Alphabet City is the easternmost section of the East Village, named for its Avenues A, B, C, and D — the only single-letter avenues in Manhattan — and stretching from Houston Street to 14th Street along the East River. Once a gritty enclave associated with poverty and the punk and art scenes of the 1970s and '80s, it has since gentrified considerably while retaining bohemian touchstones like Tompkins Square Park and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe.