November 12, 2026
Chenault Spence, Chair
Landmarks & Public Aesthetics Committee
Community Board 2, Manhattan
3 Washington Square Village #1A
New York, NY 10012
Via email: info@manhattancb2.org
Dear Chair Spence:
Lower East Side Preservation Initiative — LESPI — strongly supports Village Preservation’s proposal for a Union Square South historic district. Although the proposed district west of Broadway lies outside of LESPI’s purview, those blockfronts facing Broadway and to the east have a broad assortment of highly distinctive historic buildings that are rich in ornament, and speak eloquently of the area’s diverse history.
As a bridge between Greenwich Village and the traditional Lower East Side, which includes today’s East Village, the several blocks south of Union Square between Third and Fifth Avenues include a spectrum of buildings that embody key movements in African American, women’s, LGBT and labor history, as well as serving as a springboard for important and influential movements in the arts. Protecting this legacy — of national significance — is so important to our and future generations.
Named one of the seven most important and endangered historic sites in New York State by the Preservation League of NYS, and determined eligible for the State and National Registers of Historic Places, the area is nonetheless under continual threat of demolition and insensitive redevelopment, as we’ve seen underway over the last several years.
We respectively ask Community Board 2 to support this landmarking effort.
Thank you,
Richard D. Moses
President
Cc: Valerie De La Rosa, Community Board 2, Manhattan
