Pride, Preservation, and Patriots: Join Us for June Programs
June is one of the most exciting months of the year at Village Preservation. As summer arrives, we invite you to join us for a diverse lineup of programs exploring everything from Revolutionary-era estates and Jazz Age New York to affordable housing, public housing history, art, and LGBTQ+ heritage. This month also features two of our most anticipated annual events: our Annual Meeting and Village Awards, as well as a series of special programs celebrating Pride Month and the enduring LGBTQ+ history of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo.
Whether you’re interested in architecture, social history, preservation advocacy, or the remarkable stories that have shaped our neighborhoods, June offers something for everyone.
Celebrating Our Community: Annual Meeting and Village Awards
On June 10, we will hold our Annual Meeting and Village Awards, a yearly celebration of the people, organizations, businesses, and institutions whose work strengthens and enriches our neighborhoods.
The Village Awards recognize those who make extraordinary contributions to the unique character, culture, and vitality of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. From beloved local businesses and cultural institutions to grassroots advocates and community leaders, the honorees reflect the remarkable diversity and creativity that define our neighborhoods.
The event also provides an opportunity to reflect on Village Preservation’s accomplishments over the past year and look ahead to the important work still to come. The Annual Meeting and Village Awards have become one of our most cherished traditions, bringing together preservationists, residents, and supporters to celebrate what makes these neighborhoods so special.
Join us for this inspiring evening of community and recognition.
Pride Month: Exploring LGBTQ+ History and Legacy
Few places have played a more significant role in LGBTQ+ history than Greenwich Village and the East Village. As the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, our neighborhoods continue to hold countless stories that deserve recognition and protection.
This June, Village Preservation is proud to present a series of programs that examine LGBTQ+ history from multiple perspectives.
Tour of the Keith Haring Foundation
Artist and activist Keith Haring remains one of the most influential cultural figures to emerge from downtown New York in the 1980s. His bold visual language, public art, and advocacy work helped transform conversations around art, public space, HIV/AIDS awareness, and social justice.
Our special tour of the Keith Haring Foundation offers participants a rare opportunity to learn more about Haring’s life, artistic legacy, and continuing impact on contemporary culture.
Still Unprotected: The Unrecognized LGBTQ+ Landmarks of Greenwich Village and the East Village
While many LGBTQ+ landmarks in our neighborhoods have received formal recognition, countless significant sites remain unprotected and vulnerable.
This timely program explores the places connected to pivotal moments, organizations, activists, artists, and community spaces that helped shape LGBTQ+ history but have yet to receive landmark protections. The discussion highlights why preservation remains an essential tool for safeguarding these stories and ensuring that future generations can understand the neighborhoods’ central role in the struggle for equality.
The Hidden Side of the Jazz Age
The Roaring Twenties are often remembered for glamour, nightlife, and economic prosperity. Yet beneath the surface lay stories that were stranger, darker, and more complex.
Hidden Histories of Jazz Age New York: From the Suppressed to the Strange explores overlooked narratives from one of the city’s most transformative decades. From marginalized communities and forgotten scandals to unusual cultural phenomena, the program uncovers a side of Jazz Age New York rarely featured in traditional histories. This talk will take a closer look at the LGBTQ+ related history of our neighborhoods during the era.
The discussion offers a fresh perspective on a period that continues to captivate historians and the public alike.
Don’t forget to take a look at our recently released Jazz Map, exploring 100 years of jazz history in Greenwich Village, the East Village and NoHo.
Together, these programs underscore Village Preservation’s ongoing efforts to document, celebrate, and advocate for the recognition of LGBTQ+ history through our extensive research and advocacy work.
The Revolutionary Village Comes Alive
As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of American independence, June and July provide an opportunity to look back at a very different Manhattan before and the early decades after the Revolutionary War.
From Minuets to Militia: Manhattan’s Country Estates in the Revolution explores the grand country homes that once dotted the island north of the city. These estates served as centers of social life before becoming entangled in the political and military upheavals of the Revolutionary era. Through fascinating stories of wealth, loyalty, conflict, and change, the program reveals how New Yorkers experienced the Revolution in ways both familiar and surprising.
American Independence in Brick and Stone: Federal Style Architecture in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo examines the architectural style that emerged in the years following the American Revolution and became the nation’s first distinctly American form of architecture. Federal-style buildings, characterized by their elegant proportions, restrained ornamentation, and brick facades, reflected the aspirations and identity of the new republic.
Many of the oldest surviving buildings in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo date from this period, offering a tangible connection to the city’s early history. The program will explore how these structures helped shape the character of our neighborhoods and why their preservation remains so important today. Village Preservation has long been a leader in documenting and protecting Federal-era buildings, helping secure landmark protections for many of these rare survivors of New York’s earliest years.
Together with programs exploring Revolutionary-era Manhattan, this event highlights the ways in which the struggle for independence left its mark not only on American politics, but also on the streets and buildings that continue to define our neighborhoods more than two centuries later.
Explore other Revolutionary Village Programs and Resources HERE
Rethinking the Housing Debate
Housing remains one of the most pressing issues facing New York City today. In Cracks in the YIMBY Consensus: The Zoning Scapegoat — Does Regulation Actually Explain the Housing Crisis?, participants will examine one of the central debates shaping housing policy discussions nationwide.
The program explores competing explanations for the housing crisis, challenges assumptions about zoning and development, and considers what the evidence reveals about affordability, growth, and urban planning. As cities continue to grapple with housing shortages and rising costs, these conversations are more relevant than ever.
Honoring 90 Years of First Houses
The end of 2025 marked the 90th anniversary of First Houses, the nation’s first public housing development, located on the Lower East Side.
Celebrating 90 Years of First Houses examines the history of this groundbreaking project and its lasting influence on public housing policy in New York City and across the country. The program offers a unique opportunity to explore how First Houses emerged during the New Deal era and how it continues to shape discussions about housing, equity, and urban development today.
Behind the Scenes at The Met
For those fascinated by art history and scholarship, we are offering a special opportunity to visit one of New York’s great research treasures.
The Special Tour of the Watson Library at The Met takes participants inside the renowned research library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Housing extraordinary collections devoted to art history, archaeology, architecture, decorative arts, and more, the Watson Library serves scholars from around the world. This behind-the-scenes tour provides insight into the resources that support one of the world’s premier cultural institutions with a look at rare fascinating documents and ephemera from our neighborhoods through the decades.
Join Us This June
June’s programs reflect Village Preservation’s commitment to exploring the rich and multifaceted histories of Greenwich Village, the East Village, NoHo, and beyond. Through lectures, tours, discussions, and special events, we seek to deepen understanding of the people, places, and movements that have shaped our city.
From celebrating neighborhood champions at our Annual Meeting and Village Awards to honoring Pride Month through programs that highlight LGBTQ+ history and advocacy, June offers countless opportunities to learn, engage, and connect.
We look forward to seeing you at these programs and continuing the work of preserving the stories, places, and communities that make our neighborhoods extraordinary.