Alphabet City, formerly a rather dangerous slum, is now a gentrified section of Downtown Manhattan. Its name comes from the fact that it contains Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter names. It is adjacent to, and is now usually considered part of, the East Village. It is home to a number of artists, musicians and students, although a more corporate population has been moving in since the late 1990s.
