Hell's Kitchen

Hell's Kitchen had long been a bastion of poor and working-class Irish Americans. Its gritty reputation has long held real-estate prices below those of most other areas of Manhattan. By 1969, the City Planning Commission's Plan for New York City reported that development pressures related to its Midtown location were driving people of modest means from the area. Gentrification has accelerated since the early 1980s, and rents have risen rapidly.

In addition to its long-established Irish-American and Hispanic-American populations, Hell's Kitchen has a large LGBTQ population and is home to many LGBTQ bars and businesses. The neighborhood has long been a home to fledgling and working actors; it is the home of the Actors Studio training school and sits near Broadway theatres.

Hell's Kitchen is part of Manhattan Community District 4. It is patrolled by the 10th and Midtown North Precincts of the New York City Police Department. The area provides transport, medical, and warehouse-infrastructure support to the business district of Manhattan.