Lower East Side Preservation Initiative

The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral on Mulberry Street is holding a concert June 11 to celebrate the return of its 1868 Henry Erben pipe organ, and unveil the stunning, exuberant Victorian facade for the first time.

Here’s a link to tickets:
https://givebutter.com/the-unveiling-pt5m3x

This promises to be a very special event!

Pipes of Splendor: Unveiling Join the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral for an extraordinary evening celebrating the unveiling of the restored 1868 Erben Organ, featuring a historic concert, special guests, and a private reception in the heart of SoHo.

LESPI is proud to cosponsor Village Preservation’s upcoming webinar “Still Unprotected: The Unrecognized LGBTQ+ Landmarks of Greenwich Village and the East Village” on Tuesday, June 16.

These neighborhoods are widely known centers of LGBTQ+ history, with critical sites like the Stonewall Inn recognized and protected by NYC landmark designation. But there’s an incredibly rich and oft-forgotten LGBTQ+ history in our neighborhoods that remains largely unrecognized and unprotected, in the crossroads where Greenwich Village meets the East Village, which we call “South of Union Square.” Learn more about these fascinating sites: for information and to register see https://www.villagepreservation.org/event/still-unprotected-the-unrecognized-lgbtq-landmarks-of-greenwich-village-and-the-east-village/.

LESPI’s tour last Saturday of the former Jarmulowsky Bank Building, now the Nine Orchard Hotel, was truly spectacular. LESPI Director Gagandeep Singh, who was the architect in charge of this landmarked building’s restoration and adaptive re-use, guided us through the hotel, providing us with fascinating information about the building’s history and the project’s many challenges and accomplishments. Following the tour we were treated to a delicious reception at a very long table in the hotel’s historic Swan Room, formerly the Jarmulowsky banking hall.

The restored building is magnificent, and we recommend that if you’re in the area you stop by to take a look for yourself.

LESPI's tour last Saturday of the former Jarmulowsky Bank Building, now the Nine Orchard Hotel, was truly spectacular. LESPI Director Gagandeep Singh, who was the architect in charge of this landmarked building's restoration and adaptive re-use, guided us through the hotel, providing us with fascinating information about the building's history and the project's many challenges and accomplishments. Following the tour we were treated to a delicious reception at a very long table in the hotel's historic Swan Room, formerly the Jarmulowsky banking hall.

The restored building is magnificent, and we recommend that if you're in the area you stop by to take a look for yourself.

Three out of five historic Manhattan synagogues called out in this article are within the Lower East Side (they’re beauts!)

These 5 NYC synagogues showcase the many worlds of Jewish New York Most Jewish Americans who travel on heritage trips tend to focus on visiting Israel or Eastern Europe. But what if you didn’t have to cross an ocean to

Lisette Model documented life in New
York City, especially the Lower East Side, in the middle decades of the 20th century.
Check out some of her excellent photographs here.

The midcentury street photographer who documented New Yorkers in all their raw, unfiltered humanity Lisette Model, born into an upper-class Jewish-Catholic family in Vienna in 1901, didn’t set out to be a photographer. As a young woman she moved to Paris and studied music with Modernist com…

What a great celebration we had Wednesday evening at the Church of St. Mary on Grand Street, when we raised a glass for the parish's 200th anniversary, as well as the church's landmark designation which happened just last month.
The event included a tour of the church by parishioner Charlie Schleck, Council Member Christopher Marte and Assemblymember Grace Lee presenting the church with official proclamations, and LESPI's Richard Moses giving a slideshow history of the church. Meanwhile the crowd noshed, sipped and chatted throughout the course of the evening. Excellent!

Closed since 1949, Katz’s Deli has just reopened The Ludlow Room, where lovers of pastrami and corned beef can eat in a restored space that transports diners back to the Lower East Side of the 1920s. Read more here.

Katz’s Deli Is Reopening a Historic Dining Room for the First Time Since 1949 (Exclusive) New York City’s famed Katz’s Delicatessen is reopening a historic room for the first time in decades. The iconic eatery announced on that it has restored “The Ludlow Room,” a dining room in the back of the restaurant that seats 68 people.

Join us tomorrow evening, Wednesday for a celebration at the Church of St. Mary on Grand Street, to mark the parish's 200th anniversary this month, as well as last month's landmarking of the church by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. For more info see: https://prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/EA/EA017/1/112771/W1FrGAKEfqh5r1BbCHAmXqR1dVHlPfx13XjJg2TcF3G_archive. With a tour of the church and a roster of esteemed speakers, this promises to be a fun event!

What a great day we had Sunday at the KKJ Greek Jewish Festival, gathering over 100 petition signatures for preservation of the Lower East Side, speaking with lots of passersby, and soaking up the music, culture and energy of this wonderful event!