May 1 – June 30: LESPI’s outdoor photography exhibit: “Brick and Stone: Landmarking our Lower East Side Heritage”
To celebrate our neighborhood’s extraordinary architecture and cultural history, LESPI is showcasing 12 historic buildings and 2 proposed historic districts in an outdoor photography exhibition of large-scale photo banners installed on the fence of The Clemente Center, at the corner of Suffolk and Rivington Streets.
For past Zoom webinars and meetings, see LESPI’s YouTube Channeland/or the list of videos below.
Past Live Events: Below is a sampling of our more recent events.
On Saturday, May 2, we had a wonderful opening ceremony for LESPI’s outdoor photography exhibit, “Brick and Stone: Landmarking our Lower East Side Heritage.” Speakers included Council Member Christopher Marte, Assemblymember Grace Lee, photographer Ari Burling, and representatives from LESPI, The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, and Fourth Arts Block.
People stopped by to chat and sign our petition for landmarking, voted for their favorite potential landmarks in a special poll, and received LESPI gift bags, courtesy of Economy Candy, just for attending (like the Oscars!). The exhibit, at the corner of Suffolk and Rivington Streets, runs May 1 to June 30.
It was a great night Wednesday November 19, 2025 at LESPI’s book talk, “The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum,” presented by author Margalit Fox at PT Knitwear on Orchard Street. The audience learned how “America’s first great mob boss was a nice Jewish mother” — including the tricks of the trade for 19th century thieves and fences — then stayed afterward for a lively book signing and reception.At our book talk May 21, 2024, author Tyler Anbinder presented his revelations, based on the latest research, on how mid-19th century NY Irish immigrants actually lived their lives — different from the usual stereotypes — from his newly released “Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine & the Making of Irish New York”. The event was held at the historic Church of St. Mary on Grand Street, and we were very happy that Councilmember Christopher Marte attended and spoke on current efforts to preserve this important LES house of worship. On May 7, 2024, authors H. Arthur Bankoff and Amanda Sutphin presented the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission’s book, “Buried Beneath the City: An Archaeological History of New York,” that retells the history of New York from the deeper layers of the past to the topsoil of recent events. The audience engaged in a lively Q&A session followed by a reception — an excellent evening!LESPI’s Photographers’ Talk on October 28, 2023 at The Loisaida Center was quite an event. Having braved a dumping of rain to join us, the crowd was treated to 8 professional photographers discussing the stories, inspirations, and techniques behind their work in LESPI’s “Lens on the Lower East Side” photo journal books. We wrapped up the evening chatting over light refreshments – fantastic!LESPI sponsored a wonderful book talk on September 6 , 2023, “Spotlight on the East Village” featuring author Ada Calhoun, at P&T Knitwear Bookstore on Orchard Street.On September 5, 2023 LESPI cosponsored the panel discussion “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine: A Conversation on the Future of Vulnerable Historic Buildings in New York City,” where various experts discussed how best to save historic buildings in danger of demolition.
Watch videos of these past LESPI webinar events at LESPI’s YouTube Channel, below is a sampling:
