Oral Histories - Village Preservation

Village Preservation Oral History Collection

Village Preservation’s 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.

Click here for an alphabetical list of our entire Oral History Collection.

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Preservationists

Michael E. Levine

Michael E. Levine (b. 1943) is an urban planner who worked as the NYC Department of City Planning’s CommunityBoard #2 liaison beginning in the 1960s, and was intimately involved in … Continued

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Preservationists

Beverly Moss Spatt

Beverly Moss Spatt (b. 1924) has been a leading figure in New York City planning and preservation for over fifty years. In this oral history she discusses growing up in … Continued

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Arthur Levin

Arthur (Art) Levin (b. 1936) has served as a Village Preservation Trustee for over 20 years, including as President since 2012, overseeing a period of organizational growth. Art grew up … Continued

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Joan Davidson

Daughter of J.M. Kaplan and a member of the J.M. Kaplan Fund, Joan Davidson (b. 1927) coordinated the founding of the Westbeth Project, an artist’s residence in the West Village.

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Gloria McDarrah

McDarrah (1932-2020) lived in the Village beginning in the 1950s. She worked in publishing and was married to Fred McDarrah, who established himself as a photojournalist and a leading documentarian … Continued

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Claire Tankel

Claire Tankel (1926-2020) was the widow of Stanley Tankel, an architect and city planner who was involved in Greenwich Village’s early preservation efforts.

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Verna Small

Verna Small (1916-2008) was one of Greenwich Village’s preservation pioneers and helped lead the successful campaign in the late 1960s to create the Greenwich Village Historic District.

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Norman Redlich

Norman Redlich (1925-2011) was the former Dean of the NYU School of Law. This oral history interview serves as a follow-up to a lecture Redlich gave to a preservation course … Continued

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Edith Lyons

Edith Lyons (1906-2002) was one of the leaders in the seven-year battle with Robert Moses over the use of Washington Square Park as a thoroughfare to Lower Manhattan. Moses’ plan … Continued

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Leticia Kent

Leticia Kent (1928-1999) was an esteemed freelance journalist and long-time Villager. This oral history was conducted in anticipation of an interview Kent was scheduled to conduct with Jane Jacobs and … Continued

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Jane Jacobs

Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was an urban planner, author, and activist. Jacobs discusses various preservation battles in which she participated while living in Greenwich Village, including the fight to prevent Robert … Continued

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Shirley Hayes

Shirley Hayes (1912-2002) was a community activist who led the successful fight in the 1950s against Robert Moses’ plan to extend a highway through Washington Square Park.

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