L’marks considers 6 L.G.B.T. sites
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
Six L.G.B.T. historically signifi cant sites are up
for possible landmarking, City Council Speaker
Corey Johnson recently announced.
“As a preservationist, I have always believed that
the cultural signifi cance of a building is as important
as its architectural signifi cance,” Johnson said, in a
statement on May 19.
The locations include the L.G.B.T. Community
Center, at 208 W. 13th St.; as well as 99 Wooster
St., previously home to the Gay Activists Alliance
Firehouse; 137 W. 71st St., James Baldwin’s former
home; 31 Cornelia St., the site of the former Caffe
Cino; 243 W. 20th St., the erstwhile Women’s Liberation
Center; and Audre Lorde’s home, 207 St. Paul’s
Ave., on Staten Island.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
was created in 1965 in response to public
outrage over the demolition of the old Pennsylvania
Station two years earlier. Since then, the agency has
designated landmarks based on architectural signifi -
cance and historical merit.
A public hearing by the L.P.C. commissioners on
whether to landmark the half-dozen sites will be held
Tues., June 4. The commission will then vote on the
sites at a later date.
The process caps a four-year campaign by Village
Preservation (formerly Greenwich Village Society
for Historic Preservation) to urge the agency to landmark
the L.G.B.T. Community Center and former
Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse.
V.P. has launched an online petition to rally support
for the landmarking designations ahead of the
June 4 hearing. And while the organization is glad
these sites are being considered for landmark status,
the group is also urging the city to formally landmark
more historically signifi cant L.G.B.T. sites, like Julius’
bar, at 150 W. 10th St.
“In a city as diverse and progressive as New York,
it’s hard to believe that until 2015 we had no landmarks
refl ecting L.G.B.T. history, and up until now
only had one — the Stonewall Inn,” says the preservation
group’s online petition. “All the threads of the
rich tapestry of our city’s history deserve to be recognized
and preserved. On the 50th anniversary of the
Stonewall Riots, which also occurred in Greenwich
Village, we should be refl ecting back upon that history
of progress and honoring the people and places
which made it possible.” In the early 1970s, 99 Wooster St. was home to the pioneering Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse.
I.L.G.W.U. veteran is 100: She’ll drink to that!
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
A Chelsea woman turned 100 years old on May
17 and celebrated the milestone at the Hudson
Guild two days earlier.
At the celebration, Rita Corchado was surrounded
by friends from Hudson Guild Adult Services, in
whose meals-service program she is an active member.
She comes to the Guild daily for breakfast and
lunch.
“She is very happy and very upbeat,” Brigitte Garzon,
a Hudson Guild case manager, told NY1 noticias.
“She always has a smile when she comes here.”
Corchado was born in 1919 in the Plaza of Vista
Alegre district of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, which
is just outside of the island’s capital of San Juan.
In 1935, at the age of 16, Corchado moved to New
PHOTO BY DAVID RIVERA JR.
Rita Corchado looking good — make that great — at
100!
York City. Four years later, she started working
for the International Ladies’ Garment Workers
Union, and eventually was responsible for directing
many factories that made women’s suits. Although
Corchado retired from the union in 1984,
she carries a membership card to this day.
In 2006, Corchado moved into the Elliott-
Chelsea Houses, which qualifi es as a NORC, or
Naturally Occurring Retirement Community,
due to the high percentage of senior residents.
According to Corchado, the secret to a long
life lies in a little before-bed libation.
“Having one glass of beer every night before
going to sleep,” she said, has been the key to her
many active years.
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