Village Preservation - Greenwich Village Society For Historic Preservation

09/09/2026

In 1957, Leonard Cohen heard Jack Kerouac at the Village Vanguard. On November 29, 1974, he performed at the Bottom Line at 15 West 4th Street. Between those rooms is a story of poetry, friendship, and the courage it takes to be heard.

Explore Cohen’s connections to Greenwich Village and the East Village, through the dates, addresses, and encounters that bring his story close.

Read our latest blog:
https://villagepreservation.org/2026/09/09/leonard-cohen-and-the-village-rooms-that-held-his-voice/

09/09/2026

On this day in 2003, the Gansevoort Market Historic District is designated, applying landmark regulations to much of the Meatpacking District. Village Preservation proposed and led the campaign for designation of this district, which was an unconventional effort to preserve an unconventional place. Twenty three years later, the effort continues, but had it not been for the successful landmarking campign there’s no denying that virtually every building in that neighborhood would have been obliterated.

Find out more about how it came about and the many successes which followed:

On September 9, 2003, the Gansevoort Market Historic District was officially designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The designation not only culminated a three-year effort…

09/08/2026

We need you there Wednesday night!

The Parks Department says that it plans to demolish the beloved and landmarked Center because it wants to move all its facilities to a new, as-yet unbuilt structure at 388 Hudson Street, rather than keeping facilities at the historic building and adding to them with the new one, as the public has long called for. The Parks Department is also saying demolition is necessary because it has diverted funding that was allocated for the repair and reopening of the Dapolito Center to the new facility, Dapolito’s demolition, and other work in the area. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!

Community Board 2’s Parks Committee will be holding a public hearing this Wednesday, September 9 at 6:30 pm on the Parks Department’s plans for a new recreation center at 388 Hudson Street. It’s imperative that we show up to testify, demanding that the plans for 388 Hudson Street include keeping or locating recreational facilities at a repaired and reopened Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, and that money allocated for the repair of the Tony Dapolito Center continue to be used for that purpose ONLY.

Go to https://villagepreservation.org/campaign-update/join-us-wednesday-at-630-pm-to-demand-preservation-of-the-landmarked-tony-dapolito-recreation-center/ to register to attend and to send messages to city officials to preserve + reopen the Dapolito Center.

09/08/2026

Today we take a look at the new buildings approved for construction in NoHo’s historic districts — the good, the bad, and the ugly: https://villagepreservation.org/2026/09/08/the-continuing-evolution-of-lafayette-street-in-the-noho-historic-district/

09/07/2026

Happy Labor Day from all of us at Village Preservation!

Our neighborhoods are incredibly rich in labor history, and had a huge impact on shaping laws, movements, leaders, and reforms connected to working people in this country.

We’ve got two great tours you can explore to learn more about the amazing labor landmarks that survive to this day all around us. Check them out at https://villagepreservation.org/campaign-update/honor-labor-day-by-exploring-local-landmarks/

09/06/2026

The city’s plan to demolish the landmarked Tony Dapolito Recreation Center not only threatens to erase this beloved community cornerstone. It threatens landmark protections everywhere in our neighborhood and our city, by arguing that landmarkark designations are essentially optional, and if you claim that it’s more convenient to demolish a building, you should be allowed to. The same designation that protects and preserves Washington Square Arch, Jefferson market Library, and all of the 19th century row houses of Greenwich Village protects the Tony Dapolito recreation center, which the Park’s department is arguing should not prevent them from demolishing it

Read more, send messages to the Mayor demanding Preservation of the Center, and join us at the Public hearing on Wednesday, September 9 at 6:30 PM: 

https://villagepreservation.org/2026/09/06/dapolito-demolition-plans-threaten-landmark-protections-throughout-the-neighborhood-and-city/

09/04/2026

For more than half a century, a giant cube has stood at the corner of Broadway and Cedar Street in Lower Manhattan. Created by Greenwich Village resident Isamu Noguchi, “Red Cube” became one of Lower Manhattan’s most recognizable landmarks following its installation in 1968. As shown in our latest StoryMap, after September 11, 2001, the sculpture acquired an additional and deeply resonant place in the city’s history. Explore the story of “Red Cube,” its creator’s remarkable legacy, and how one of New York’s most distinctive works of public art came to embody different meanings before and after 9/11: https://villagepreservation.org/2026/09/04/noguchi-9-11-and-the-survival-of-red-cube/

09/04/2026

Rally to Save Most Holy Redeemer Church, 8/31/26 — Juan Rivero, Village Preservation East Village Director

Most Holy Redeemer Church at 173 East 3rd Street has stood in the East Village for more than 175 years.

Founded in 1844 by German-speaking Redemptorist missionaries and completed in 1851, the church became known as the “German Cathedral of the Lower East Side.” Once one of New York City’s tallest structures, it helped shape the neighborhood once called Kleindeutschland and influenced the use of Gregorian chant, electricity in religious buildings, and fire-safety practices across the city.

Now, with Masses halted, the church’s future remains uncertain. Village Preservation is joining fellow preservation organizations and parishioners to fight for its protection. Its history is already written. Its future is not.

Learn more and find out how you can get involved:
https://villagepreservation.org/mostholy

09/03/2026

As students head back to the classroom, we’re taking a look at the history of Grace Church School, from its beginnings as a choir boarding school in the 19th century to the school it is today. Discover how Grace Church and its surrounding Gothic Revival buildings helped shape their neighborhood for well over a century: https://villagepreservation.org/2026/09/03/back-to-school-at-grace-church/

09/03/2026

Village Preservation is fortunate to have within our Historic Image Archive one of the largest crowdsourced collections of photographs connected to the World Trade Center, the September 11th attacks, and the 9/11 aftermath and recovery, especially as experienced in and by residents of our neighborhoods. Initially developed in response to a call in 2021 to share images to mark the 20th anniversary of the attacks, our collection has grown to over 800 pictures from dozens of sources. It includes images of the original World Trade Center throughout the years, largely from the perspective of our neighborhoods; of the attacks and the destruction of the towers, as captured from our streets and rooftops; and finally, of the sadness, anger, memorials, and resilience and recovery on full display in our communities in the days, weeks, and years that followed.

As we approach 25 years since 9/11, we’ve created a new StoryMap that allows you to explore all these images, generously donated by members of the public, and to learn the stories behind them. Each shares a poignant perspective on our relationships to the original towers and complex; to the destruction as it unfolded a quarter century ago; and to the response and recovery rooted in our neighborhoods.

Explore and reflect: https://arcg.is/19rXzr1