Announcements
Take our “Lower East Side Landmarking Survey” and help LESPI prioritize our preservation advocacy work
When deciding what to landmark, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) looks not only at a building’s architecture and history, but at the amount of public support behind the designation.
In the past few years, LESPI has submitted 12 Requests for Evaluation for individual landmarks to the LPC, which so far has resulted in the landmarking of the Church of St. Mary on Grand Street. Although we’re extremely pleased about this designation, we’d very much like for the LPC to now move to landmark the remaining 11 buildings.
To expedite this, we need to gather more public support for these landmark designations. As a small not-for-profit organization with limited staffing, we must prioritize which buildings to campaign for next.
This is where you can help.
Please fill out our brief survey HERE, and let us know how you would rank these buildings in order of importance for landmarking, based on architecture, cultural history, perceived vulnerability to demolition, or other criteria you consider to be appropriate.
LESPI’s Outdoor Photography Exhibit and Celebration — “Brick and Stone: Landmarking our Lower East Side Heritage”
LESPI’s outdoor exhibit, “Brick and Stone: Landmarking our Lower East Side Heritage” showcases photographs and histories of some of the LES’s most remarkable historic buildings — all of which deserve to be landmarked. The exhibit just opened and already it’s been turning a lot of heads. Stop by Grand Street at the Church of St. Mary (east of Clinton St.) to check it out.
When: September 1 – October 31
Where: On Grand Street, east of Clinton Street, mounted on St. Mary’s and the Grand Street Guild’s fences.
Download a map and guide — in English and Spanish — so you can tour the exhibit’s historic buildings, below:
We want to thank the New York City Council and Councilmember Christopher Marte and Citizens Committee for New York City for their generous support; and the Grand Street Guild and Church of St. Mary for their invaluable assistance.
HDC’S “Honoring Hispanic Heritage” Online Panel Discussion: October 6
Join the Historic Districts Council and LESPI President Richard Moses on Tuesday, October 6, for a special online panel honoring Hispanic Heritage Month. Community representatives from Jackson Heights, Mott Haven, East Harlem, and the Lower East Side—neighborhoods previously featured in HDC’s Six to Celebrate program—will revisit their communities to highlight places and people tied to Hispanic heritage.
This conversation will uncover overlooked landmarks, cultural spaces, and community figures whose stories are essential to each neighborhood’s identity and cultural heritage.
When: Tuesday, October 6 at 6:00PM
Where: Online via Zoom (see below)
For more information and to register see HERE. We hope to see you!
LESPI’s Community Meeting: October 15
Join us for our October Community Meeting, when a panel of legacy restaurant owners will share their histories and the story behind their long-lasting success. The meeting will open with an introduction to LESPI’s new online historic mapping project, which documents these historic restaurants and other important Lower East Side sites. More details to follow.
When: Thursday October 15, 7:00-9:00PM
Where: St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, 131 East 10th Street
Tabling at the FAB Arts and Culture Open House: October 17
Stop by to meet LESPI volunteers and sign our petition for Lower East Side landmarking, check out our LESPI t-shirts, “Lens on the Lower East Side” photo essay books, peruse the many other LES organizations that will be attending the open street fair. See HERE for more information.
When: Saturday October 17, 12:00-4:00PM
Where: East 4th Street between the Bowery and Second Avenue.
Still celebrating: the landmarking of the Church of St. Mary on Grand Street last April!
On April 7 of this year, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Church of St. Mary on Grand Street an Individual Landmark. In May, LESPI and the church parishioners joined for a wonderful celebration of the designation as well as the parish’s 200th anniversary. You can read more about it HERE. And we’re still celebrating!
Get Involved
LESPI is dedicated to preserving the historic areas and buildings of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, including the East Village,
Lower East Side below Houston Street, Chinatown, Little Italy, and the Bowery.
93 Fourth Avenue #1223
New York, NY 10003
Email: info at lespi-nyc.org
Phone: 347-827-1846
