LESPI advocates for the preservation of the historic architecture and diverse culture of Manhattan’s Lower East Side, which includes the East Village, LES below Houston St., Chinatown Little Italy and the Bowery. LESPI's strategy includes documenting and mapping the Lower East Side's historic streetscapes, and rallying community residents, city officials and the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commissi
on to effect landmark designation. Without landmark designation the last remaining historic areas of the LES will be lost to demolition and insensitive development. The Lower East Side has tremendous architectural, historic and cultural importance to both the city and the country. During the 17th century it was the location of Peter Stuyvesant's farm, in the 19th century the East River waterfront was the center for NYC's shipping and trade, and from the 19th century through the present the area has served as a community for immigrants. The area has also been a prime source for avant garde art, literature and music, as well as progressive political thought. The neighborhood's national importance was recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation when in 2008 it listed the Lower East Side as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places - see: http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/northeast-region/lower-east-side.html. We must act quickly to preserve the Lower East Side or the physical evidence of its rich history will disappear - a huge loss for us and for future generations. LESPI is under the fiscal sponsorship of Fund for the City of New York.
