Alphabet City is a neighborhood of eastern Manhattan, New York City, named for its location along Avenues A, B, C, and D. The city was once a cultural enclave for Germans, Poles, Hispanics, and Jews, but the General Slocum passenger steamboat accident in 1904 ended the area's German presence. The densely-packed population decreased after the construction of subway lines allowed for people to migrate to remote areas such as the Bronx, and Alphabet City was home to many Puerto Rican and African-American residents during the 1980s. During the '80s, there were high levels of drug activity and violent crime, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the late 1980s and early 1990s plagued the people of the area. During the 1990s, the area experienced gentrification, and the crime rate rapidly decreased.