Recreation Rooms and Settlement (New York, N.Y.).

During the late 1800s, the United States experienced a dramatic increase in immigration, as millions of people entered the country seeking new opportunities and economic advancement. Among these immigrants were tens of thousands of European Jews, many of whom settled on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The dense concentration of this new population exacerbated many urban problems that had long faced the city: poor housing, inadequate health care, lack of educational opportunities, crime, and unemployment all became more pronounced.

Earlier in the 19th century, numerous Jewish philanthropic and social service organizations had been established in New York to address the needs and problems of the city's Jewish population. Institutions such as The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, United Hebrew Charities, and the Young Men's Hebrew Association offered Jewish immigrants financial assistance, job-training, language instruction, acculturation programs, athletic facilities, and other services. But the dramatic growth of the Jewish population at the end of the century presented these social welfare institutions and their supporters with many new challenges.

...