Dimes Square
40°42′53.9″N 73°59′29.6″W / 40.714972°N 73.991556°W
Dimes Square refers to the "microneighborhood"[1] of New York City located between the Chinatown and Lower East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan. The exact perimeter and nature of the neighborhood is debated, though survey data from The New York Times lists it as roughly the five blocks on either side of Canal Street between Allen Street and Essex Street.[2]
The neighborhood's name, a play on "Times Square", refers to Dimes, a restaurant located at the intersection of Canal Street and Division Street on the Lower East Side. According to Marisa Meltzer of The New York Times, the nickname has transitioned from a term used "jokingly" to one used "semi-seriously".[3]
The term Dimes Square has become a metonym for a number of associated reactionary aesthetic movements centered in the area.[4] Media associated with the area include the podcast Red Scare, pirate radio station Montez Press Radio, and defunct print newspaper The Drunken Canal.[5][6] An online Dimes zine named Byline was established in 2023 by Gutes Guterman and Megan O'Sullivan.[7]
Ben Smith cited the neighborhood's emergence as a lockdown-flouting cultural hub during the COVID-19 pandemic in a 2021 New York Times piece.[6] As the Covid-19 restrictions receded and the neighborhood became more mainstream, the associated transgressive art movement digitized and became increasingly prominent in online culture.[8] In 2022, Julia Yost, an editor at First Things, a conservative religious journal, argued in an op-ed in The New York Times that the neighborhood and associated podcasters such as Anna Khachiyan and Dasha Nekrasova of Red Scare are the center of a post-ironic revival of traditionalist Catholicism.[4]
Sovereign House, an event venue linked to Peter Thiel, is considered a meeting point for the Dimes Square scene, and has hosted a 2024 election night party, religious conservative speakers, and speakers such as Steve Sailer, a far-right proponent of scientific racism.[9][10]
The American indie-pop band Bleachers reference Dimes Square in their 2024 song "Jesus is Dead" from their self-titled album Bleachers.[11]
Canadian journalist and poet Sam Forster has performed at numerous venues associated with the Dimes Square scene.[12]
In 2020, two blocks of Canal Street were closed off for an Open Streets permit, resulting in what Hannah Goldfield of The New Yorker described as a "circus", "every night a music festival in the piazza."[13]
Notable people
[edit]- Betsey Brown – Actress and director[14]
- The Dare – Singer, DJ, and music producer[15]
- Anna Khachiyan – Cultural critic, writer, and co-host of the Red Scare podcast[14]
- Dasha Nekrasova – Actress, filmmaker, and co-host of the Red Scare podcast[4]
- Peter Vack – Actor, writer, and filmmaker[16]
- Ivy Wolk - Actress and comedian[17]
- Sam Forster - Gonzo journalist and poet[18]
References
[edit]- ^ Dai, Serena (August 10, 2022). "Do You Need to Care About Dimes Square? Probably Not". Bon Appétit. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "An Extremely Detailed Map of NYC Neighborhoods". The New York Times. October 29, 2023.
- ^ Meltzer, Marisa (July 25, 2022). "Dimes Square Gets the Hotel It Deserves". The New York Times. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c Yost, Julia (August 9, 2022). "New York's Hottest Club Is the Catholic Church". The New York Times.
- ^ Harrison, Will (May 24, 2022). "Escape from Dimes Square | Will Harrison". The Baffler. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Smith, Ben (March 7, 2021). "They Had a Fun Pandemic. You Can Read About It in Print". The New York Times.
- ^ Schacter, Cara (June 8, 2023). "They're Here to Save Indie Media". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023.
- ^ "I'm cute, I'm punk rock". Pourteaux Newsletter. July 16, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Bevilacqua, Leonardo (June 24, 2024). "Rebels with a religious cause: Meet New York's avant-garde conservatives". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
- ^ Taylor, Magdalene (November 6, 2024). "Crushing White Claws With MAGA Hipsters on Election Night in Dimes Square". GQ. Archived from the original on January 3, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
- ^ "Jack Antonoff: 'I've never made anything hoping everyone would like...'". The Face. September 29, 2023.
- ^ "Confessions @ Private Curtain – Red Room". Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ Goldfield, Hannah (September 9, 2022). "Dimes Square, Post-Shark-Jump". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ a b Helen Holmes (August 11, 2022). "How Dimes Square Became the New York City Neighborhood We Love to Hate". The Daily Beast. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ "Dimes Square: meet the new artists reinvigorating NYC's music scene". NME. May 15, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ Natasha Piner (April 20, 2023). "Dimes Square Offline: My Experience with www.RachelOrmont.com". Film Matters Magazine. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
- ^ Jason P. Frank (November 12, 2024). "Why Do People Hate This Minor Character Actress From Anora?". Vulture. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ "Confessions @ Private Curtain – Red Room". Retrieved June 24, 2025.
 | This article about Manhattan, New York is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |