COREY JOHNSON ANNOUNCES LESBIAN GAY BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER LANDMARKS

Stonewall Inn Was Made Landmark In 2015

 We got this E-Mail from Corey Johnson's office. It is about more landmarks for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. We think this is a great idea to save our historic sites before they get torn down.

 

Dear Friends:

As a preservationist, I have always believed that the cultural significance of a building is as important as its architectural significance.

To that end, since I was elected to the City Council, one of my top priorities has been to help achieve individual landmark status for sites of significance to the LGBTQ movement.

I’m happy to report that yesterday the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission began the formal process of granting individual landmark status to six sites of significance to LGBTQ history!

They are the LGBT Community Center at 208 West 13th Street, the Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse at 99 Wooster Street, James Baldwin’s residence at 137 West 71st Street, Caffe Cino at 31 Cornelia Street, the Women’s Liberation Center at 243 West 20th Street, and Audre Lorde’s residence at 207 St. Paul’s Avenue on Staten Island.

Click here to read a New York Times article on this achievement.

Individual landmark status for these buildings will help ensure that their historical importance to the LGBTQ community is preserved and recognized for generations to come. This is especially important as we mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising (the Stonewall Inn received individual landmark status in 2015).

I want to thank Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Sarah Carroll for her leadership in recognizing the importance of cultural landmarks to New York City. I also want to thank the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, Village Preservation, the Historic Districts Council and all the other stakeholders who played a critical role in this victory.

The challenges we face from Washington, D.C. have made it even more important that we preserve and celebrate LGBTQ history and pay homage to the activists who came before us. Their legacies will live on in these sites and in the lives of millions who have benefited from their courage and strength.

In service,

Corey Johnson

Speaker

New York City Council

Photo By: James Edstrom