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
` Full TranscriptVillage 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.
- Activists & Advocates
- Arts
- East Village
- Greenwich Village
- Immigration
- LGBTQ
- Local Business
- Preservationists
- South Village
- Westbeth
Greenwich Village
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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Margot Gayle
Margot Gayle (1908-2008) led the grassroots effort to save the landmark Jefferson Market Courthouse building in Greenwich Village and transform it into a library. Gayle begins this interview by discussing … Continued
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Doris Diether
Doris Diether (1929-2021) was a long-serving member of Manhattan’s Community Board 2 and Greenwich Village preservationist. Diether helped found Save the Village, a campaign focused on reforming zoning and rent … Continued
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Ingrid Bernhard
Ingrid Bernhard and her husband, Sven, were Swedish nationals who met in New York and lived in a farmhouse on the Upper East Side sometimes known as “Cobble Court” or … Continued
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Albert Fabozzi
A painter and interior designer, Fabozzi grew up in Coney Island and lived in the West Village as a young adult. When he and his longtime partner moved to the … Continued
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James Stewart Polshek
James Stewart Polshek (February 11, 1930–September 9, 2022) has lived in Greenwich Village since 1955, and his career as an architect has included buildings across the globe. His work in … Continued
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