LESJC In The News
A Nosh And A Walk The American Jewish Committee offers a walking tour of the old neighborhood to more than 100 world diplomats. Rad the article in The Jewish Weekly. It was a feather in our cap to have been chosen to lead the touring and work out logistics and arracngements for the group.
Review of The Synagogues of New York's Lower East Side: A Retrospective and Contemporary View, Second Edition. Read the review online.
The stone faces that look at us from New York City buildings are called grotesques. On the Lower East Side, they form another layer in the city's immigrant history. Last Sunday, veteran tour guide Barry Feldman shared his affection for these urban ornamental curiosities in an architectural walking tour, "Tenement Chic," sponsored by the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy and beginning at its Visitor Center on Grand Street. Read more in the article about our tour in The Jewish Week.
Earlier this week, Kosher Today reported that real estate developer and broker Michael Bolla wanted "to open a kosher restaurant at 171 (East) Broadway," formerly the home of vegetarian-centric restaurant "Broadway East." Read more in the Lo-Down.
Landmark Synagogue Seeks Right to Demolish Itself. The leadership of Congregation Beth Hamedrash Hagadol says its structure has deteriorated beyond repair. Read the article on The Jewish Forward.
Against all odds (and urban demographics), a Greek-Jewish presence still clings to the Lower East Side. Read the article in the Jewish Week.
The Friends of the Bialystoker Home are happy to report two positive developments in their collective efforts to save this important historic building:
1. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has announced that it will establish a future date for a public hearing for the Bialystoker Home on Tuesday, December 11. (This will be a 5-10 minute event with no testimony.)
2. The Lo-Down (News from the Lower East Side) reports that a spokesperson for one of the high-priced P.R. firms hired by the Bialystoker Board, has stated that the Board is NOT opposed to landmark designation. For the full article, go to: www.thelodownny.com.
Although the Friends of the Bialystoker Home are encouraged by these actions, the group asks for everyone's continuing help to achieve landmark designation. The Friends of the Bialystoker Home will need a large turnout for the public hearing – date to be announced.
A wonderful article was posted in The Jewish Express about the architecture of the Bialystoker Home. Read it online, The Twelve Tribes At The Bialystoker Home
Bialystoker Home for the Aged may not make it into many tourist guides, but this Lower East Side art deco artifact holds an important link to New York's immigrant history. It was just born on the wrong side of the street, and because of that, it's an endangered structure. Read this terrific blog post in The Bowery Boys titled, Bialystoker Home, a remarkable Lower East Side treasure and home for assisted living--now in need of some assistance.
We are happy to share a review of Rebecca Kobrin's book: Jewish Bialystock and its Diaspora by Professor Jonathan Boyarin. Read the full review at the Friends of the Lower East Side website.
Laurie Tobias Cohen, Executive Director of the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy, was quoted in the New York Times in an article about our efforts to help landmark the historic Bialystoker Nursing Home. Read the full NY Times article Buildings Once Institutional, Now Exclusive.
08-30-2012 Reuse of Norfolk Street Synagogue
Rabbi Seeks Restoration & Reuse of Norfolk Street Synagogue - as posted in The Lo Down.
03-15-2012 The Twelve Tribes At The Bialystoker Home
A wonderful article was posted in The Jewish Express about the architecture of the Bialystoker Home. Read it online, The Twelve Tribes At The Bialystoker Home
02-22-2012 Bialystoker Apartment Building in The Bowery Boys Blog
Bialystoker Home for the Aged may not make it into many tourist guides, but this Lower East Side art deco artifact holds an important link to New York's immigrant history. It was just born on the wrong side of the street, and because of that, it's an endangered structure. Read this terrific blog post in The Bowery Boys titled, Bialystoker Home, a remarkable Lower East Side treasure and home for assisted living--now in need of some assistance.
We are happy to share a review of Rebecca Kobrin's book: Jewish Bialystock and its Diaspora by Professor Jonathan Boyarin. Read the full review at the Friends of the Lower East Side website.
01-19-2012 LESJC Exec Quoted in the NY Times
Laurie Tobias Cohen, Executive Director of the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy, was quoted in the New York Times in an article about our efforts to help landmark the historic Bialystoker Nursing Home. Read the full NY Times article Buildings Once Institutional, Now Exclusive.
12-30-2011 A Season of Firsts for the Jewish Conservancy
The Conservancy is featured in the Lower East Side Voice. "Despite the challenging economic climate, the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy (LESJC) has celebrated numerous special events and programs over the fall and winter." Read the full article, A Season of Firsts for the Jewish Conservancy.
The Lower East Side is featured in the CNN article The anti-Christmas travel plan side by side with other locals from temples in India to Las Vegas.
12-03-2011 Read Michael Pertain in DOROT
Read Michael Pertain's article in DOROT - The Journal of the Jewish Genealogical Society. In it Mr. Pertain describes the opening of the Visitor Center and how this idea became a reality.
11-03-2011 Julian Voloj Interview
Julian Voloj was interviewed about his new show at the LESJC Kling and Niman Family Visitor Center in the Jewish Art Salon. Read the article Julian Voloj and his Jewish New Yorkers.
08-03-2011 Fate Has Been Kind to Little Shul on Stanton Street
Read the article that appears in the Jewish Daily Forward about our beloved shul, the Stanton Street Shul. Learn about how the congregation survived all these years on the Lower East Side.
Full Article: Fate Has Been Kind to Little Shul on Stanton Street
05-06-2011 The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy Opens the Kling & Niman Family Visitor Center with a Ribbon Cutting Cerimony
NEW YORK, May 6, 2011 -- Celebrating the vibrancy of the Jewish community's heritage from the 19th century to the present, the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy today announced the opening of the Kling & Niman Family Visitor Center.
Tickets for walking tours are purchased in advance at www.nycjewishtours.org. or by visiting the Center at 400 Grand Street (between Suffolk and Clinton). Tickets for 90 minute walking tours are $10 Seniors and Students, $12.00 Adults. Please check the website or call the LESJC for walking tour schedule/itinerary. Customized private group tours are available by special arrangement. Further information is available by calling (212) 374-4100/1.
The Hours for the Visitor Center are:
Sunday: 12 noon to 5 PM
Monday: Open only for pre-arranged private tours
Tuesday - Thursday: 12 noon to 5:30 PM
Friday 11:30 AM to 2 PM (Starting in July we will be open until 3 PM)
Saturday: Closed
Key to Image Above:
- Michael Pertain, principal donor
- Daniel Squadron, New York State Senator
- Sheldon Silver, New York State Speaker of the Assembly
- Scott M. Stringer, Borough President of Manhattan
- Sheldon Silver, New York State Speaker of the Assembly
- Joel Kaplan, Executive Director of the United Jewish Council of the East Side, and LESJC board president
- Sheldon Silver, New York State Speaker of the Assembly
- Scott M. Stringer, Borough President of Manhattan
- Daniel Squadron, New York State Senator
- Rabbi Zvi David Romm, rabbi of the historic Bialystoker Synagogue
- Laurie Tobias Cohen, Executive Director of the LESJC
- Joel Kaplan, Executive Director of the United Jewish Council of the East Side, and LESJC board president
- Harris M. Nagler, MD, President of Beth Israel Medical Center
- Margaret Chin, City Councilwoman
- Rabbi Zvi David Romm, affixing a mezuzah to the new Visitor Center
- Michael Pertain, principal donor
- Joseph Cunnin, Project Director of the LESJC
- Daniel Squadron, New York State Senator
- Joyce Mendelsohn, educator, historian and author
04-08-2011 Triangle Shirtwaist Victims Receive Long Overdue Headstones.
In commemoration of the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire - there was a public unveiling of a new memorial headstone to commemorate six previously 'unknown' victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. The new headstone stands adjacent to the original memorial created in 1912 by Evelyn Beatrice Longman (which can be glimpsed on the right side of the photograph below.) Now all 146 victims can truly rest in peace.
Seven unidentified people were originally buried here on April 5, 1911. Caterina Maltese was later identified and buried with her family, including her two daughters, Lucia and Rosarea, who also perished in the fire. The six presently interred are: Josephine Cammarata, Dora Evans, Max Florin, Maria Giuseppa Lauletti, Concetta Prestifilippo and Fannie Rosen.
Read the full article at the New York Times.
The following is a dedicatory speech about the new memorial. Here is the original website:
www.dol.gov/shirtwaist/areas/brooklyn.htm
Cemetery of the Evergreens — 1629 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
Final resting place of eight victims moved from other locations and reinterred beneath a large marble monument to the tragedy.
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11-16-2010 Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy takes part in the Rally to Save 326 & 328 East 4th Street.
On Tuesday, November 16th, community groups, neighborhood activists, elected officials and press all gathered for a press conference and rally calling upon the city to landmark and save 326 & 328 East 4th Street.
After discovering a plan to destroy these incredible surviving 1840 Greek Revival houses between Avenues C and D, GVSHP and EVCC wrote to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) urging them to consider landmark designation. We followed with further research substantiating the connection between the builder of one of the houses and the builder of the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, and most recently sent the LPC information about the significance of the houses, which served as a synagogue for many years, to the history of Judaism. New York State has determined the houses are eligible for the State and National Register of Historic Places. However, the city has thus far refused to act, and permits for the houses’ destruction could be issued any day.
These houses were the first and only structures ever built on these sites and retain a remarkable level of original architectural detail. Having evolved from shipbuilding merchant’s homes to multi-family tenements to a synagogue to the home of an anarchist utopian arts collective, 326 & 328 East 4th Street capture New York and especially the East Village’s evolution over more than a century and a half. With all-too-few buildings in the East Village enjoying much-needed landmark protections, we must save 326 & 328 East 4th Street before it is too late!
Laurie Tobias Cohen, the executive director of the LESJC was invited to participate and to represent this part of the long history of these remarkable buildings. She adds that this was the home and synagogue of Rabbi Uri Langner (1896-1970), Congregation Hesed LeAvraham, from 1924 when the family arrived, to 1970.
Many thanks to Community Historian/Conservancy tour leader Elyssa Sampson for her critical research on the Langner family and this congregation.
Photos courtesy Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
10-17-2010 View slideshow of our hugely successful debut of our Jewish Brooklyn public tour.
Brooklyn is renowned for its many Jewish neighborhoods, including a variety of Hasidic communities. On this new tour we visited sacred sites, shops and more that reflect the rich heritage of Williamsburg and Borough Park and even Greenpoint. The bus tour took us to Williamsburg where we viewed the main Satmar 'miracle' synagogue in WIlliamsburg. So named because it was built in only 14 days! Then in Borough Park we travelled through the Bobov compound, the largest Hasidic community in the neighborhood. The tour continues to the only remaining congregation in Greenpoint. Congregation Ahavas Israel is located in a stunningly restored 120 year old building. The east building of which dates back to 1871.
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Click on thumbnails to start slideshow, then click on each full image to advance to next picture.
8-19-2010 The Lower East Side Voice announces the new Lower East Side Visitor Center
The Lower East Side Voice announces the new Lower East Side Visitor Center. The article gives an update on construction and delves into the generous support from some of the major donors. Read the article, Conservancy to Open Lower East Side Visitor’s Center, from the Voice.
7-29-2010 Going “Inside” Jewish Sacred Sites with the LES Conservancy
From the Lo-Down: Last month, we reported the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy is preparing to open a new Visitor Center at 400 Grand Street later this summer. If you walk by the storefront, formerly Ruby’s Fruits, you might notice a poster promoting the Conservancy’s new “Insider Tours,” abbreviated versions of their more detailed neighborhood walking excursions. Recently, we were invited to experience the tours for ourselves. Read the full article.
6-17-2010 Kling/Niman Visitor Center of the Lower East Side Conservancy featured in The Low-Down.
Read the article about our soon to open Visitor Center.
Former Home of "Ruby's Fruits" Becomes Jewish Conservancy Visitor's Center
05-2010 UJC Dinner a great success and featured in the Jewish World.
Article highlighting Conservancy inititatives, including the new Kling-Niman Visitor's Center and development of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, announced at annual UJC dinner. Event drew elected officials, community leaders, and staff members.
Download the article, Lower East Side Story, UJC dinner celebrates the vitality of the neighborhood
04-30-2010 Lower East Side: Remembered and Revisited and LESJC tours reccomended by The Jewish Star.
Alan Jay Gerber reviews and discusses Joyce Mendelsohn's book Lower East Side: Remembered and Revisited and discusses how you can use it in conjunction with a summer tour of the Lower East Side with the Lower East Side Conservancy. Read the full article in The Jewish Star by clicking the link below.
2-22-2010 Annual Lower East Side Reunion held in Florida on February 23rd
Residents of Florida who grew up on the Lower East Side gather every year to share the neighborhood’s past and present. Drawing more than 200 guests, this year’s Annual Lower East Side Reunion, held in Boca Raton, Florida on February 23rd, featured a special guest.
The Conservancy’s Executive Director, Laurie Tobias Cohen, delivered a speech not only about the neighborhood’s past but its vibrant present; presented a fascinating PowerPoint presentation on the Lower East Side then and now; and distributed literature about the Conservancy’s tours and events.
Some of the guests in attendance hadn't visited the Lower East Side in too many years. But all remembered its past grandeur, and were interested in hearing about its current excitement.
Laurie’s nostalgic slideshow presentation featured archival images and contemporary photos. Download the presentation from our website in the Lower East Side History section.
10-15-2009 Historian and author Joyce Mendelsohn interviewed on radio talk show Talkline with Zev Brenner.
Joyce Mendelsohn, historian and author of the recently re-released The Lower East Side Remembered and Revisited, appeared on the radio program Talkline with Zev Brenner.
Listen to the interview online by clicking the link below (Her interview starts at the 40 minute mark).
09-23-2009 Capacity turnout at Angel Orsanz Foundation for Joyce Mendelsohn celebrating the re-release of her book, The Lower East Side Remembered and Revisited: A History and Guide to a Legendary New York Neighborhood.
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It was a full house as the neighborhood turned out to celebrate Joyce and the re-release of her book.
The Lower East Side has been home to some of the city's most iconic restaurants, shopping venues, and architecture. The neighborhood has also welcomed generations of immigrants, from newly arrived Italians and Jews to today's Latino and Asian newcomers. This history has become somewhat obscured, however, as the Lower East Side can appear more hip than historic, with wealth and gentrification changing the character of the neighborhood. Chronicling these developments, along with the hidden gems that still speak of a vibrant immigrant identity, Joyce Mendelsohn provides a complete guide to the Lower East Side of then and now.
After an extensive history that stretches back to Manhattan's first settlers, Mendelsohn offers 5 self-guided walking tours, including a new passage through the Bowery, that take the reader to more than 150 sites and highlight the dynamics of a community of contrasts: aged tenements nestled among luxury apartment towers abut historic churches and synagogues. With updated and revised maps, historical data, and an entirely new community to explore, Mendelsohn writes a brand-new chapter in an old New York story.
Joyce Mendelsohn is the granddaughter of Jewish immigrants who settled on the Lower East Side. She lectures on the history, culture, and architecture of New York City at the New School for Social Research and conducts walking tours of and lectures about city neighborhoods sponsored by major cultural and educational institutions, such as the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy.
08-01-2009 Conservancy 90-minute tours and website featured in the Lower East Side Voice
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The summer 2009 issue of the Lower East Side Voice featured an article about our new and exciting initiatives. Mentioned in the article are upcoming initiatives such as our 90-minute mini-tours, the upcoming book signing and reception for Joyce Mendelsohn and her new book, "The Lower East Side, Remembered & Revisited.", and our educational curriculum, "A Day in the LIfe of an Immigrant Child." Read the full article online.
11-11-2008 A Return to Their Roots
Freehold Jewish Center tours the Lower East Side’s Jewish landmarks by Jason Cohen. Article appeared in the November issue of The Jewish State. Read the article online.
11-04-2008 LESJC is featured on CNN
The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy was featured on CNN as a prime example of vibrant organizations on the Lower East Side.
09-14-2008 LESJC Calls for Halt to Destruction of Historic Synagogue Adas Yisroel Anshe Meseritz
Congregants gathered today with elected officials, Jewish-American community leaders, preservationists, historians and long-time area residents to call for the halt of destruction to the historic Adas Yisroel Anshe Meseritz Synagogue by developer Joshua Kushner, representing the Kushner Companies and to call for official landmark designation for this important building. The LESJC led this call. Read the Press Release and follow the news from various online sources below:
- Fate of Lower East Side Shul Stirs Emotions By Swell Chan
- Kushners pull out of plan to demolish and redevelop historic synagogue in East Village
- Adas Le Israel Anshei Meseritz East Village Demolition Update
- East Village temple may be demolished By David Freedlander
- Historic Shul in Duel By Marissa Lang
09-01-2008 Wandering Jew - A Nosh of the Big Apple by Alina Tugend
Alina Tugend writes of her and her family's experience noshing on one of the LESJC tours. Read the full article.
08-20-2008 A Remarkable Reunion, The Children Return by Yori Yanover
Yori writes this story of a gathering of 130 cousins from nine family branches in a Lower East Side Synagogue and how it revives long-abandoned notions of family and history. Read the full article.
07-17-2008 Lower East Side is at a Crossroads article in the New York Sun
Candice Taylor writes in the New York Sun about the work of the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy featuring our very own Laurie Tobias Cohen. Read the full article online.
10-28-2007 Synagogues Tell Story of Lower East Side's Past By Saul Austerlitz, Globe Correspondent
Saul writes in this article how, "The Lower East Side Conservancy, run by Laurie Tobias Cohen, has dedicated itself to preserving what remains of the Jewish Lower East Side." Read the full article.
09-01-2007 Not Just a History Lesson: Rejewvenation of the Lower East Side By Miriam Bader
Miriam Bader writes about the ongoing reinvigoration of Jewish life on the Lower East Side. Read the full article.
05-13-2005 Reform Jews, Adrift in a Sea of Black Hats
06-07-2002 New York Times article about Harlem's Jewish Past
An informative article about the once third largest Jewish settlement in the world after the Lower East Side and Warsaw. Vestiges of Harlem's Jewish Past By David W. Dunlap. Read the full article.
01-07-1998 Orthodox Neighborhood Reshapes Itself
1997 Movie Release: A Life Apart: Hasidism in America
Excellent insights into a community so few understand in America. Read more information about the film at www.imdb.com.