Did you know that Village Preservation members receive advance notice of many of our public programs? Our tours and other programs sometimes offer limited capacity, and often fill up quickly. By becoming a member, you can take advantage of that advanced notice and register before the general public. Find out how to become a member here.

Floating Palaces on the Waterfront

Co-Sponsored by Merchant’s House Museum

On May 1, 1915, as the First World War raged in Europe, the liner Lusitania set sail for its final journey from the old Pier 54, once part of the original Chelsea Piers complex. Today, the site is reborn as a beautiful site for recreation after decades of decay, but over a hundred years ago, the Hudson River waterfront was the place where New York cemented its place as one of the world’s greatest cities. 

Join us for a walking tour along the waterfront to explore how this dynamic waterfront worked in the age of the Titanic, Lusitania, and other floating palaces that once docked there.

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Cracks in the YIMBY Consensus — Why can’t we upzone our way out of the affordability crisis?

In Part 1 of our new program series, we speak with planner and housing researcher Alan Mallach to disentangle the knotty relationship between housing prices, household incomes, and development costs in New York and elsewhere. We discuss who is most affected by the affordability crisis (maybe not who you think), why it is different depending on where in the U.S. you live, and why zoning is mostly a red herring when it comes to understanding the causes of the affordability crisis.  

Join Village Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman and V.P. Special Projects Director Juan Rivero for the inaugural program in a series aimed at looking at why the “Build, Baby, Build” approach isn’t going to solve our affordability crisis. 

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Members-Only Greenwich Village Coffee Tour

Drink your way through the surprising history of coffee in New York City on our Greenwich Village Coffee Tour and Tasting! This tour will uncover the surprising history of coffee in New York City while exploring Greenwich Village, one of its great centers of consumption.

You will learn how New York and coffee have been intertwined culturally and economically for generations. By the end of this experience, participants will have tasted an espresso, a drip coffee, chocolate-covered coffee beans, and a cappuccino… so prepare to be caffeinated!

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Duchamp Takes New York with John Strausbaugh

Duchamp, bored with tradition, reimagined what art could be, what it was for, and how it might be made—hanging a snow shovel from the ceiling, inverting a urinal, “painting” with dust and bits of string between panes of glass, and reducing his entire oeuvre into a briefcase of miniatures. Renowned author John Strausbaugh’s new book, Duchamp Takes New York, traces this bold, playful energy, showing how the city inspired and staged his avant-garde experiments.

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Little Africa: Black Life and Community in the South Village

In the latter half of the 19th century, one of the most notable Black settlements in New York was “Little Africa,” centered around present-day Minetta Street and Minetta Lane. This vibrant community included Black-owned businesses, churches, and social institutions. Between the 1880s and the early 20th century, this was the most important center of Black life in Manhattan. Join Village Preservation educator Amanda Adams-Louis on this fascinating exploration of one of Manhattan’s most important, but nearly unknown, historic neighborhoods.

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Anthony Wood in conversation with Andrew Berman: Why Albert Bard is more important today than ever

Join Anthony C. Wood, historian of New York City’s preservation movement and author of Servant of Beauty: Landmarks, Secret Love, and the Unimagined Life of an Unsung New York Hero (Bloomsbury, 2025), in conversation with Andrew Berman, Executive Director of Village Preservation. Together, they will explore the legacy of Albert Bard (1866-1963), grandfather of NYC’s landmarks law and civic advocate extraordinaire.

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Member’s-Only Film Screening: Psychedelicized: The Electric Circus Story

Join us for this members-only special screening of a new documentary film about the Electric Circus, Psychedelicized: The Electric Circus Story.

In the height of the psychedelic era, in the middle of New York City’s hippie district, the East Village, hippies, circus clowns, Leonard Bernstein, Andy Warhol, the Hell’s Angels and Robert Kennedy had one thing in common: they all came down to the Electric Circus.

We’ll be joined by the film’s creator Larry Confino for a Q&A after the film screening.

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Infrastructure of Loisaida and Alphabet City Walking Tour

Celebrate the final day of Lower East Side History Month with a look at an often-overlooked aspect of the area’s history and life today. Some of the sites and themes covered along the way include the Con Edison East 14th Steam Plant and the steam system in general; the homesteading/squatting saga of old PS 64/Charas and 519 East 11th St, the home of the first wind turbine in New York; and the how the City is applying the painful lessons that the flooding during Sandy taught.