Village Preservation (GVSHP) is a membership-based non-profit preserving Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo since 1980

New York, NY
OTD in 1975, #DavidBowie’s ‘Plastic Soul’ hit “Fame” is released. One of only two No.1 songs in the U.S. by the Thin White Duke, it presaged trends that swept thru popular music in the coming decades, and was recorded in #GreenwichVillage’s @ElectricLady: gvshp.org/blog/2017/07/25/ho…
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Join us to celebrate a plaque unveiling in honor of jazz great Charles Mingus, with speakers and performers who knew Mingus + his music well. Wed, May 31, 6:00pm — learn more and register here: villagepreservation.org/even…
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#HappyBirthday #BuddyHolly, b. this day in 1936. The rock and roll prodigy lived his final years and made his final recordings in #GreenwichVillage, a community he was drawn to for its vital music scene and broad-mindedness. More: villagepreservation.org/2018…
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Happy birthday to the Manhattan Street grid, born this day in 1811! We remain proudly #OffTheGrid, but tip our hat to this big day in NYC history. Find out more: gvshp.org/blog/2015/03/20/th…
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The Bea Arthur Residence for homeless LGBT youth, named for #GoldenGirl #BeaArthur, is GVSHP’s 2018 Regina Kellerman Award Village Awardee. Learn more about this incredible project & contextual renovation by the @CooperSq & @AliForneyCenter : gvshp.org/blog/2018/05/21/be…
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Help us preserve+protect all we love about #GreenwichVillage, the #EastVillage, and #NoHo — the irreplaceable architecture, history, independent businesses+small cultural institutions — support our mid-year appeal today at villagepreservation.org/dona…. More: us13.campaign-archive.com/?u…
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Don’t let @NYCMayor + @NYCHousing pull a fast one! Planned 388 Hudson St development’s affordable housing would be temporary, and would tower far above everything around it. We deserve better — PERMANENT affordable housing only, respectful scale + height: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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Today we remember the #TriangleShirtwaistFactoryFire, which killed 146 people OTD in 1911 in a now-landmarked bldg at 23-29 Wash Place. Recall the mostly young immigrant women victims, and the work done to change laws and prevent similar tragedies: gvshp.org/blog/2013/03/25/to…
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#OTD in 1909 a small 23 yr old worker from the #EastVillage takes the stage at @cooperunion and launches the Uprising of the 20,000, one of the most consequential strikes in NYC+American labor history. Learn how it all went down: villagepreservation.org/2017…
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Some great/scary new images from our friends at @MASNYC show what the city’s rezoning would do to #SoHo, #NoHo, #Chinatown — huge out of scale bldgs and landmarked historic bldgs demolished — and that’s just the #TipOfTheIceberg!: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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Do you want to see what any building in NYC looked like ca. 1940? The NYC Municipal Archives just released 720,000 digital images on their website for each property in all five boroughs. Learn more: gvshp.org/blog/2018/11/16/ne…
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Today’s a great day to explore+acknowledge the rich Native American legacy which undergirds our neighborhoods, which can still be seen today in (among other manifestations) some of our street patters. Learn more: villagepreservation.org/2011…
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OTD in 1868, #LittleWomen is published. #LouisaMayAlcott lived here @ 130 MacDougal while writing the book, which we got landmarked in 2013.
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Great op-Ed in today’s Daily News exposing the truth about the Mayor’s SoHo/NoHo Upzoning plan by seasoned BIPOC leaders of two of the state’s most venerable tenant advocacy groups who know what they’re taking about. “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing”: nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-o…
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It’s a great day to celebrate #GreenwichVillage — it was on this day in 1713 that the name “Greenwich Village” is first used in city records to identify the area. #FunFacts @GrnVillageNYC @WSPConservancy @thevillagernyc @GVCChamber @DeborahJGlick @NYCSpeakerCoJo @bradhoylman
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Happy birthday #JacksonPollock, born this day in 1912. Find out how and where the abstract expressionist pioneer made a name for himself in the Village: gvshp.org/blog/2016/01/28/ha…
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Study of @NYCMayor #SoHo/#NoHo upzoning plan shows it will make neighborhood richer, whiter, more expensive, produce only 1/5 projected affordable housing+destroy more than it creates, push out poorer people, +esp. hurt #Chinatown+#Asian/Chinese residents: mailchi.mp/gvshp.org/14fifth…
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On this day in 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the first woman doctor. She revolutionized health care for women and children, esp. on one block of East 7th Street: gvshp.org/blog/2011/12/29/wa… #womenshistory
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Emma Goldman, #anarchist, #feminist, #rabble-rouser, was arrested #onthisday in 1916 for distributing #birthcontrol information in Union Square - just one feather in her illustrious cap of arrests! Learn more: gvshp.org/blog/2019/02/11/em…
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#HappyBirthday to @VENIEROSdessert, opened on this day in 1894! We take a look back at this #EastVillage and #ItalianAmerican cornerstone, its history, family, and delicious pastries: villagepreservation.org/2020…
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OTD in 2008, demolition application filed for Jared Kushner to raze the 1910 Mezritch Synagogue @ 415 E 6th St, then #EastVillage’s last operating tenement synagogue. We+allies+congregants stopped the plan, got the bldg landmarked: gvshp.org/_gvshp/preservatio… gvshp.org/_gvshp/preservatio…
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This charming painting of Christopher Street from 1934 not only gives us a glimpse of the Village from a bygone time but it is also a piece of Depression-Era history that used to reside in the White House. Learn more: gvshp.org/blog/2018/06/21/gr…
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OTD in 1958, Villagers defeat Robert Moses, finally rid Wash Sq of cars. This is one of many images in our archive: archive.gvshp.org
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OTD in 1966, the iconic Flatiron Building is landmarked. To mark the occasion, we take a look at the many ‘little Flatirons’ formed by the acutely angled streets of Greenwich Village+the East Village: gvshp.org/blog/2015/09/21/th… @HDC_NYC @GrnVillageNYC @AstorPlaceNYC @EastVillageNY
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Pls RT: Help us to #SaveTheWhiteHorseTavern! We’re fighting for landmark designation of the iconic watering hole, stomping ground of #DylanThomas #JackKerouac #JamesBaldwin+#JaneJacobs. Help now: gvshp.org/_gvshp/preservatio… @nyclandmarks @HDC_NYC @NYLCstaff @MASNYC @TedGrunewald
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Great picture of the extension of Sixth Avenue below Carmine Street, taken 90 years ago today:
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OTD in 1911, the #TriangleShirtwaistFactoryFire occurs, killing 146 mostly young female immigrant workers from the Village, Lower East Side, and surroundings. The response changed labor, fire, & building laws+history forever. Learn more and remember: gvshp.org/blog/2013/03/25/to…
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This Sunday morning, explore the Greenwich Village buildings that inspired Edward Hopper’s “Early Sunday Morning,” “Nighthawks,” and “Drugstore,” & the critical relationship @whitneymuseum + @NY_StudioSchool had to his career, via our @6sqft piece: 6sqft.com/edward-hoppers-gre…
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We're excited to announce the launch of “Virtual Village," a new online interactive tool that allows you to journey back in time to explore & interact with the rich history #SouthofUnionSquare. Start your journey now: southofunionsq.villagepreser… #VillagePreservation #preserveNYC
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Happy birthday #JaneJacobs, born this day in 1916. We’re inspired by her work every day, and proud to endeavor to continue her legacy: gvshp.org/blog/2016/05/05/co…
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OTD in 1862, Edith Wharton is born. The writer immortalized the Gilded Age life of a certain kind of New Yorker who lived on Washington Square: gvshp.org/blog/2017/10/26/ho…
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OTD in 1811, the Manhattan street grid is adopted! Though our neighborhoods remain defined by often staying stubbornly #OffTheGrid, it was in #GreenwichVillage that this regularized street grid plan was formulated. More about this important milestone: gvshp.org/blog/2015/03/20/th…
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OTD in 1982 the landmark film #koyaanisqatsi premieres, undergirded by a stunning soundtrack by the #EastVillage’s @philipglass. Its message about #LifeOutOfBalance and the challenge of sustainability in our modern world seems more resonant than ever: gvshp.org/blog/2012/04/27/li…
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The City has consistently lied about + misrepresented the demographics of areas of SoHo, NoHo, & Chinatown they’re seeking to radically upzone & the impact rezoning would have — a demonstrably wealthier and more expensive neighborhood. Read our new paper: media.villagepreservation.or…
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OUTRAGE: City officials HID info showing nine landmarked 1840s houses at 14th & 9th didn’t need to be demolished, while giving in to deep-pocketed developer+their notorious #PayToPlay lobbyist. Join us to demand accountability: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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Happy birthday Jacob Riis, born this day in 1849. His image of “How the Other Half Lives” profoundly changed the way we saw and governed our city: gvshp.org/blog/2017/05/03/ha…
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Today we remember our first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice on #September11 . Our neighborhood firehouses suffered particularly heavy losses, including on which incredibly was first organized on September 11, 1865. Read more: villagepreservation.org/2019…
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BREAKING NEWS!: Plan to Lift Limit on Size of Residential Development in NYC Is Rejected, Fails to Win Approval in State Budget! Read all about it: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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Join us this Thurs. 10/28 @ 1pm @ 14th St.+9th Ave. for demonstration against demolition of nine landmarked 1840s houses in the #MeatpackingDistrict! @nyclandmarks @NYC_Buildings & @NYCMayor have failed to show these bldgs can’t be saved. Info/how to help: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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BREAKING: City moves to landmark 1866 bldgs once home to #dekooning we fought to save from 300 ft tall tower plan!: gvshp.org/site/MessageViewer…
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Happy birthday to Hess Triangle, once the smallest piece of private property in NYC, and beloved symbol of Village iconoclasm and non-conformity. The plaque was installed OTD in 1922. Find out the incredible, twisting history: gvshp.org/blog/2015/09/25/he…
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Learn more about Sylvia Rivera, a trailblazing transgender activist and co-founder of America’s first homeless shelter for queer youth. villagepreservation.org/2021… #SylviaRivera #GreenwichVillage #TransHistory
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Hitchcock's Rear Window features a Village building as one of its stars! Do you know which one? Read about it here: gvshp.org/blog/2018/08/07/th…
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Hey @NYCPlanning, I thought you said we didn’t have to worry about demo of rent regulated aff hsng in soho/noho/Chinatown b/c the 2019 rent laws+other rules prevented it? Looks like the landlords know otherwise, just like we said: apartmentlawinsider.com/blog…; media.villagepreservation.or…
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Stand with us in opposing @GovKathyHochul’s plan that would allow supertalls and hyper-dense development throughout NYC — find out more + tell her and city & state officials to oppose: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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Around for nearly 80 years, Gem Spa has been facing some pretty big challenges lately. Like all small businesses we love, they need us to visit and shop with them. Read more on our blog today and learn about their latest egg cream and more: gvshp.org/blog/2019/07/09/ge…
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#HappyBirthday #JaneJacobs, b. this day in 1916. We take a look back at her life and work, and the historic buildings of the Far West Village she fought to preserve but did not live to see landmarked, but which we were able to protect and save: gvshp.org/blog/2016/05/05/co…
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OTD in 1870, NoHo resident Victoria Woodhull announces her historic candidacy as the first woman to run for the Presidency of the Unites States, 50 years before women even had the right to vote. Learn more about this radical trailblazer: gvshp.org/blog/2018/04/02/vi…
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OTD in 1924, Louis Sullivan dies penniless, buried by former student Frank Lloyd Wright. The father of modernism, coiner of ‘form follows function,’ + architect of Bleecker Street’s Bayard-Condict Building was celebrated, then shunned, before his death: gvshp.org/blog/2016/04/14/th…
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de Blasio's plan for #SoHo/#NoHo/#Chinatown businesses? Displace the small ones and the art galleries, and let the big corporate chains run amok. Learn more: villagepreservation.org/2021…
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ALERT!: @NYCCouncil poised to vote on #SoHo/#NoHo/#Chinatown upzoning+displacement plan TOMORROW as new financial analysis shows fatal flaws in affordable housing claims. Find out more, contact elected officials, & watch the video: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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Last night’s episode of #TheGildedAge @HBO featured a storyline w/Sarah Smith Garnet, the leading 19th c. black suffragist, educator, + abolitionist whose threatened home at 50 W. 13th St. we’re trying to save. Find out more re: the campaign + how to help: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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On this day in 1990, Nirvana played @ThePyramidClub as part of their Bleach club tour. See some images and hear the audio from that show today, and learn more about the club and the building’s history: gvshp.org/blog/2018/04/26/sm…
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#OTD in 1976, the very first #RockyHorrorPictureShow #MidnightShow at the Waverly Theater (now @IFCCenter) in #GreenwichVillage. Let’s do the time warp again and remember how it all went down: villagepreservation.org/2016…
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#DidYouKnow the #EastVillage once had its own thriving #LittleItaly on+near 1st Avenue, w/scores of cafes, restaurants, food shops, theaters, churches, and chapels? If you look closely, you can still see, and a few greats survive. Explore today, virtually: villagepreservation.org/2019…
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Great news: We beat the #StMarksPlace office tower #AirRights transfer plan, just voted down at City Council! Would have made ‘boutique’ office tower 20% larger than zoning allows. Thanks to all who helped: mailchi.mp/gvshp.org/village… @evccnyc @CooperSq @DeborahJGlick @bradhoylman
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Happy birthday #JaneJacobs! To celebrate, today in @6sqft we take a look at the sites in Greenwich Village which inspired her, and those she saved: 6sqft.com/jane-jacobs-nyc-th…
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This Sunday, actor, producer, philanthropist, author and former Villager Kirk Douglas will celebrate his 102nd birthday! He redefines the term lifetime achievement. Learn more: gvshp.org/blog/2018/12/07/ki…
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OTD in 1963, #JaneJacobs urges #NYC to landmark 10 critical #WestVillage sites, none of which were landmarked in her day. In the intervening years, we’ve gotten 9 of the 10 landmarked, and hundreds more. We continue Jane’s work today — find out more: villagepreservation.org/2016…
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#OTD in 1854, the Astor Library (now @PublicTheaterNY) opens on Lafayette Place (now Street). #NYC’s greatest library at the time, it was a private collection, which became one of the foundations of today’s @nypl. Find out how: villagepreservation.org/2020…
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7 yrs ago today, we launched our blog Off the Grid, promising to provide insights into the history, creativity+colorful characters of the Village, E. Village & NoHo. Nearly 2,000 posts+100s of thousands of views later, we think we’ve done it. Check it out: gvshp.org/blog/2011/02/25/we…
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Join us Tuesday am or send a letter NOW to save a piece of NYC history from the wrecking ball! Here’s how: gvshp.org/site/MessageViewer… Pls RT!
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Our new analysis shows #DeBlasio #SoHo #NoHo Upzoning plan unlikely to produce ANY affordable housing, is actually structured to be more profitable to build w/o #AffordableHousing than with. It’s a shameless giveaway to Mayor’s developer/donor friends: villagepreservation.org/wp-c…
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Learn what's progressive about de Blasio's plan for SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown? (spoiler alert: NOTHING) and the true progressive alternative: villagepreservation.org/2021…
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August is the centennial of the #19thAmendment. Start the celebration w/Sarah Smith Garnet, born #OTD in 1831, a trailabzing Black women's suffragist, 1st Black woman NYC school principal, and resident of #GreenwichVillage. Here’s her remarkable story: villagepreservation.org/2020…
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Did you know that the first freed black settlement in all of North America was located in the Village in the 1600’s? Get the whole story: gvshp.org/blog/2018/02/16/no…
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Happy birthday F. Scott Fitzgerald, born today in 1896. Found scandal, celebration, and much alcohol in the Village: gvshp.org/blog/2013/09/24/ha…
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Happy #Pride Weekend! Just in time, we’re releasing this new historic image archive collection of 100+ images of the downtown drag performance scene of the #90s, ft. iconic performers+venues like Boy Bar, @ThePyramidClub, #Wigstock, + Gay Pride Festival: villagepreservation.org/ia_c…
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On this day in 1961, Bob Dylan arrives in NYC for the first time, and heads straight to Greenwich Village, in the hopes of meeting his folk idols and making it as a musician. Check out all the spots he hit on GVSHP's Bob Dylan map: google.com/maps/@40.732027,-…
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Today is Day of the Basque Country! Did you know that 82 Bank Street was once a major hub for the Basque community in NYC? Read more: gvshp.org/blog/2018/10/25/ba…
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Happy birthday, #DavidBowie who would have turned 71 today. We miss the Thin White Duke, and today remember one of our favorite songs of his, and his many connections to the Village: gvshp.org/blog/2015/07/24/da…
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Happy birthday Edna St. Vincent Millay, born this day in 1892. The #feminist icon and #PulitzerPrize-winning poet left quite a mark on the Village, from which her middle name was derived: gvshp.org/blog/2015/10/19/re…
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Ten years ago today, this #EastVillage concert hall and former public bathhouse, home for girls, and synagogue were landmarked, four of 1,250 buildings GVSHP fought to have landmarked.
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OTD in 1987 we lost James Baldwin. His voice is probably needed now more than ever. Today we remember his life, his Greenwich Village home, and how he loved to dance: bit.ly/2zVMok0
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@ThePyramidClub set in motion the contemporary drag movement, molding drag superstars like @LADYBUNNY77 and @RuPaul . The club gave birth to the iconic drag festival Wigstock, which liberated drag from gritty nightclubs into broad daylight. gvshp.org/blog/2019/07/25/th…
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Tenants in the Crosshairs (Part 1)! Read about the SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Plan victims Mayor de Blasio wants you to ignore, and why the rezoning will harm them and hundreds like them: villagepreservation.org/wp-a…
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For those who are keeping close to home, Three Lives & Company bookshop now offers free delivery in the West Village. Call 212-741-2069 or info@threelives.com. If you're venturing out, Three Lives will do sale outside the shop at 154 W 10th. #shoplocalnyc
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Read our op-ed in @nytimes re fight to get @nyclandmarks to save these 1866 bldgs, former home of #deKooning nytimes.com/2017/08/02/opini… Pls RT
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#OTD in 1884, the former German Dispensary at 137 2nd Av. in the #EastVillage is dedicated. This great philanthropic endeavor, geared towards assisting the enormous German immigrant community of the time, is now a NYC landmark. More on its history: buildingblocks.villagepreser…
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OTD in 1856, architect Louis Sullivan is born. The “father of the skyscraper” and coiner of the phrase “form follows function,” he was also designer of the Bayard-Condict Building on Bleecker St. Today we look at that masterpiece, his life, and career: gvshp.org/blog/2016/04/14/th…
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#OTD in 1809, dark poet #EdgarAllanPoe is born. He spent much of his life writing in #GreenwichVillage, influencing and being influenced by the neighborhood around him. We look back on where and how: villagepreservation.org/2012…
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On this day in 2004, we win landmark designation of these three two hundred year old houses on MacDougal Street just off Washington Square. Find out more about the incredible history behind these three charmers, and the successful fight to preserve them: gvshp.org/_gvshp/preservatio…
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OTD in 1976 #Ramones debut album is released, unleashing downtown punk upon the world and changing music forever. gvshp.org/blog/2017/04/23/ap…
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Read our new report analyzing the accuracy of city projections over 20 years of neighborhood rezonings. The upshot? A random coin toss would be a more accurate predictor. Critical to understand as the SoHo/NoHo/Chinatown Upzoning is under consideration: media.villagepreservation.or…
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OTD in 1789, George Washington is inaugurated in Lower Manhattan as the 1st U.S. president. The 100th anniversary of that event was memorialized with the creation of the Washington Sq Arch, which was only intended to be temporary. Get the full story: gvshp.org/blog/2014/09/11/lo…
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OTD in 1976, the Rocky Horror Midnight Show tradition begins at the Waverly Theater. Find out how it turned this obscure sleeper into an all-time cult classic, and the long history behind the theater, which was once a church: gvshp.org/blog/2016/04/01/ro…
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OTD in 1737, Thomas Paine is born. “The Father of the American Revolution” and a radical thinker on human rights and religion lived and died in Greenwich Village, where opinion of him rose and fell along with his reputation over the years. Read more: gvshp.org/blog/2017/12/19/th…
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We're continuing to fight to save #GreenwichVillage+the #EastVillage so. of Union Sq. from hi-rise tech office towers, hotels+condos replacing historic buildings. @NYCMayor's 14th St. Tech Hub, approved by @CarlinaRivera w/no neighborhood protections, is making situation worse.
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Honoring yesterday’s #BlackPoetryDay, we’re looking at the life and work of #AmiriBaraka, which were intertwined with the #GreenwichVillage and #EastVillage beat, poetry, and Black Arts movements in the mid 20th c.: villagepreservation.org/2021…
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#OTD in 1930 playwright, #civilrights activist, and #NinaSimone song inspiration Lorraine Hansberry is born. The first black woman to have a play produced on Broadway, she lived and wrote in #GreenwichVillage, her home for most of her adult life: gvshp.org/blog/2015/05/19/ha…
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#OTD in 1962, New Yorkers incl. #GreenwichVillage’s #JaneJacobs protest the planned demolition of the old #PennsylvaniaStation. History has proven them correct, but we’re still learning the error of our ways. More on the protest+its reverberations today: villagepreservation.org/2012…
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This “Cathedral of Cinema” in a formerly abandoned courthouse is one of our 2018 Village Awardees: gvshp.org/blog/2018/05/07/an… @AnthologyFilm @_FABnyc @EastVillageNY
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Did you know the world’s first elevated train line, and its first streetcar line, both originated in the Village? Find out the fascinating story via our new piece in @6sqft: 6sqft.com/nycs-first-elevate… @transalt @PPS_Placemaking @MuseumofCityNY @NYTransitMuseum
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After a 10 yr campaign, @JULIUSBARNYC is now landmarked! TY to all who helped make this a possibility, and stuck w/us for over a decade! Now let’s continue the fight to ensure more #LGBTQ, #CivilRights, and underrepresented histories are honored+preserved: villagepreservation.org/camp…
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Irony alert: The #Moxyhotel 4 #millennials on E.11th St. for which 5 landmark-eligible 19th c tenements w/ 100 residential units were demolished is marketing with image of kinds of buildings they knocked down! & #JaneJacobs ?? Read more about our fight: gvshp.org/blog/2017/08/22/ra…
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On this day in 1961, #BobDylan plays his first real NYC gig, opening for John Lee Hooker at the legendary Gerde’s Folk City. Get the backstory: gvshp.org/blog/2017/04/11/bo…
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Happy birthday #AndyWarhol, born this day in 1928. Find out some of the spots in our neighborhood where the pop art icon left his mark and made his art: gvshp.org/blog/2013/08/06/ha…
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