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Tag: Robert Moses

Edith Lyons’ Oral History: Protecting the “Jewel” of Greenwich Village

Our oral history collection contains many incredibly compelling stories about our neighborhoods’ histories, told from a first-person perspective by those who were in the center of the action. Perhaps no one was more central to one of the most epochal battles in our neighborhood — the David vs. Goliath fight to prevent a highway from […]

    Doris Diether Oral History: Activist and Zoning Maven

    Occasionally referred to as the “Grand Dame of Washington Square Park,” Doris Diether (January 10, 1929 — September 16, 2021) was a critical figure in the early preservation battles of Greenwich Village. Doris was a dedicated member and the eventual head of the Zoning Committee for Community Board 2. Additionally, she was an early member […]

    Leticia Kent Oral History: Revisiting Her Unique Window on History

    On October 8, 1997, we sat down with esteemed freelance journalist and long-time Villager Leticia Kent, for our very first, of what are now, scores of oral histories with great preservationists, artists, activists, and community and business leaders of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. Village Preservation staff and trustees sat down with Kent […]

    Woman Crush Wednesday: Jane Jacobs

    Who says you can’t fight City Hall? During these particularly troubling and divided political times, it is rewarding and inspiring to look to Jane Jacobs for encouragement. Jane redefined urban planning in the 20th century, and is one of the trailblazers highlighted in Village Preservation’s outdoor interactive exhibition, VILLAGE VOICES. Jane Jacobs caused people to […]

    Can East River Park’s Historic Buildings Be Saved?

    John V. Lindsay East River Park is a 57+ acre park that stretches along the East River waterfront from Montgomery Street north to East 12th Street. With the pending closure and rebuilding of the park, several historic structures in the park face likely demolition. Two extant Art Deco gems were constructed in 1938 in advance […]

    Historic Photo Mysteries from a Newly Donated Collection (and a reminder of what’s at stake with the SoHo/NoHo upzoning proposal)

    Village Preservation recently shared an incredible new addition to our historic image archive of donated photos of cast-iron New York City landmarks, some destroyed during the late 60s, others threatened but saved, the last time that SoHo and Tribeca faced a threat of widespread demolition. At the time, historic cast-iron buildings were being razed to […]

      O Pioneers! Two Remarkable Women of Bank Street: Willa Cather and Lucy Sprague Mitchell

      Women’s History Month gives us yet another opportunity to celebrate the marvelous and groundbreaking women who have lived and worked in our neighborhoods.  Today we look at two pioneering women who lived and worked on Bank Street: Willa Cather and Lucy Sprague Mitchell. Bank Street Many of our streets are beloved by their residents and […]

      Eight Abandoned East Village Buildings’ Second Acts As Beacons of Culture

      In the second half of the twentieth century, particularly during the city’s fiscal crisis of the 1970s, the East Village experienced high rates of crime and drug use, and a number of its buildings were abandoned by private property owners and the city government. During this period, cultural and arts organizations began to repopulate these […]

        The East River Park’s Past and Future

        In the 1930s, today’s East Village and Lower East Side, long the country’s most crowded and notorious slum, was being dramatically transformed. The nation’s first federally-subsidized public housing was being built. Immigration from Europe, once the neighborhood’s lifeblood, had been cut off by restrictive laws, though new laws granting citizenship to residents of Puerto Rico […]

          Tompkins Square Park Through the Years

          Over the years, Off the Grid has featured many posts about Tompkins Square Park, including The Young Lords Start in Tompkins Square Park, The Tompkins Square Park Riots of 1988, and Get your Fruit, Veggies, and Milk in Tompkins Square Park. We even had a quiz to test your knowledge of the park and the […]

          The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a Visual Ode to the Village

          My favorite series in the past MANY years is The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel written by the amazing Amy Sherman-Palladino.  Not only is her rapid-fire dialogue and direction a joy to watch and listen to, but the actors who have been cast in the show are sublimely well-suited for their roles.  Then, of course, there are […]

            Mid-Century Modernism on East 9th

            One of my favorite two-block sections in Greenwich Village may be an unlikely one – East 9th Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue. It’s not the oldest strip in the neighborhood, or the one with the best shops. In fact, it’s home to a rather uniform group of mid-century apartment houses, with almost no ground-floor […]

            From South Village to South Bronx, the Legacy of Jane Jacobs

            In 1955 the Committee to Save Washington Square Park was distributing flyers to alert the public about a proposal to drive a four-lane road through the center of the park.  One neighborhood  resident, then  a writer with Architectural Forum, read it, and got involved. Tomorrow May 4th is the centenary of Jane Jacobs birth.  We […]

            From Parking Lot to Car Free Washington Square Park

            Today is Earth Day, first celebrated in NYC in 1970, and you may notice some of the streets around the city harkening to a quieter era.  Legislation passed in the City Council and supported by local Council Members Corey Johnson, Rosie Mendez and Margaret Chin, also make today Car Free NYC day. Three areas around the city were selected for this […]

            Oral History: Claire Tankel

            GVSHP is excited to share our oral history collection with the public, and hope they will shed more light on what makes Greenwich Village and the East Village such unique and vibrant areas. Each of these histories highlights the experiences and insights of long-time residents, usually active in the arts, culture, preservation, business, or civic life of […]

            12 years ago: Support for designation of the Silver Towers Complex

            12 years ago tomorrow, our colleagues at the Municipal Arts Society sent a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission supporting our request for landmark designation of the Silver Towers/ University Village site. This superblock, located between Houston Street and Bleecker Street, LaGuardia Place and Mercer Street, contains three buildings designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, constructed between 1964 […]

            Happy Birthday, Shirley Hayes

            Shirley Hayes is a pioneering figure in the preservation of the Village and the fight against Robert Moses’ planned Lower Manhattan Expressway through Washington Square Park.  She was born on June 15, 1912 and would have been 103 today.  Back in the year 2000, GVSHP had the honor of interviewing Mrs. Hayes as part of […]

            Remembering Edith Lyons

            Eighteen years ago, GVSHP had the privilege of recording an oral history  interview with early preservationist, Edith Lyons, the co-founder of the Joint Emergency Committee to Close Washington Square Park to Traffic. Lyons and the JEC led a seven year battle against Robert Moses’ plan to extend Fifth Avenue through the park. Thanks to Lyons […]

            Oh How Our Houses Have Changed

            This October, GVSHP is presenting a course that explores historic preservation by examining changing styles of housing, changing housing laws, and urban renewal in the twentieth century. While the course was developed specifically for practicing real estate brokers, I was reminded while sitting in on a recent lecture how much these issues are relevant (and […]

            Fighting Westway

            In 2014 Village Preservation presented a program at the Community Room at Westbeth with author Prof. William W. Buzbee and his book, “Fighting Westway: Environmental Law, Citizen Activism, and the Regulatory War that Transformed New York City.”

            Early Village Preservation Efforts Preserved

            The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Archive and Oral History Project was begun in 1995, a project to document over sixty-five years of grassroots advocacy to “Save the Village.” The collection contains oral history interviews, clippings, and photographs that illuminate this preservation history. Today we’ll be spotlighting the oral history interview of Edith […]

            Life, Out of Balance and On Film

            On April 28th, 1982, the landmark film Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of  Balance had its world premiere. A stunning, wordless, 86 minute visual collage featuring images of natural beauty, urban decay and renewal, pollution, nuclear proliferation, and the abstraction,  alienation, and wonder of modern life, the film received critical acclaim and has demonstrated an enduring appeal […]

            Superblock Sleuthing

            “Superblock” is a term that we have been hearing more and more with the publication of the NYU 2031 Plan and its roadmap for massive additional development on two of the city’s most prominent and historic superblocks- Silver Towers and Washington Square Village.  The University is asking zoning and urban renewal deed restrictions to be […]