 06:07, 5 February 2026

2026-02-05T06:07:03Z

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{{short description|Ethnic enclave in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
[[File:Curry Row 2024 jeh.jpg|thumb|Curry Row, 2024]]
"'''Curry Row'''"<ref name=LamMysteries>{{cite web|last=Lam|first=Francis|author-link=Francis Lam|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/magazine/the-mysteries-of-manhattans-curry-row.html|title=The Mysteries of Manhattan's Curry Row|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=2015-04-29|access-date=2022-07-29}}</ref> or "'''Little India'''",<ref name=JacobsinTroub>{{cite web|last=Jacobs|first=Andrew|author-link=Andrew Jacobs (journalist)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/19/nyregion/bad-days-on-sixth-street.html|title=Bad Days on Sixth Street|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=1997-01-19|access-date=2022-07-29}}</ref> sometimes called '''Curry Lane''',{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} is an area of [[List of numbered streets in Manhattan|East Sixth Street]], from [[First Avenue (Manhattan)|First Avenue]] to [[Second Avenue (Manhattan)|Second Avenue]],<ref name="Fishbane">{{cite web |last=Fishbane |first=Matthew |date=2008-01-13 |title=A Passage to India |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/nyregion/thecity/13indi.html |access-date=2022-07-29 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> in the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]] of [[Lower Manhattan]], with approximately 20 [[Indian restaurants]].

Curry Row started in 1968 when six brothers,<ref name=JacobsinTroub/> all from [[Bangladesh]], bought a former [[Japanese in New York City|Japanese]] restaurant for $1,800; the owner of the property accepted that price instead of the initial $2,000 because the brothers could only pay $1,600. The brothers established the restaurant Shah Bag because of existing demand and because the area South Asians wanted a place where they could eat [[Cuisine of the Indian subcontinent|familiar cuisine]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Feretti|first=Fred|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/04/garden/a-culinary-little-india-on-east-6th-street.html|title=A Culinary 'Little India' on East 6th Street|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=1981-03-04|access-date=2022-07-29}}</ref> One of the brothers, Manir Ahmed, immigrated to the United States in 1954. [[Andrew Jacobs (journalist)|Andrew Jacobs]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that "Manir Ahmed was the one name that was invariably stuffed in the pockets of new arrivals" and that the brothers "are revered as patriarchs in the Bangladeshi community".<ref name=JacobsinTroub/>

Most of the restaurateurs that came to the area were from [[Sylhet Division]].<ref name=JacobsinTroub/> The restaurants, many named after films or people or characters seen in films, were popular with [[hippie]]s in the 1970s who expressed an interest in South Asian culture. Many of the cooks served [[northern Indian cuisine]] even though their native [[Bangladeshi cuisine]] was significantly different.<ref name=LamMysteries/> Olid Ahmed, the nephew of the first restaurateurs in Curry Row, stated that he got assistance from the chef of the Embassy of Pakistan. By the 1980s the restaurants became financially lucrative, and changes in immigration law meant there were more immigrants from Bangladesh.<ref name=JacobsinTroub/> In 1984 there were about 10 South Asian restaurants. In the following decade that number was 27.<ref name=LamMysteries/>

By 1996, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that several of the restaurants experienced financial issues as Indian restaurants opened in other parts of the [[New York metropolitan area]]. With increased competition, the newspaper reported that a "price war" resulted in relationships between people being damaged.<ref name=JacobsinTroub/>

In 2008 there were around twelve Indian restaurants in the area.<ref name=Fishbane/>

In 2019 the South Asian-oriented publication ''The Juggernaut'' reported that some of the restaurants remained in operation while others had closed.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rao|first=Meghna|url=https://www.thejuggernaut.com/manhattans-curry-row|title=In Manhattan's Curry Row, Innovate or Die|work=[[The Juggernaut (website)|The Juggernaut]]|date=2019-07-31|accessdate=2022-07-31}} - [https://www.thejuggernaut.com/about Information on the publication]</ref>

==See also==
* {{Section link|Bangladeshi Americans|New_York_City}}
* {{Section link|Little India|New York}}, including the restaurant district [[Rose Hill, Manhattan#"Curry Hill"|"Curry Hill"]]
* [[Indians in the New York City metropolitan area]]
* [[List of numbered streets in Manhattan]]
* [[Oak Tree Road]] in [[Middlesex County, New Jersey|Middlesex County]], [[New Jersey]], U.S.

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Coord|40|43|37|N|73|59|15|W|region:US-NY|display=title}}

{{Restaurants in Manhattan}}

{{East Village, Manhattan}}
{{Ethnic enclaves}}

[[Category:Streets in Manhattan]]
[[Category:East Village, Manhattan]]
[[Category:Ethnic enclaves in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Indian-American culture in New York City]]
[[Category:Asian restaurants in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Restaurant districts and streets in the United States]]
[[Category:South Asian cuisine]]

Curry Row - Revision history

JovitaA68626256 at 06:07, 5 February 2026