Let me just make Five Points

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

The Five Points district of Lower Manhattan was a disease-ridden, crime-infested slum that originated in about 1820 and lasted for over 70 years. 

Its squalid conditions were famous the world over, and both horrified and intrigued anyone who visited it.  Gang violence, riots, prostitutes, and illegal boxing and gambling rackets were commonplace.  But it was also the site of early New York political life, with meeting halls and political clubs for power-brokers who aspired to take over the country.

In modern NYC, the neighbourhood formerly known as Five Points is now split between the Civic Center (by City Hall) to the west, and Chinatown to the north and east. 

Bad boys can be dapper too

Director Martin Scorsese had originally wanted to make his “Gangs of New York” film (which is set in Five Points) in 1978 but the project was repeatedly delayed.  When production finally wrapped in 2002, the movie was praised for its historical accuracy, even though it had been filmed on a studio set in Rome.   In fact, due to the shortage of English-speaking actors in Italy at the time, some of the movie extras were US Air Force personnel stationed at the nearby Aviano Air Base. 

None of the extras got to break Daniel Day Lewis’s nose during a fight scene though; that honour belonged entirely to Leo DiCaprio.  And ever the professional, the cameras kept rolling, and Daniel Day Lewis kept on swinging.

[Postscript:  Incidentally, there is a great restaurant in the Noho neighbourhood of Manhattan called "Five Points".  Great burgers and cocktails.  No gang violence or bare-knuckle boxing, at least never when I've been there.]