How Avenue C came to be known as Loisaida

Via Ephemeral New York:

The new neighborhood name came from a poem by a community activist named Bimbo Rivas. He also pioneered the Nuyorican movement—a collection of artists of Puerto Rican descent centered on the East Village.

As the neighborhood’s Hispanic population grew, Loisaida was increasingly tossed around in mainstream publications, on storefronts, and in maps. An official street sign even went up in 1987 on Avenue C between 14th and Houston Streets.

Use of "Loisaida" is fading away now due to gentrification and the shrinking of the Hispanic community East of Avenue B.

Read more: http://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2012/03/16/when-avenue-c-was-renamed-loisaida/