Celebrating the Rich Tapestry of May in Our Neighborhoods

The month of May bursts with meaning in New York City, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the historic and diverse neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. May is Haitian Heritage Month, Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Lower East Side History Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, and National Preservation Month—five overlapping celebrations that highlight the incredible cultural, historical, and architectural contributions that have shaped these iconic communities.

Haitian Heritage Month

May is a time to honor the history, resilience, and cultural contributions of the Haitian community. One of the most influential figures connected to Haitian heritage in downtown Manhattan is Jean-Michel Basquiat, the groundbreaking artist of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent.

Basquiat lived and worked at 57 Great Jones Street in NoHo during the 1980s, in a building owned by Andy Warhol. His neo-expressionist works exploded with political energy, referencing everything from colonialism to Black identity to Caribbean history. The building now bears a plaque commemorating Basquiat’s life and influence, installed by Village Preservation in 2016. His presence in the neighborhood is a powerful reminder of the global and diasporic stories embedded in downtown New York’s walls.

Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage Month

The Asian American experience is deeply embedded in Greenwich Village’s and the East Village’s history. One of the most powerful examples of that heritage is Miné Okubo, a Japanese American writer and artist who lived at 17 East 9th Street. Okubo, who was interned with her family during World War II, is best known for her 1946 book, Citizen 13660, in which she recounts her experience in a Japanese-American internment camp, which was one of the first widely-circulated personal accounts of the repression and indignities faced by over 110,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II, and remains an important work on this chapter in American history.

The East Village has also been home to vibrant Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and other Asian communities. One member was Martin Wong. Wong was an openly gay Chinese-American artist who played a key role in New York City’s downtown art scene of the 1980s and early 1990s, first living in the Lower East Side at the Meyers Hotel on Stanton Street and at 141 Ridge Street. His work depicted daily street life, gentrification, and displacement of low-income residents, the plight of Chinese-Americans in Chinatown, while also incorporating elements of ancient Chinese art. His work was shown at Semaphore Gallery spaces in SoHo at 462 West Broadway and the East Village at 157 Avenue B.

Lower East Side History Month

May is also Lower East Side History Month, celebrating the rich, multi-ethnic legacy of one of the most iconic immigrant neighborhoods in the world. The “Lower East Side” traditionally refers to the area east of the Bowery and south of 14th Street, and includes the East Village. The Lower East Side, including what we today call the East Village, was one of the most densely populated and ethnically diverse neighborhoods in the not only the city but the world, especially during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Walking these streets, you trace the path of German, Italian, Jewish, Irish, and Eastern European immigrants who shaped downtown Manhattan’s tenement culture, labor movements, and artistic life. By the 1960s, the East Village attracted a new wave of artists, writers, musicians, and bohemians. They flocked to the area due to its cheap rents and proximity to institutions like Cooper Union and New York University. This influx of creative energy led to the emergence of a vibrant arts scene, with avant-garde theaters, experimental art galleries, and underground music venues popping up throughout the neighborhood.

Jewish American Heritage Month

Jewish Americans have had a profound impact on the culture and character of Greenwich Village and the East Village. One standout example is The Village Vanguard, the legendary jazz club co-founded in 1935 by Max Gordon, a Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe. Jewish artists, political radicals, labor organizers, and playwrights helped make the Village a hub of progressive culture throughout the 20th century.

In the East Village, Second Avenue—once known as the Yiddish Broadway—was lined with theaters where stars like Molly Picon performed for crowds of recent immigrants. Synagogues, some still active, like the Community Synagogue on Sixth Street, and the East 3rd Street tenement synagogues, stand as architectural testaments to this heritage.

National Preservation Month

Finally, May is National Preservation Month, a celebration of the importance of preserving historic places. In neighborhoods like Greenwich Village, NoHo, and the East Village, the preservation movement has been especially vital in protecting the architectural and cultural identity of these areas amid rapid development.

Village Preservation’s efforts have helped get landmark designation of more than 1,300 buildings in our neighborhoods and secure zoning protections for nearly 100 blocks. Ongoing efforts include seeking landmark and zoning protections for South of Union Square. This area of Greenwich Village and the East Village -– roughly Third to Fifth Avenues and 14th to 9th Streets — contains a remarkable concentration of sites connected to incredible artists, to the movements for women’s equality, and trailblazing women who changed the world. Village Preservation has identified more than 20 such unprotected sites from the headquarters of the NYC Woman Suffrage League to the home and office of the first woman doctor in America, and sites connected to Anaïs Nin, Audre Lorde, Patti Smith, Martha Graham, and early birth-control efforts, among many others.

Recent landmarking successes have included 50 West 13th Street. This 1846–47 row house possesses a rich history spanning the 19th and 20th centuries. From 1858 to 1884, it was home to Jacob Day, one of New York’s wealthiest and most successful 19th-century African American businessmen and real estate owners, a crusader for African American civil rights, and a prominent supporter of African American institutions. In addition, noted suffragist, educator, and civil rights leader Sarah Smith Tompkins Garnet lived here for at least eight years, from 1866 to 1874, during a critical period of her life.

Learn more about Village Preservation’s advocacy efforts and how you can get involved here. It is critical to remember that preservation is about more than bricks and mortar—it’s about safeguarding stories, identities, and cultural memory.

In May, the past and present meet in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. Whether through Basquiat’s paint strokes, Okubo’s writing, the melodies of Second Avenue, or the historic buildings that line the streets, these neighborhoods remind us that heritage isn’t just something we celebrate—it’s something we live, protect, and pass on.