2^nd Annual Heritage Festival

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Gallery opening for Paul Weissman, Photographer;
Lower East Side Walking Tours;
Jewelry + Vintage Tchotchkes Sale;
Meet the "Gals from the Hood"

Join us for a day of photography, touring, shopping and reminiscing with the Gals from the Hood - four women who grew up on the Lower East Side and have been friends for more than 50 years. We are pleased to have them be a sponsor and a big part of the festivities.

Once upon a time, Manhattan's Lower East Side was not home-to-the-hip; it was where turn-of-the-century European immigrants settled, crowded into tenements, speaking a Babel of languages, bringing their food, culture, religion with them and spawning generations of successful Americans. The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy invites you to glimpse their world at its 2nd Annual Heritage Festival. Admission is free, except as noted.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

11:30 AM - 2:30 PM: Gals from the 'hood Tchotchkes & Jewelry Benefit Sale!

Beginning at 11:30, we welcome the Gals from the 'Hood, women who grew up on the Lower East Side and have been friends for more than 50 years. Who are they? Marilyn Guss Altman is the daughter of the iconic Guss's Pickles, a Lower East Side institution. Carol Hordin's father ran a local Jewish deli. Carol Schneider Margolin's "tatte" (father) was the "knish man," selling the definitive New York street food from a cart. Hesta Fortgang will be displaying and selling mid-century vintage tchotchkes and her own line of era-inspired fashion jewelry (all proceeds benefit the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy).

11:30 AM and 1:00 PM: Bialystoker the Beautiful/Lower East Side Insider mini-tour

View the exterior of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, former home of the largest Russian-Jewish Orthodox congregation in the U.S.

Visit the beautiful Bialystoker Synagogue, the largest active orthodox congregation on the Lower East Side today.

Learn about Shtiebl Row and visit Congregation Beth Hachasidim De Polen, an original 19th century shtiebl (a one room prayer or study hall). We'll also discuss the significance of the Henry Street Settlement and Lower East Side mikvah.

1:30 PM: Gallery Opening featuring the photography of Paul Weissman (free)

"Before The Change": Intimate portraits of the Lower East Side from the 1970's

Veteran LESJC tour leader and 2nd generation Lower East Sider, Paul Weissman is an award-winning photographer, whose work chronicles the reality of the streets and its citizens during the 70's and 80's. While his photographs have artistic merit individually, when taken together, they become an important document; a record with a nod to the great Jacob Riis and a chronological explanation point to the work of Helen Levitt & Rebecca Lebkoff. His intimate images mark the passing of the old world immigrants prior to the gentrification in the neighborhood of the 1990s.

Mr. Weissman's photos have been displayed at: The New School for Social Research; Modern Age Gallery; Soho Photo Gallery & the Camera Club of New York. He was awarded the first place ribbon at the Brooklyn Heights Arts Exhibition, sponsored/judged by the Brooklyn Museum.

2:30 PM: "Crossing Delancey" Insider mini-tour

We pass by and talk about Congregation Chasam Sopher (1853), the oldest continually operating synagogue in New York City.

We'll be touring The Orensanz Foundation, a.k.a. Congregation Anshe Chesed, the oldest existing synagogue (1850) in NY, and the cozy, tenement style Stanton Street Shul (1923).

Enter Congregation B'nei Jacob Anshei Brzezan (AKA The Stanton Street Shul, 1923). One of only 2 remaining tenement style shuls left on the LES.

Check out Economy Candy, and revisit the world of the Ellis Islander.

Tenement Chic: Ornamentation and Architectural Walking Tour of the Lower East Side

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Garish gargoyles – Greek & Roman mythical beasts -- beautiful botanicals in terra cotta …. Why do these architectural sculptures adorn otherwise drab 19th century tenements?  Who were the anonymous artisans that created these treasures, and what motivated the building developers to employ them?

These and other topics will be engaged as you journey with urban historian Barry Feldman through the Lower East Side. Trace the development of the typical tenement – a mid-19th century windowless box- to  contemporary housing styles.   Explore a middle class area which pre-dates the Civil War, and learn how building ornamentation influenced  residential architecture in this ever evolving immigrant enclave.
Participants will receive a packet of primary sources documenting the sites visited.

Meeting Place: The LESJC Kling & Niman Family Visitor Center 400 Grand Street (between Clinton & Suffolk Streets)

A Distinctive Brooklyn Neighborhood Bus Tour: Greenpoint and Chasidic Williamsburg

Sunday, March 25, 2012

REGISTRATION REQUIRED BY MARCH 21

Join us for this unique bus and walking tour. You will have an opportunity to get in some pre-Passover shopping while in the Chasidic community of Williamsburg, where we will view schools, shuls, & more.

Visit Congregation Ahavas Israel, a.k.a. The Greenpoint Shul, sole survivor in a unique, residential landmark neighborhood. Time allotted for lunch & shopping.

Additional tour sites include: The Domino Sugar Factory - long shuttered, now undergoing conversion to high end condos; The Williamsburg Public Library, featured in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; the breakaway "Miracle Shul;" a Flaishgesheften & Refuah pharmacies, and the best Hungarian delicacies this side of the Atlantic!

Meeting Place: The LESJC Kling & Niman Family Visitor Center 400 Grand Street (between Clinton & Suffolk Streets)

Book Discussion: Travel in Time with Eric Ferrara, Author

Sunday, March 11, 2012

BOOK DISCUSSION AND SLIDE LECTURE
The Bowery: A History of Grit, Graft and Grandeur
(History Press 2011)

Originally a Lenape Indian trail, the Bowery has become one of the most notorious thoroughfares in America. It has experienced periods of popularity, poverty & Prosperity. It’s been home to bums, bohemians, criminals, artists; rich & poor alike. Once denigrated as New York’s "skid row". Explore over a thousand years of Bowery history and discover what made this under-appreciated thoroughfare so important to the cultural, political, and economic development of NYC.

Eric Ferrara, a fourth generation native New Yorker, is the Executive Director of The Lower East Side History Project, and the author of 2 other books. He is also a consultant for dozens of movie & TV projects, including HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, and the Warner Brothers upcoming film The Great Gatsby.

DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.

Delancey to Doughnuts: A Chanukah Walking Tour

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Join us for our last public tour of 2011!

The tour starts at the LESJC Kling and Niman Family Visitor Center with a look at the photo exhibit, "If You Live in New York..." On display through New Year's Eve we are proud to display the works of photojournalist Julian Voloj. In this show he captures the vibrancy of the Lower East Side.

From there we move on to the incomparable Kehila Kedosha Janina Synagogue and Museum presented by resident scholar and museum director, Marcia Haddad Ikolomopolis.

The last stop on our tour brings us to Congregation Bnai Jacob Anshe Brzezan (Stanton Street Shul) a site of old world warmth and tradition. Shul 'elder' and board member Elyssa Sampson will be on hand to share the dramatic history of this charming site.

Our program concludes with lighting the menorah, soufganiot (doughnuts) and coffee.

Jewish Harlem Walking Tour

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Join Marty Shore, urban historian, as he leads you through the sites of Jewish religious life in the remarkable urban settlement of Harlem, once the second largest Jewish community in the United States. In 1917, it was home to more than 175,000 Jews. Delight in the exteriors of grand synagogues that remind us of Harlem's Jewish past. Including the Ethiopian Hebrew Synagogue called "The Commandment Keepers."

You will walk by the former homes of Temple Israel of Harlem, Congregation Shaarei Zedek, The Oheb Zedek Synagogue-home to Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt in the 1910-1920's.

Lower East Side Arts and Architecture Festival

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Opening for Julian Voloj, Photographer;
Jewish Heritage Tours;
Jewelry + Vintage Tchotchkes Sale;
Meet the "Gals from the Hood"

Join us for a day of art, photography, touring, shopping and reminiscing with the Gals from the Hood. Gallery opening and tours throughout the day. Admission to gallery and talks are free - tours are $10 adults; $8 seniors; $6 students; children under 8 are free.

Visit our Special Events page for tour schedules and more information.

Distinctive Brooklyn Neighborhoods I: Greenpoint and Chassidic Williamsburg — Bus and Walking Tour

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Travel by bus over the Williamsburg Bridge to visit the Satmar Hasidic community of Williamsburg. Time will be allotted for shopping and lunch on the bustling streets of this unique neighborhood.

From Williamsburg ride to Greenpoint for a very special visit to the Greenpoint Shul, a charming survivor of a once thriving working-class Jewish community. Visit with synagogue leaders and hear about the resurgence of the Shul as an influx of Jewish families settles in the neighborhood.

Additional tour sites include: The Domino Sugar Factory - long shuttered, now undergoing conversion to high end condos; The Williamsburg Public Library, featured in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; the breakaway "Miracle Shul;" a Flaishgesheften & Refuah pharmacies, and the best Hungarian delicacies this side of the Atlantic!

On the return the tour will split. You can choose to take the bus back to the Visitor Center, or you can choose to join us for a guided tour across the famed Williamsburg bridge back to the Visitor Center.

We've Got Mazel!!! — presentation and panel discussion

April 10, 2011

A presentation exploring Mazalos, a sacred Jewish art form featuring zodiac symbols.

At the turn of the century, there were dozens of these paintings on the Lower East Side, today only two examples remain. A panel of experts will discuss the history and preservation of this endangered tradition.

This unique presentation explores Mazalot, a sacred Jewish art form featuring zodiac symbols. A panel of experts including conservator Beth Edelstein and urban historian Elyssa Sampson will discuss the history and preservation of Mazalot.

While few examples of Mazalot remain, two prime examples can be found on the Lower East Side: the Bialystoker Synagogue and Congregation B’nei Jacob & Anshei Brzezan (a.k.a. The Stanton Street Shul).

The zodiac tradition is discussed in the Talmud, and in the writings of Medieval Jewish scholars, including Nachmanides, and the 16th century Kabbalist Isaac Luria. Earliest examples are the floor mosaics of second to sixth century Roman synagogues in ancient Palestine. In Eastern Europe, the Jews revived the ancient tradition of depicting the zodiac by painting the motifs on the walls and ceilings of their wooden synagogues. The destruction unleashed by World War II resulted in the elimination of many of these synagogues or their conversion for general use.

This program will trace the history of this endangered 2,000 year old synagogue art tradition which made its way to the Lower East Side via immigrants from Galitzia, a region on the borders of modern-day Poland and Ukraine.

Ms. Beth Edelstein, Objects Conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art, received her degree in Art Conservation from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts. Ms. Elyssa Sampson, urban historian, LESJ Conservancy tour leader, and PH.D candidate in Urban Geography (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), will discuss the significance of the mazelot and the way in which they made their way to the Lower East Side via Galitzia.

SLIDESHOW: View our our related slideshow, Mazalot of the Lower East Side.

Twice Weekly Insider Public Walking Tours of the Lower East Side

June 17 - December 30, 2010 Thursdays: Crossing Delancy, 1:45 PM Sundays: Bialystoker the Beautiful, 11:45 AM

To accommodate tourists and visitors interested in experiencing the sacred sites and rich history of the Lower East Side, the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy (LESJC) is initiating a program of mini-tours that will begin on Thursday, June 17th, and continue through Friday, December 30, 2010.

Two insider walking tours are planned. The tour based on highlights of the LESJC's public tour "Crossing Delancey" and a mini-tour based on highlights of the LESJC's "Bialystoker the Beautiful" tour. Read more about the insider walking tours on our Public Tours page.

NOTE: Due to holidays there will be no Crossing Delancy tours on September 9th, 23rd and 30th, and November 25th. There will be no Bialystoker the Beautiful tour on July 4th.

Meeting Place: All public tours start at the Kling-Niman Visitor's Center of the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy, 400 Grand Street (between Clinton and Suffolk Streets) across from CitiBank.

Fees/Info: Adults: $12; seniors and students: $10. Children under 6 are free.

7^th Annual Noshing Tour Extravaganza

Sunday, December 26, 2010 SOLD OUT!

When does noshing (snacking in Yiddish) combine with visiting magnificent sacred sites on the Lower East Side?

On the annual Noshing Tour Extravaganza of the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy (LESJC). This unique tour and eclectic eating experience continues to be one of the most popular and eagerly awaited events presented by the Conservancy each year.

Join us as we visit and eat at unique historic sites. Start with Rugelach, and coffee then end with a sample of foods from a classic Eastern European kiddish of herring, arbis, potatonick, schnapps, dried fruit and halvah.

During the tour we will marvel at the stunning interior of the Angel Orensanz Cultural Foundation, the oldest surviving structure built as a synagogue in NYC. This building housed the former Congregation Anshe Chesed, the third Jewish Congregation founded in New York, and the second reform congregation.

Next we will soak in the surroundings at Congregation B’nai Jacob Anshei Brzezan (also known as The Stanton Street Shul), one of the few remaining tenement style synagogues left today.

Congregation Chasam Sopher, NYC’s oldest continuously operating active synagogue building will also be visited (exterior only) .

Crossing Delancey Walking Tour

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Enter sacred sites that reveal the Lower East Side of the early 20th century and how it has evolved to reflect today’s changing culture north of Delancey Street.

The remarkably restored Congregation Chasam Sopher, the oldest continually operating synagogue in New York City, will be included on your tour.

Marvel at the stunning interior of the Angel Orensanz Cultural Foundation (formerly Congregation Anshe Chesed), the oldest synagogue building in New York City, and one of Manhattan’s most popular event spaces.

Tour Congregation B’nei Jacob Anshe Brzezan (also known as the Stanton Street Shul) – one of the few remaining tenement-style synagogues on the Lower East Side. Learn about the renaissance taking place in this warm, old-world space.

When Harlem Was Jewish: Slide Lecture

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Enjoy a fascinating slide lecture on Harlem’s Jewish past delivered by Yeshiva University History Professor, Jeffrey S. Gurock, Ph.D., author of When Harlem Was Jewish: 1870-1930. In 1917, Harlem was home to more than 175,000 Jews.

A distinguished scholar of this remarkable era will discuss the historical forces that shaped Jewish Harlem.

Yiddish Theater Brunch: “The Big Bupkis” Performed by the New Yiddish Rep Company

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Join the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy (LESJC) for a unique Yiddish Theater Brunch program, "The Big Bupkis! A Complete Gentile's Guide to Yiddish Vaudeville." This irreverent performance will include comedy, magic, ukulele music, hypnotism, stories about Sophie Tucker, a Yiddish bullfight poem, and other theatrical rarities. For those who may have attended last year's Yiddish Theater Brunch and enjoyed Shane Bertram Baker's show, this will be a different and more elaborate performance.

There will be an ample, strictly kosher, dairy brunch served which includes bagels, bialys, spreads, dried fruit, coffee and pastries.

In the lead role will be Shane Bertram Baker, Yiddish vaudeville actor extraordinaire. A Kansas City native, he is acknowledged to be the first Gentile to perform Yiddish vaudeville. How he escaped life in a trailer park in rural Missouri to gain renown in New York's booming Yiddish vaudeville community is richly described and illustrated in this fascinating performance. Mr. Baker will be accompanied by the legendary Steve Sterner, New York's premiere silent film accompanist. Rimshots, bells, and whistles will be delivered by the remarkable klezmer drummer, Matt Temkin. Allen Lewis Rickman, who has extensive experience in Yiddish theater, co-conceived and directed "The Big Bupkis!" The show combines English and Yiddish, with English supertitles projected over the stage.

LESJC Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Centennial Events

Detail, History of the Needlecraft Industry (1938), by Ernest Fiene, High School of Fashion and Industry. A mural commissioned by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGW). New Deal Network.

SATURDAY, MARCH 26, 2011 A Lower East Side Shul Remembers

Rabbi Yuter and the Stanton Street Shul invite the public to services the weekend of the centennial and offer these words:

"We are a rather poor tenement synagogue whose Galitzianer congregation started in 1894. We are in an old building that is located at the heart of the Lower East Side, near where most of the Fire’s immigrant victims lived. We would like to incorporate into the Shabbes (Sabbath) services a commemoration for the victims and also have El Molei Rachamim (another memorial prayer recited only on special dates) chanted. We know of no others commemorating this yurtzeit (anniversary of death) in the traditional language of prayer."

Traditional food and drink will be served!

SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 2011 Triangle Factory Fire: A Walking Tour Through Time

Join GVSHP and the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy in a walking tour that will highlight some of the sites associated with the disaster by exploring the various ways in which the Fire, and the lives it claimed, have been memorialized over the past 100 years. Sites will include Cooper Union, the NYU Brown Building, and an East Village synagogue.

This event is free.

SUNDAY, MARCH 27, 2011 The Jewish Response to Tragedy: An Interactive Study Session

Join us for a presentation & study session with Rabbi Zvi David Romm, spiritual leader of the Bialystoker Synagogue, in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the Triangle Factory Fire.

Rabbi Romm, a professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University, will lead a study session (in English), to which all are welcome. Our program will explore how the horrendous loss of life in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire raised age-old questions about G-d's goodness and omnipotence. In this interactive workshop, Rabbi Romm will examine Jewish texts - both classic and modern - attempting to understand the spiritual strategies proposed by Jewish tradition for coping with disastrous loss.

Paul Weissman Portraits at Essex Street Market

Veteran LESJC tour leader and 2nd generation 'Lower East Sider' Paul Weissman is an award-winning photographer, whose work chronicles the reality of the streets and its citizens during the little-seen decades of the 70's and 80's. Fourteen of this series of one hundred portraits will be on display in the Essex Street Market (12 Essex Street, by Delancey ) through November 3rd.

While each of these photographs have artistic merit, taken together, they become an important document, a record with a bow to the great Jacob Riis and Helen Levitt, representing the people of the neighborhood prior to gentrification. Mr. Weissman thinks it entirely appropriate that the photos be displayed at Jeffrey's, a Lower East Side institution in its own right, as the "oldest original family owned butcher shop in NYC since 1920," currently operating out of the Essex Street Market.

Mr. Weissman's photos have been displayed at: The New School for Social Research; Modern Age Gallery; Soho Photo Gallery; Camera Club of New York (April 1978). He was awarded a second (1976) and first place ribbon (1977) at the Brooklyn Heights Arts and Crafts Exhibition sponsored and judged by the Brooklyn Museum.

Joyce Mendelsohn Book Launch at Angel Orensanz Foundation

September 23, 2009