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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South Village

Rick Kelly

Rick Kelly has owned the world-renowned Carmine Street Guitars at 42 Carmine Street since 1990 but opened his first shop on Downing Street in 1976. His oral history delves into his … Continued

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Matt Umanov

Umanov (b. August 28, 1947) is the founder and proprietor of Matt Umanov Guitars, located at 273 Bleecker Street. Since 1965, Matt Umanov Guitars has been buying, selling, and repairing … Continued

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Andrew & Romana Raffetto

Romana (1931-2018) is the former owner, and her son Andrew is the current owner of Raffetto Pasta at 144 West Houston Street. A Village and New York institution, Rafetto Pasta … Continued

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Peter Longo

Longo (b. October 22, 1951) grew up in an Italian family in the Village, attending Catholic schools and absorbing the immigrant and Beat cultures that surrounded him. He took over, … Continued

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Vincent Livelli

Vincent Livelli (b. April 10, 1919) has lived in the Village for close to 100 years. From the 1940s to 1970s, Vincent helped revolutionize the cruise ship industry as a … Continued

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Maria Kenny

The child of Irish immigrants, Kenny (b. October 25, 1963) grew up in the Bronx and Greenwich Village. Her father, Pat, was owner of the Village music club, Kenny’s Castaways, … Continued

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Colette Douglas

Douglas (b. November 19, 1926) lived in MacDougal-Sullivan Gardens in the 1950s and tells a classic story of mid-century Village life from attending Little Red Schoolhouse as a child to … Continued

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David Amram

A noted musician, bandleader, prolific composer, and pioneer of the jazz French horn for more than the past half-century, Amram (b. November 17, 1930) lived in various parts of the … Continued

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Village Preservation Oral History Collection

South Village

Rick Kelly

Matt Umanov

Andrew & Romana Raffetto

Peter Longo

Vincent Livelli

Maria Kenny

Colette Douglas

David Amram