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Parishioners, community members, and preservationists launched a grass roots campaign to secure landmark protection for the church. Saint Mary’s, located at 440 Grand St., was built in 1833, in the Greek Revival style. Thirty years later, architect Patrick Charles Keely was hired to create a new facade in the Romanesque Revival style. The Archdiocese of New York did not oppose the landmark application.

The Commission also voted to designate Public School 15 Annex at 372 Schermerhorn in Brooklyn and the Lithuanian Alliance Building, located at 307 West 30th Street in Chelsea. In a press release, Mayor Mamdani said, “Immigrants built New York City. Their stories live in every block, every neighborhood, every corner of the five boroughs. Today, I’m proud to recognize three more sites that carry that legacy forward—places that, for generations, have opened their doors to newcomers and helped define what it means to belong in the greatest city in the world.”

Lower Manhattan City Council member Christopher Marte (chair of the Council’s Landmarks Committee) added, “Saint Mary’s Church has been part of the life of the Lower East Side for generations, and this vote means that history is finally being recognized and protected. This is one of the oldest Catholic churches in New York City, but more than that, it is a place that tells the story of immigrant New York — of people who faced discrimination, built community anyway, and left a lasting mark on this neighborhood. For a long time, working-class history and immigrant history have not always gotten the protection they deserve. Today’s vote says that this history matters too. I’m grateful to everyone, especially the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, who helped make this happen, and proud to see Saint Mary’s preserved for the future.”

The Commission’s research brief noted the cultural importance of Saint Mary’s as well as its architectural significance: “The church itself is a striking example of Romanesque Revival architecture, boasting original early 19th-century field stone side walls, an impressive facade and dual towers, as well as late 19th-century stained-glass with elaborate enframements. Saint Mary’s remains an important reminder of the historical and cultural development of New York City’s Lower East Side.”

Saint Mary’s was founded in 1826 to meet the needs of the growing Irish immigrant population in Lower Manhattan. In the midst of native and anti-Catholic discrimination, the first church building on Sheriff Street was deliberately burned in 1831. Patrick Charles Keely, the architect who designed Saint Mary’s updated facade, became a prolific designer of churches in New York and across the Northeastern U.S.

In January, Community Board 3 (CB3) approved a resolution in support of landmarking Saint Mary’s. At a meeting of CB3’s landmarks subcommittee, there was discussion about false rumors that Saint Mary’s might close. When Father Andrew O’Connor was reassigned to churches in Dutchess County, the Archdiocese did not appoint a new priest to lead Saint Mary’s. Instead, Father Thomas McNamara of Our Lady of Sorrows, another Catholic Church on Pitt Street, assumed responsibility for both parishes. Charlie Schleck, co-chair of Saint Mary’s Parish Council. acknowledged that there had been some consolidation for financial reasons but reassured community members that the Archdiocese is still supportive of Saint Mary’s. He added that there is no current use for the rectory building (28 Attorney St.) and a parking lot next to the church, and said it’s possible the parcels alongside Saint Mary’s could be sold at some point in the future. Notably, the landmark designation only includes the tax lot where the church sits, and not the adjacent parcels.

“For two centuries, Saint Mary’s has held a central role for immigrants on the Lower East Side, with new arrivals including the Irish, Germans, Latinos, Asians and others all making their mark,” said Richard D. Moses, president of the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative. “We’re so happy to have been able to work with parishioners and City Council Member Marte to spread the word on the church’s important history, and thrilled that the Commission has now landmarked this spiritual and architectural beacon to make sure it can serve generations to come.” 

For many years, local preservationists have urged the Commission to focus more attention on the Lower East Side. In his remarks at the public hearing last month, Moses said, “LESPI requests that the (Commission) take a close look at the Lower East Side from East 14th Street to the Brooklyn Bridge in order to designate more individual landmarks and historic districts before the area’s important and immense history and architecture fall to the wrecking ball.” Mitchell Grubler, a co-founder of Friends of the Lower East Side, echoed these sentiments, saying, “Friends of the Lower East Side is pleased to have the Commission’s attention drawn to our neighborhood and we hope that interest will continue to result in future considerations of both individual designations as well as historic district designation.”

Two other community members were included in the press release from Council member Marte’s office. Sandra Strother (Chair of Community Board 3’s Landmarks Committee) said, “I am ecstatic that LPC voted to landmark Saint Mary’s Church. This is absolutely the right thing to do. Saint Mary’s is a treasured part of our neighborhood, and protecting it means protecting an important piece of the Lower East Side’s history for future generations.” [Strother is also president at the resident association at Grand Street Guild, the housing complex that surrounds the church.]

Local resident and activist Norma Ramirez said, “I’m so glad to see this finally happen. Thank you to everyone in the community who signed petitions and stood together to protect Saint Mary’s Church. This victory belongs to all of us, and I also want to thank Council Member Marte for his support throughout this effort.”

Editorial note: The Lo-Down previously reported that the LPC voted to designate Saint Mary’s immediately following the public hearing March 10. The vote did not occur until April 7.

The business, one of the oldest on the Lower East Side, relocated to Delancey Street years ago, after the demolition of a neighboring building destabilized 3 Essex Street, where the paint store had operated for decades. In 2024, a new owner purchased both 3 and 5 Essex Street for about $5.3 million. Demolition of 3 Essex is now complete, meaning the two parcels across from Seward Park are primed for redevelopment.

Parts of the building are believed to have dated back to the early 1800s. Several years ago, we walked through 3 Essex. On the first floor, large wood beams (put into place in the days before the paint store relocated) jutted out from the northern wall.  The upper floors had not been occupied since the 1940s when a fire swept through the building, which at one time served as a boarding house. 

The old Schames sign above the front doorway has thankfully been saved. In a social media post a couple of months ago, the New York Sign Museum reported:

“These colorful letters sat right across from Seward Park and make up what many tell us is their favorite NYC sign. Although the business relocated to Delancey Street in 2010, the sign remained on Essex because it was too large to fit on top of their new storefront. While we all sometimes wish our streets would stay stuck in time forever, we are extremely honored and relieved to have this piece of New York City history in our collection and active sign shop, where we plan to repair the piece with metal reinforcements and remounting broken letters. With the building being slated for demolition, both signs came down last Friday and our team was able to go save it. The building owner kept the porcelain Dutch Boy sign, but agreed to donate the PAINTS sign to the museum.”

The new ownership of 3-5 Essex St. is listed in public records as, “Paint Store LLC” with a mailing address at the offices of Building Equity Management, a firm that manages many properties across the city. New building permits have not yet been filed.

On February 4, Hedy Page died at the age of 96. Ken Page, Hedy’s son, told the Long Island Herald, “She was an amazing mom, wife, mother-in-law and grandparent… She was all about love.” Hedy was a longtime resident of Long Beach, but often found herself drawn to the Lower East Side.

One day in 1973, Hedy positioned herself on Orchard Street in front of Sol Moscot, the eyeglasses shop, and started painting. It didn’t take long for Joel Moscot, who was leading the family business at the time, spotted her, asking if the painting was for sale. The answer was, “yes!” Soon enough, Hedy was in demand. She painted the Second Avenue Deli (when it was still in the neighborhood), Yonah Schimmel, Katz’s Deli and many other streetscapes not only on the Lower East Side but across New York City.

For the Austrian immigrant who fled the Nazis with her family at the age of 8, the paintings were not simply tributes to old buildings but also to the people who lived in them. Every single scene — from the old Fulton Fish Market, to Times Square to Orchard Street’s former “bargain district” — was a celebration of real New Yorkers.

When Hedy decided to paint 400-402 Grand St., she had not undertaken a new project in the city for about a decade. As she had gotten older, the trip from Long Island and the act of sitting on the sidewalk for hours at a time had become too grueling. But when she heard these buildings were about to be demolished to make way for the Essex Crossing mega-project, Hedy was determined. Passersby told Hedy their neighborhood stories, and she included them in the finished painting.

They also told her what else was happening on the Lower East Side. One day, an agitated man approached Hedy (the Lower East Side-based artist Nathan Hilu), telling her emphatically that she should turn her attention to his synagogue, Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, on Norfolk Street. The building, once home to one of the most consequential congregations on the Lower East Side, had suffered years of neglect and was very much endangered. Hedy rushed to paint the exterior of Beth Hamedrash Hagadol, and although it wasn’t possible at that point to include the people whose lives had been touched by the synagogue, she finished the painting in 2014. Three years later, the building was ravaged in an arson fire and destroyed.

We asked Hedy a few years ago why she was so committed to depicting the lives of real people in New York City. The point, she said, is that, “We matter. Each one of us matters. Somebody has to speak up and say ‘We exist.’”

Demolition and new building permits were filed last month for 116 Delancey St. (also known as 100 Essex St.) Once the market building is torn down, a 10-story tower with 99 apartments and ground floor commercial space will rise in its place. For now, the existing site remains under the ownership of the NYC Economic Development Corporation.

Last year at about this time, the MTA and city development officials announced an agreement to install three elevators in the Delancey Street Station in conjunction with the new residential project. Delancey Street Associates, the private consortium responsible for Essex Crossing, will provide an easement to the MTA. The elevators are part of larger set of upgrades needed to make the Delancey Street Station fully ASA-accessible. These accessibility improvements will be supported by proceeds from the Congestion Relief Zone.”

The Essex Street Market was built as part of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia’s campaign to rid New York City of its pushcart vendors. Opening day was January 10, 1940. There were originally four market buildings. Two of them were demolished long ago to clear the way for Essex Crossing. Simeon Bankoff, a well-known preservationist, told The Lo-Down back in 2011 that the Essex Street Market deserved protection because it was integral to the “historical and cultural identity of the Lower East Side” through many generations. At the time, some local residents were trying to protect the market building.

Corima (which recently received a two star review in The New York Times), was opened by Fidel Caballero and his wife, Sofia Ostos, in 2024. At Corima, there’s a tasting menu in the back room and less formal bar room up front where you can order à la carte. As Eater noted in a preview story, Bar Chucho will be more casual. The burger takes its inspiration from carne asada. Another dish, the mushroom gringa, is a flour tortilla (Caballero’s tortiillas are amazing) filled with mushroom carnitas.

Caballero (an alum of Contra) is on a roll. This week the James Beard Foundation announced he’s among the finalists for best chef in New York State.

The new bar is located right across the street from Mr. Fong’s. Golden Diner, Bánh by Lauren, The Mandarin and Cellar 36 are just steps away.

Bar Chucho will be open Tuesday-Sunday starting at 5 p.m.

The array of complexes constitute some of the largest cooperatively owned developments in the world today.

The show is curated by photographer Zara Pfeifer, architecture journalist Daniel Jonas Roche, and architect Brad Isnard. They write:

“These buildings embody the full spectrum of the modern movement, but also a forlorn approach to housing, when homes weren’t considered commodities, but rather a universal human right.”

Since 2023, Zara Pfeifer has been documenting various housing structures designed by Jessor throughout New York. Together with architecture journalist Dan Roche and architect Brad Isnard, she curated the exhibition Thank you, Herman Jessor at The Cooper Union in New York. Interview by The Architect’s Newspaper. Review by Samuel Stein in the New York Review of Architecture. The project is ongoing.

The reconstruction projects are part of the Community Parks Initiative, a program that has refurbished more than 70 public spaces across the city during the past decade. Vladeck Park sits alongside NYCHA’s Vladeck Houses, which consists of 20 buildings and more than 1,500 apartments. The park is bounded by Madison, Water, Jackson and Gouverneur streets. The Parks Department acquired jurisdiction over the space in 1939, one year after the death of Baruch Charney Vladeck, the renowned political activist, writer, and New York City alderman.

Through the Community Parks Initiative, the Parks Department engages with local communities on the design process, making decisions about new play equipment, recreational amenities and enhanced green space. The program is meant for parks that have not received significant public investment in at least 20 years. Projects are located in neighborhoods that, according to a press release from the Mayor’s Office, have, “the highest need, based on factors such as poverty levels, population density and population growth.”