We’re just over the hump of 2023, and the year has already been packed with more important work and battles than any of us could have predicted. That’s why I’m asking you to make a donation now to Village Preservation, to keep the progress going and ensure we’re up to facing the challenges that the remainder of 2023 will bring.

So far this year we’ve already:

• Helped lead the successful fight to prevent Albany and the Mayor from changing long-standing rules to allow supersized development in any residential neighborhood in NYC.
• After a ten-year campaign, finally secured city recognition and landmark designation for the Julius’ Bar building in the West Village.
• Gotten NYU’s lawsuit rejected, which sought to overturn zoning protections we secured against its unlimited expansion.
• Secured an important role for Village Preservation and other preservation organizations in the oversight of plans to site 32-ft.-tall futuristic 5G towers throughout our neighborhoods.
• Informed and engaged the public about plans for a new affordable housing development at 388 Hudson Street, which may be anywhere from 12 to 35 stories tall. 
• Got the City to respond to the spate of landmarked buildings being destroyed on its watch with a plan for protecting vulnerable buildings, and fought to protect at-risk structures on Gay, Christopher, and Cornelia Streets, and Fifth and Second Avenues. 
• Protected the iconic 1834 house and backhouse at 131 Charles Street from dangerous excavation and alteration plans. 

• Launched campaigns to secure landmark status for endangered buildings like Theatre 80 and the former Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. 
• Celebrated the naming of our 100th Business of the Month. 
• Feted six amazing community leaders, non-profits, and local small businesses at our Annual Village Awards.
• Staged our beloved Annual Spring House Tour for the first time since 2019.
• Unveiled a plaque honoring jazz icon Charles Mingus, with a ceremony including his friends and collaborators. 
• Conducted candidate forums for our contested local City Council primary elections following the decennial redistricting. 
• Served more students than ever in our Children’s Education program, which is open to all schools regardless of need or ability to pay, thanks in large part to the generosity of our members.

And that’s just in the first six months of 2023! Help us continue that work by making a donation today. 

This is all part of Village Preservation’s mission to document, celebrate, and protect the special architectural and cultural heritage of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, and promote sound planning and preservation policies that affect neighborhoods throughout New York City. Through our work, we have:

• Secured landmark designation for over 1,250 buildings in our neighborhoods, including groundbreaking designations honoring and protecting diverse civil rights, social justice, immigrant, and artistic and cultural histories. 
• Attained zoning protections for nearly 100 blocks of our neighborhoods, which discourage out-of-scale new development, encourage in-character new development, help preserve older buildings and businesses, and encourage the retention and creation of affordable housing. 

• Conducted over 75 exciting and varied programs each year, to offer insights and entree into our neighborhoods’ amazing histories. 
• Created a vast array of online resources to engage and educate the public about our communities’ incredibly rich past and present, viewed over a million times annually. 

Only you can ensure this work continues. Over 75% of our funding comes from individuals like you. 

And your dollar goes farther with Village Preservation. We consistently spend about 80–85% of our budget on programming and other work serving the public — well above the Better Business Bureau threshold of 65%. And we consistently spend only 15–20% of our budget on fundraising and administration — well below the BBB threshold of 35%.

We can only do this with YOUR support. Please consider a donation to Village Preservation TODAY, and ensure 2023 is a great year for PRESERVATION.