Dimes Square refers to the "microneighborhood" of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

located between the

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

and

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

neighborhoods of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. The exact perimeter and nature of the neighborhood is debated, though survey data from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' lists it as roughly the five blocks on either side of

Canal Street Canal Street may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Canal Street (Manchester), Manchester, England * Canal Street, Oxford, Jericho, Oxford, England United States * Canal Street (Buffalo), a street and district at the western terminus of the Er ...

between

Allen Street Allen Street is a street in the New York City borough of Manhattan which runs north-south through the Lower Manhattan neighborhood of Chinatown and the Lower East Side. It is continued north of Houston Street as First Avenue. South of Divis ...

and

Essex Street Essex Street is a north–south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Houston Street, the street becomes Avenue A, which goes north to 14th Street. South of Canal Street it becomes Rutgers Street, ...

. The neighborhood's name, a play on "

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

", refers to Dimes, a restaurant located at the intersection of Canal Street and Division Street on the Lower East Side. According to

Marisa Meltzer Marisa Meltzer is an American freelance journalist, humorist, and book author known for her dishy writing style. Early life and education Growing up, Meltzer accompanied her mother to protests against the Miss California pageant and to Gloria Stei ...

of ''The New York Times'', the nickname has transitioned from a term used "jokingly" to one used "semi-seriously". The term ''Dimes Square'' has become a

metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...

for a number of associated

reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

aesthetic movements centered in the area. Media associated with the area include the podcast ''

Red Scare A Red Scare is a form of moral panic provoked by fear of the rise of left-wing ideologies in a society, especially communism and socialism. Historically, red scares have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of thos ...

'', pirate radio station Montez Press Radio, and defunct print newspaper '' The Drunken Canal''. An online Dimes zine named ''

Byline The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably '' Reader's ...

'' was established in 2023 by Gutes Guterman and Megan O'Sullivan. Ben Smith cited the neighborhood's emergence as a

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

-flouting cultural hub during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in a 2021 ''New York Times'' piece. 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. In 2022, Julia Yost, an editor at ''

First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is a journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society", focusing on theology, liturgy, history of religion, church history, culture, education, society, politics, literat ...

'', a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

religious journal, argued in an op-ed in ''The New York Times'' that the neighborhood and associated podcasters such as

Anna Khachiyan Anna Leonidovna Khachiyan (; born August 23, 1985) is an American cultural critic, writer, and co-host of the ''Red Scare'' podcast with Dasha Nekrasova, based out of New York City. Early life Khachiyan was born in Moscow, Soviet Union, on Au ...

and

Dasha Nekrasova Daria Dmitrievna "Dasha" Nekrasova (born February 19, 1991) is an American actress, filmmaker, and co-host of the ''Red Scare'' podcast with Anna Khachiyan, based in Dimes Square, New York City. In 2018, she became known as "Sailor Socialism ...

of ''Red Scare'' are the center of a

post-ironic Post-irony (from Latin 'after' and Ancient Greek ' 'dissimulation, feigned ignorance') is a term used to denote a state in which earnest and ironic intents become muddled. It may less commonly refer to its converse: a return from irony to earnest ...

revival of

traditionalist Catholicism Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Tr ...

. Sovereign House, an event venue linked to

Peter Thiel Peter Andreas Thiel (; born 11 October 1967) is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook. According ...

, 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 Steven Sailer is an American far-right writer and blogger. He is a columnist for '' Taki's Magazine'' and VDARE, a website associated with white supremacy. Earlier writing by Sailer appeared in some mainstream outlets, and his writings have b ...

, a far-right proponent of

scientific racism Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific belief that the Human, human species is divided into biologically distinct taxa called "race (human categorization), races", and that empirical evi ...

. The American

indie-pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and ...

band

Bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

reference Dimes Square in their 2024 song "Jesus is Dead" from their self-titled album ''

''. Canadian journalist and poet

Sam Forster Samuel Forster is a Canadian American journalist, poet, and cultural critic whose 2024 book, ''Americosis'', was awarded the Sutherland House Prize for non-fiction. Forster is known for his immersive literary style — and for being one of few ...

has performed at numerous venues associated with the Dimes Square scene. In 2020, two blocks of Canal Street were closed off for an

Open Streets Tactical urbanism, also commonly referred to as guerrilla urbanism, pop-up urbanism, city repair, D.I.Y. urbanism, planning-by-doing, urban acupuncture, and urban prototyping, is a low-cost, temporary change to the built environment, usually in ci ...

permit, resulting in what Hannah Goldfield of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' described as a "circus", "every night a music festival in the piazza."

Notable people

Betsey Brown ''Betsey Brown'' is an African-American literature novel by Ntozake Shange, published in 1985. Plot ''Betsey Brown'' is the story of an adolescent African-American girl growing up in 1959 St. Louis, Missouri, who is part of the first generation ...

– Actress and director * The Dare – Singer, DJ, and music producer *

– Cultural critic, writer, and co-host of the ''

'' podcast *

– Actress, filmmaker, and co-host of the ''

'' podcast * Peter Vack – Actor, writer, and filmmaker * Ivy Wolk - Actress and comedian *

- Gonzo journalist and poet

References

Catholicism in New York City Lower Manhattan Chinatown, Manhattan Lower East Side Traditionalist Catholicism in the United States 2020s in Manhattan {{Manhattan-stub