Henry Street Settlement gets state boost
for National Register of Historic Places
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The Lower East Side’s Henry Street
Settlement earned yet another state
grant this week toward recognition
of its National Register nomination and its
founder’s important place in local LGBT
history.
The New York State Offi ce of Parks,
Recreation and Historic Preservation
provided the Settlement with $25,000 in
grant funding, made possible under the
National Park Service’s Underrepresented
Community Grants Program.
“This support is helping build the public
understanding of the signifi cant contributions
and infl uence of the LGBT community
that up until now has largely been invisible,”
said State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid.
“Recognizing the LGBT connection
with the Henry Street Settlement’s National
Register nomination will ensure that this
history is protected, preserved and promoted
for future generations to explore the
diversity represented by this site.”
Katie Vogel, who serves as public historian
for the Henry Street Settlement, said
the nonprofi t will use the funds “to update
our National Register listing to refl ect the
important and little-known role that Henry
Street founder Lillian Wald played in New
York City queer history.”
Wald created the Henry Street Settlement
in 1893 primarily as a public health
The original Henry Street Settlement at 265 Henry St. on the Lower East Side.
facility providing free or low-cost healthcare
for tenement residents in the Lower
East Side. Over the next 40 years, she
had grown the Settlement into the biggest
health care provider in the neighborhood,
staffed by 265 nurses that cared for more
than 100,000 patients.
According to the NYC LGBT Historic
Sites Project, Wald was known to have had
relationships with other women who lived
at the Settlement, as well as with various
wealthy patrons in New York at the time.
PHOTO VIA NYC LGBT HISTORIC SITES PROJECT
Her relationships and career, the state
Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Department noted, “separated her from the
traditional household roles and norms expected
of middle-class women at that time.”
“Building on our work to increase representation
of LGBT people on the New York
State and National Registers of Historic
Places, we are excited to move forward
with an amendment to the Henry Street
Settlement’s nomination,” said Amanda
Davis, project manager for the NYC LGBT
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Lillian Ward as a young nurse in this
undated photo.
Historic Sites Project. “Our work will
acknowledge the same-sex relationships
that personally and professional shaped its
founder, Lillian Ward.”
The Settlement fi rst received in 2014
a $49,999 federal grant through the state
Parks Department to launch its National
Register program. That was followed by a
second grant of the same value in 2016, and
an additional $25,000 in 2019.
The grant covers the original Henry
Street Settlement, at 265 Henry St. The
nonprofi t continues its mission to this day
out of headquarters at 301 Henry St., where
it offers social services and arts programs
in addition to health care.
For more information, visit henrystreet.
org.
More of The High Line to reopen to parkgoers
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Starting this Saturday, New Yorkers
will again be able to explore more of
The High Line in Chelsea.
The linear public park on the former
freight rail line will again welcome visitors
north of Gansevoort Street, up to 30th
Street, beginning at noon on Sept. 5. Visitors
will also be able to access The Spur,
located at the corner of 10th Avenue and
30th Street. The full park is open from
noon to 8 p.m. daily.
High Line Park partially reopened to
visitors in July after months of closure
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Various
crowd fl ow and gathering restrictions,
however, will remain in effect even as more
of the park reopens to the public.
All visitors may only enter the park from
Gansevoort and 23rd Streets, but they
must travel northbound on the High Line
paths. The staircases and elevators located
at 14th, 16th, 17th, 20th, 26th, 28th and
30th Streets will be exit only (except for
individuals with mobility needs).
People walk on the elevated High Line Park in Manhattan on the first day of
the park’s re-opening following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID
19) in New York City, New York, U.S., July 16, 2020.
The ramp leading from the High Line
to Hudson Yards will also be exit only; no
one may enter the High Line from Hudson
Yards.
Additionally, High Line continues to
limit the number of people accessing the
park to ensure proper social distancing.
PHOTO BY REUTERS/MIKE SEGAR
Visitors are urged to make a timed-entry
reservation prior to their visit at thehighline.
org/welcome; a limited number of
walk-up passes are available each day at
the 23rd Street and Gansevoort Street
entry points.
Visitors are required to wear masks to
prevent the possible spread of COVID-19.
Food and beverage vendors at The High
Line remain closed. Bathrooms remain
open, and are rigorously and regularly
cleaned.
Along with reopening another section
of the park to visitors, the High Line also
announced the extension of its exhibition
of Simone Leigh’s “Brick House” sculpture
through next spring. The fi rst commission
for the High Line Plinth, Brick House can
be viewed on The Spur.
“Many people have told us that the High
Line has been a respite in these challenging
times, and with that in mind, I’m proud
that we’re able to safely extend access to
the park through 30th Street,” said Robert
Hammond, co-founder and director of the
High Line. “I’m especially happy that New
Yorkers and visitors will have even more
time to enjoy Simone Leigh’s incredible
work Brick House up close on the Plinth.
Leigh’s monumental sculpture has been a
beacon of resilience and beauty for the millions
of people who have passed through
our neighborhood in the past year.”
For additional information, visit thehighline.
org.
4 September 3, 2020 Schneps Media