Join Village Preservation and East Village Community Coalition (EVCCNYC) for a virtual discussion with writer and educator Joyce Milambiling on her new book More than a Building: The Settlement House as Cooperative Structure. Christodora House was founded in 1897 as the Young Women’s Settlement. However, the building at 143 Avenue B was only one of the physical locations where Christodora staff welcomed neighbors of all ages. The 16-story structure was, and remains, a remarkable physical space, but the work accomplished at Christodora House and that continues at settlement houses and community centers throughout the city transcends brick and mortar. The book, Skyscraper Settlement: The Many Lives of Christodora House, tells the story of how an idea held by two young women developed into one of the many settlement houses established in New York City. The settlements and centers function as cooperative structures made up of people from diverse ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds, all striving together to reach goals based on principles of equality and social justice.

Joyce Milambiling is a writer and educator with a PhD in Applied Linguistics, who has enjoyed a long career teaching foreign language and ESL teachers in New York and Iowa. She is a seasoned traveler fascinated by the complexities of history and culture. A member of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians and the New York Historical Society, her articles have appeared in Academe, English Teaching Forum, and Theory into Practice.