The Impact & Possibilities of Preservation: Lessons from the Neighborhood Preservation Center

The New York Landmarks Conservancy, in partnership with The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York, cordially invites you to:

LANDMARK LECTURE

The Impact & Possibilities of Preservation: Lessons from the Neighborhood Preservation Center

With Felicia Mayro, Preservationist
Board Chair, Neighborhood Preservation Center

Introduction by Lisa Easton, Easton Architects
Curator of the Landmark Lecture Series

The Neighborhood Preservation Center has been a unique initiative from its start. It was a project created and sponsored by the St. Mark’s Historic Landmark Fund to adaptively reuse the historic Ernest Flagg Rectory of St. Mark’s Church In-the Bowery on New York’s Lower East Side. For 20 years, NPC operated as a co-working space providing below-market rate office and meeting space to community groups and nonprofits. The space gave voice to community needs and gave birth to organizations. It also fostered conversations and collaborations and became a hub to a diverse community of “neighborhood preservationists” that included artist-activists, environmentalists, housing advocates, urban planners, as well as historic preservationists. In 2020, NPC started its next chapter as its own not-for-profit organization.

Through the lens of her experience at the Neighborhood Preservation Center, Felicia Mayro will talk about some of the projects and people moving preservation forward today and share the goals of the new Neighborhood Preservation Center.

Felicia Mayro chairs the Board of Directors of the Neighborhood Preservation Center. From 2000-2018 she was NPC’s director when it was first launched as a project of the St. Mark’s Historic Landmark Fund; she also led the Landmark Fund as its Executive Director. In addition to the Landmark Fund, Felicia has worked for several nonprofits in New York City including the World Monuments Fund, FRIENDS of the Upper East Side Historic Districts, and Sure We Can. She was a co-founder of Five Dutch Days Five Boroughs and has served on the boards of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, Preservation Alumni, and Bakas Pilipinas. Born in Philadelphia, Felicia holds an MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation, and Planning and a BA in Art & Architectural History and Classical Archaeology from Tufts University.

1.0 AIA LU credit is available for qualifying participants.

Advance registration is required to receive the link to the Zoom Webinar platform.

Photo caption – Preservation League of New York State. Pictured: RUPCO’s East End Apartments of Historic Newburgh, a recipient of the League’s Excellence in Historic Preservation Award in 2019. Photo credit: David Miller. The Preservation League of New York State is a statewide nonprofit focused on investing in people and projects that champion the essential role of preservation in community revitalization, sustainable economic growth, and the protection of our historic buildings and landscapes.