Gem Spa opened in the 1920s on the corner of St. Mark's Place and 2nd Avenue. It got its current name in the 1950s, and gained fame through beat writers who frequented the place.

Activists with East River Park Action chained themselves to a tree outside New York's City Hall to protest the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, Oct. 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) ‘We ...

Frieda Vizel left her ultra-orthodox lifestyle in a crisis of faith at 25 but instead of cutting ties she became a tour guide ...