NYC — Blog — Preservation League of NYS

Bricks and Beliefs: Preservation of Tangible and Intangible Heritage in the Ukrainian Village in New York City

In this guest blog post, Preservation Consultant Andrew Roblee shines a light on a historic space providing much-needed social services to Ukrainian refugees in the East Village of Manhattan. The First Ukrainian Assembly of God has called its 1867 Second Empire building home since 1937. In recent years, the building’s exterior has suffered from deferred maintenance that the congregation is committed to addressing. But while they tackle their preservation projects, they are also proving essential services and a community gathering place to both longtime congregants and recent refugees who have fled Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Voices of PreservationAndrew RobleeJanuary 11, 2024NYC, Sacred Sites

Documenting the Architecture South of Union Square

As part of our Seven to Save artist interventions, the League commissioned photographer Dylan Chandler to document some of the incredible architecture you will find in the neighborhood South of Union Square. This project was commissioned by the Preservation League of NYS in partnership with Village Preservation thanks to a Capacity & Regrowth grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. Through that grant, the League is using art to draw attention to its 2022-2023 Seven to Save endangered historic sites across the state.

COMING SOON: THE KEEPERS

The Keepers is a performance art intervention created by longtime NYC cultural provocateur, Ed Woodham – scheduled for Friday, September 22 in three different locations around the Penn Station neighborhood (The Church of St. John the Baptist, Gimbel’s Skybridge, and the demolished Hotel Pennsylvania). The Keepers September activation has been commissioned by the Preservation League of NYS as part of a New York State Council on the Arts-funded project drawing attention to the League’s Seven to Save endangered historic sites across the state through artistic interventions. The Penn Station Neighborhood, which is threatened with needless and large-scale demolition, was identified as a Seven to Save in 2022. This project is organized in partnership with the Empire Station Coalition.

Pillar Spotlight: Valerie Jo Bradley

Valerie Jo Bradley is co-founder and President of Save Harlem Now! – an award-winning nonprofit advocacy organization formed to preserve historic buildings and landscapes reflecting important African American history from the late 19th and early 20th century. She is also a 2023 Pillar of New York.

People Saving PlacesPLNYS StaffMarch 1, 2023Pillar Gala, NYC

The League Joins Colleagues in Support of Legal Action Against NYS's Penn Station Plans

The Preservation League of New York State, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the New York Landmarks Conservancy filed an amicus brief on Tuesday, February 21, 2023, supporting a lawsuit challenging New York State’s proposed demolition of several blocks around Penn Station.

Preservation in ActionPLNYS StaffFebruary 22, 20232022-2023 STS, Penn Neighborhood, NYC

The Absence of Orpheus and Apollo at Lincoln Center

A recent Hudson Review article draws attention to the unfortunate removal of Richard Lippold’s iconic site-specific sculpture Orpheus and Apollo from the New York Philharmonic’s David Geffen Hall. Working with our colleagues at Landmark West!, the League included Orpheus and Apollo on our 2020-2021 Seven to Save list.

Press CoverageKaty PeaceFebruary 9, 20232020-2021 STS, Richard Lippold, NYC

Excellence Award Spotlight: Church of St. Luke & St. Matthew Exterior Restoration

“We are very grateful to receive this award from the Preservation League of New York State in recognition of an exceptional team effort to initiate this project and bring it to completion,” said Rev. Andrew Durbidge, Rector of St Luke & St Matthew. “This parish church has existed on this site since 1841. The building represents the hard work and faithful contributions of many parishioners over these many years. It is a magnificent building and a tribute to past parishioners’ faithfulness in God. We carry on their legacy in caring for this landmark in Clinton Hill, to benefit future parishioners and the local community.”

Excellence AwardsKaty PeaceNovember 8, 20222022 Excellence Awards, NYC, Sacred Sites

A Look at the History of the Penn Station Neighborhood

The proposed Pennsylvania Station Civic and Land Use Project (the "Penn Area Plan") would demolish multiple blocks of historic buildings in New York City in the vicinity of Pennsylvania Station while displacing thousands of residents and businesses. The devastating plan put forward by New York State's Empire State Development Corporation is an eerie echo of the loss of the original Pennsylvania Station, coming as it does 60 years after the famous 1962 sidewalk picket by the Action Group for Better Architecture in New York (AGBANY), which included Jane Jacobs and a host of notable architects and preservationists fighting to prevent the demise of that great train station.

Seven to SaveEmpire Station CoalitionJuly 11, 20222022-2023 STS, NYC, Penn Neighborhood

Seven to Save: Did It Work?

The 2022-2023 inclusion of the Proposed South of Union Square Historic District on the League’s Seven to Save list marks the third time the League has worked with our colleagues at Village Preservation through the STS program. First in 2002 with the Gansevoort Market District and then in 2012 with South Village, the League’s support helped turn the tide for both in securing their much-deserved landmark designations.

Seven to Save Spotlight: Penn Station Neighborhood

The Penn Station Neighborhood has been named one of this year’s Seven to Save. The proposed redevelopment of Penn Station and the surrounding area has been met with intense criticism since it was first put forward in 2020. Despite revisions, the Plan still presents major issues — most notably the human impact of displacing thousands of residents and business owners and the environmental impact of needlessly demolishing buildings that could be retrofitted and put back to active use.

Seven to SaveKaty PeaceMay 16, 2022NYC, 2022-2023 STS, climate change

Seven to Save Spotlight: Proposed South of Union Square Historic District

The proposed South of Union Square Historic District is one of this year’s Seven to Save. This neighborhood in Manhattan boasts a wide variety of of building types, many of which have ties to important social and cultural movements. Our colleagues at Village Preservation have been pushing for landmark designation and zoning protections to preserve the area’s historic character, limit out-of-scale construction, and prevent needless demolition.

Seven to Save, Preservation ColleaguesKaty PeaceMay 16, 20222022-2023 STS, historic district, NYC

Excellence Award Spotlight: Central Presbyterian Church

What began as a triage approach to repairs ultimately became a comprehensive restoration effort.

Excellence AwardsKaty PeaceNovember 17, 20212021 Excellence Awards, NYC, Houses of Worship

Excellence Award Spotlight: Green-Wood's Historic Chapel

"Preservation is central to everything we do at Green-Wood, whether it's caring for the 478 acres of our living environment or ensuring the structures that mark the landscape are well maintained,” said Eric Barna, Green-Wood's Vice President of Operations.

Excellence Awards, Burial GroundsKaty PeaceNovember 17, 20212021 Excellence Awards, NYC

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Celebrating 50 years // 1974-2024