Village Preservation, working with the Washington Litigation Group and Lambda Legal, has sued the federal government over the removal of the rainbow Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument on Christopher Street, which is a blatant attempt to erase history at one of the most historically significant sites in our neighborhood — read the press release here and coverage in The New York Times here.  

Last week, Village Preservation and the Historic Districts Council called on the federal government to return the flag. While individuals from outside the federal government have rehung the flag, the flags’ future presence at the national monument remains in doubt as the government has said they will stand firm in not allowing it to be flown here, thus necessitating the lawsuit. 

Village Preservation has a long relationship with Stonewall. We were the co-nominator in 1999 for Stonewall to be added to the State and National Registers of Historic Places, the first site ever recognized by the federal government for its relationship to LGBTQ+ history. In 2015, we led the successful campaign to secure NYC landmark designation for Stonewall, making it the first site ever landmarked in NYC due to LGBTQ+ history. And in 2016, we were a strong supporter of the successful push to have Stonewall named a national historic monument — the highest level of recognition by the federal government of a historic site, and the first ever for LGBTQ+ history. 

Recognizing and preserving LGBTQ+ history has long been an important part of Village Preservation’s mission and an important part of our neighborhood’s character. Recognizing civil rights and social justice history, as well as underrepresented histories, continues to be a major focus of our preservation efforts.