On Saturday July30th, two local historic preservation groups, Friends of the Lower West Side and the Washington Street Historical Society joined forces to host a community block party to celebrate the “Lower West Side” on Washington Street between Rector Street and Carlisle Street.
They were celebrating the neighborhood’s old and new architecture and the rich diversity of ethnic communities that once thrived in the area west of Broadway from Liberty Street to the southernmost tip of Lower Manhattan and learn of the cultural bonds that survive today.
New and older organizations located on Washington Street lent their support to the event, including Metropolitan College of NY, the China Institute, Schilling Restaurant and St George Restaurant along with the old timers, George’s Diner and Sahadi’s (since moved to Brooklyn).
Tazz Latifi owner of Petropolis with Esther Regelson
Greg Riley, general manager of Holiday Inn Manhattan-Financial District with calligraphers from the China Institute
Seylwn Garraway and Beth Ellen Dunphe, chief development officer of Metropolitan College of New York
Todd Fine, president of the Washington Street Historical Society with Vinton Thompson, president of Metropolitan College of New York
The block party featured live music, calligraphers offering demonstrations of both Arabic and Chinese artistic lettering (in a nod the the neighborhood’s history as Little Syria, and its present as the new home of the China Institute), historic preservation tours, games and activities for children, and raffles that included free nights at the the Marriott New York-Downtown, the W Hotel and the Holiday Inn-Financial District.
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