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.
The views expressed by the contributor(s) are solely those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or endorsement of our organization.
Robert Zerelli (b. November 30, 1962) was raised in New Jersey, and at the age of 18, he moved to New York City to work at the bakery founded by his great uncle in 1894 — the legendary Veneiro’s. Zerilli lived above the store at 342 East 11th Street, married a customer, raised a family, […]
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Lorcan Otway (b. July 27, 1955), the owner of the Off Broadway Theater 80, located at 80 St. Mark’s Place, speaks about the theater’s history, as well as the cultural history of the East Village. He recounts stories of the former repertory movie house and theater’s past as a speakeasy during Prohibition, at which time […]
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Hartman (b. August 14, 1955) is a co-owner and founder of Two Boots Pizza, a filmmaker, and an advocate for the preservation of the East Village, where he has lived for decades. He also founded the Great Jones Café and maintained his love for punk rock, film, and culture while managing a successful and growing […]
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A trustee of Village Preservation, Tom Birchard has owned and run Veselka, a Ukrainian restaurant and neighborhood institution, for more than four decades.
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A published author, Marilyn Appleberg (b. January 6, 1944) has been committed to neighborhood betterment since she moved to the East Village in 1969. She is the founder and president of the 10th and Stuyvesant Streets Block Association, catalyst for improvement of the city park in front of St. Mark’s Church — as well as […]
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This true New York love story features a Muslim born in Egypt and a former Catholic born in Poland who worked across the street from one another, fell in love, got married, and now run kosher restaurant B&H Dairy together at 127 Second Avenue between 7th Street and St. Mark’s Place. B&H Dairy has served […]
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