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Author: Leeanne G-Bowley

Celebrating 50 Years of PFlag: Birthplace of a Movement of Empathy and Advocacy

Fifty years ago, a groundbreaking movement was born—a movement that would forever change the landscape of LGBTQ+ rights, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This year, we joyfully celebrate the 50th anniversary of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), an organization that has played a pivotal role in supporting, educating, and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and their loved ones. As we reflect on half a century of tireless dedication, unwavering support, and incredible progress, we honor the legacy of PFLAG and its profound impact on countless lives.

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    2023 Village Awardee: Essex Card Shop, 47 Avenue A

    Village Preservation is very proud to honor Essex Card Shop as a Village Awardee in 2023. Join us in recognizing Essex Card shop and these other worthy awardees at Village Preservation’s Annual Meeting and Village Awards on Tuesday, June 13th. Registration is free and open to all! Essex Card Shop is an example of so […]

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      The East Village’s ‘Queen of Bohemia:” Zoe Anderson Norris

      If you’re ever on the Upper East Side or just strolling through Central Park and looking to immerse yourself in some literary history, the Grolier Club is the perfect place for that. The Grolier Club’s exhibitions are free to all visitors, making it an accessible space for bibliophiles or anyone itching to check out how literary history has evolved over time. 

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      Village Awards: Your Nominations Help Celebrate Our Neighborhoods

      As we approach the deadline for the 2023 Village Awards, we want to share some past awardees to inspire your nominations for this year! We will celebrate the award winners at our 33rd Annual Village Awards & 43rd Annual Members Meeting 2023 on Tuesday, June 13th at The Cooper Union’s Great Hall!

      Why would you want to take the time to nominate your favorite for a Village Award? Here are some great reasons!

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      Frank Collerius accepts a 2017 Village Award

      Village Awards – Recognizing the Places That Make Our Neighborhoods Special

      2023 Awards Nominations are Now Open! Each year, Village Preservation honors invaluable local leaders, institutions, business, places and organizations at its Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This fun and free public event highlights and celebrates those that make our neighborhoods some of the most interesting and exceptional in the city. Nominations are now open until […]

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      Wayne Shorter: a jazz legend who will be missed in Greenwich Village and beyond

      Wayne Shorter is a pioneering jazz musician and composer whose innovative work has had a profound impact on the genre. Throughout his career, he pushed the boundaries of jazz and experimented with new sounds, textures, and compositional techniques. He has also been recognized as one of the most influential saxophonists in jazz history, known for his unique sound and lyrical improvisations.

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        You Are Here: Lawrence Henderson Guides Village Preservation through Historic NYC Black Heritage Sites

        Author and NYC tour guide, Lawrence Henderson, is sharing his research and walking tours with Village Preservation in February 2023 as we celebrate Black History Month. First, Village Preservation participants were treated to a free opportunity to experience the first hour of Lawrence’s “You Are Here: African American Walking Tour of NYC.” Lawrence offers a unique three-part, 3 hour, downtown walking tour to New Yorkers and visitors alike. The tour is based on Lawrence’s book You Are Here – A Geographical History of Enslaved and Free Africans in Manhattan: 1613 – 1865. He will be updating a new edition of this book, which we hope to celebrate when it relaunches with a future book talk.

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        Tour Guide Lawrence Henderson pointing out a preserved historical foundation in downtown Manhattan to a crowd of about 15 tour participants.

        History through the eyes of a photographer: Alex Harsley’s oral history

        Village Preservation is very honored to announce that we have released our Oral History with Alex Harsley. Our oral history project includes interviews with some of the great artists, activists, business owners, community leaders, and preservation pioneers of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. It captures and preserves their first-person perspective on the important histories they witnessed or of which they were a part.

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          Oral History Subject and Artistic Inspiration: Christina Maile

          On Thursday, December 8th, the audience of our program “Village Preservation at Westbeth Gallery’s Winter Show” had the opportunity to hear directly from artist and Westbeth resident Christina Maile. Christina is self described as trained as a landscape architect, her writing and visual work references colonialism, feminism and extinction and she is of Dayak and West Indian descent.
          Everyone in the audience at the gallery very quickly became aware of the depth of knowledge Christina has to share about Westbeth Artists Housing. This program was a great introduction to the launch of Christina’s oral history with Village Preservation, which is available here on our website.

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          Woman in magenta shirt and blue jeans sitting in artist's studio

          Bringing Graham’s 19 Poses to Village Voices’ “Monument to Choice”

          It makes sense to combine the artistry of Graham 2 with the historical preservation and inspirational work of Village Voices to create a unique experience for our neighborhoods. The result was an event that gathered community members to celebrate both the passage of the 19th Amendment and how far society still must go to ensure the rights of all people, and in particular those who are trans, non-binary, and women, have equal rights.

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          Learn About Radical Social Movements in the Village and the Battle for Free Speech

          Village Preservation presents programs that offer insight into the rich history of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. Sometimes that history provides keen insight into the issues of today. What issues are you interested in affecting in today’s society? Labor, peace, birth control, civil liberties, women’s rights? Central to every one of these movements […]

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          October Programs: Building Community in our Neighborhoods

          At Village Preserevation our tours, lectures, book talks, exhibitions, and other public programs explore and celebrate preservation, history and culture. Beyond sharing vital information from the past and present about Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, our programs bring together community members from various walks of life to connect and learn from one another. Whether it is participants sharing their favorite memories of concerts at Filmore East on our East Village Rock Tour or gathering at a local school to learn about historical figures who helped shape our community, like Sarah Curry who founded the Little Missionary Day School, our programs provide the vital service of connecting you with your community and its history.

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          Remembering the Critical Role of Locals in the Women’s Suffrage Movement on Women’s Equality Day

          Greenwich Village Congressmember Bella Abzug (D-NY) urged congress in 1973 to designate August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.” The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which ended sex-based discrimination in voting in the United States. Feeling inspired to find out more about the fight for suffrage […]

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            Three Takeaways from Escape from New York: The 1822 Yellow Fever Outbreak and the Creation of Greenwich Village

            us through our history with insights that help us understand our own times as much as we begin to understand the past. We hope you check out James and Michelle’s work and continue to come along such journeys through Village Preservation’s programming.

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            Penn Station Demolition Protest — Then & Now

            On August 2, 1962 a protest took place that reverberated throughout New York City, and ignited the preservation movement throughout the city and country. The Action Group for Better Architecture (AGBANY) was formed in an effort to save McKim, Mead & White’s Pennsylvania Station from demolition. The organization’s birth is often pegged to this protest, […]

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            Fulfillingness’ First Finale: A Stevie Wonder Classic Born of Pain, Recovery, and Greenwich Village

            On July 22, 1974, Stevie Wonder’s seventh studio album, Fulfillingness’ First Finale, was released by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. The classic album, considered the fourth of five from Wonder’s ”classic” period (which included the earlier Where I’m Coming From, Music From My Mind, Talking Book, and Innervisions, and the later Songs in the […]

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            Penny Arcade: Art Creator, and Conservator

            The wonderful and daring performance artist Penny Arcade (b. July 15, 1950, New Britain, CT.) is well known for the great works she has created and shared on stages large and small across New York and the world. A dear friend of Village Preservation’s, she’s also (perhaps less well known) someone who has made incredibly […]

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            Penny Arcade Emcee'ing the 2022 Village Preservation Annual Village Awards June 2022 at The Cooper Union's Great Hall

            Intersectionality and the Past, Present, and Future of Activism in Our Neighborhoods

            After the Supreme Court Decision DOBBS v.JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION overturning Roe v. Wade was released on Friday, June 24, people took to the streets. It was no surprise that people hoping to make their voices heard looked to our neighborhoods as a gathering place. Two of the many protests and rallies that took place in New York City were held in Washington Square Park and Union Square. These protests were organized by intersectional advocacy groups across Labor, Defund the Police, Housing, Immigration, and LGBTQIA+ movements.

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            Looking north up Greenwich Ave. from Christopher St., c. 1970, women protestors struggle with police outside of Women’s Detention Center"

            Exploring ‘Queer Money Project’ and Local LGBTQ+-owned Businesses

            To celebrate Pride this year, we’re guiding you on an exploration of today’s LGBTQ+-owned businesses led by the Queer Money Project — to celebrate both the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community in our neighborhoods, and to support small businesses (both of which we do 24/7, 365-days-a-year, but what better time than now?). And we’re doing it in an exciting new way that allows you to participate in Village Preservation programming on your own time. Grab a friend and visit these sites that we’ll reveal on Instagram throughout NYC Pride Weekend.

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            The Cooper Union’s “Voices from the Great Hall”: Digital Archives Of One Of New York’s Most Historic Spaces

            Village Preservation is very excited to hold its first in-person Annual Meeting and Village Awards in three years on June 14. We’re especially excited that event will be co-hosted by The Cooper Union and held in The Great Hall. The Great Hall is a wonderfully appropriate setting for this important annual event for Village Preservation. […]

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              The Great Hall at The Cooper Union

              More Than A Century of Dance at A More Than 225 Year Old Church

              On April 25, 1795 the cornerstone was laid for St. Marks Church-in-the-Bowery — a historic cornerstone itself of our neighborhoods. What no one knew then was that the building would be a center for the dance community for one hundred years and counting. The history of dance and performance at St. Mark’s is rich and deep, and continues to engage New York City in unique and significant ways. 

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              Photo of the sanctuary at St. Marks on the Bowery show the hardwood floors and open space for movement.

              The Documents of History: Mattachine Society of New York’s Archival Papers of 1951-1976 at the New York Public Library

              As Village Preservation prepares to unveil a plaque commemorating the “Sip-In” at Julius’ Bar on April 21, 1966, one might wonder about the Mattachine Society of New York, which organized this historic event as part of their broader participation in the 1945-1969 Homophile Movement in New York City and beyond. We know the leaders of […]

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              April Programming at Village Preservation

              Greenwich Village, NoHo, and the East Village. You will have an opportunity to learn more about the history of arts and culture in our neighborhoods, as well as participate in workshops that build our ability to continue to preserve our land as well as culture unique to our communities.

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              Photo of Indepedent Booksellers: Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Books, Book Club Bar, and Printed Matter.

              Barbara Kahn: Playwright With Impact Beyond The Stage

              Barbara Kahn recently joined Village Preservation for a celebration of the her oral history with the organization (watch the video here). Barbara and friends offered a selection of performances from Barbara herself as well as her longtime collaborator, Robert Gonzales Jr. The performances of monologues and a song were followed by conversations about Barbara’s process […]

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              Barbara Kahn

              Past Village Awardees Inspire New Nominations

              Each year, Village Preservation honors neighborhood institutions, leaders, business, places and organizations at its Annual Meeting and Village Awards. This fun event highlights and celebrates the invaluable people, places, and organizations that make our neighborhoods some of the most interesting and exceptional in the city. Nominate your favorites by March 15

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              2022 Village Awards. text with images of past winners inside the font.

              The Origin of Love Tour: Spreading a Love that Started in the Village

              The off-broadway version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch premiered at the village’s own Jane Street Theatre on February 14, 1998. Looking at the playbill from performances during that era, one can see a number of contributors from our neighborhoods, including the Westbeth Theatre Center. John Cameron Mitchell and Stephan Trask’s glam/punk musical would eventually become a movie directed by Mitchell. It then went onto Broadway, receiving critical acclaim, Tony Awards, and the return of John Cameron Mitchell to the role he originated downtown.

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              Photo of pre-show at Origin of Love Tour at The Town Hall 6/27/19