New York City is fortunate to have a plethora of historic and often socially active religious institutions throughout the five boroughs. While most exist beyond the bounds of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo, more than a few of the most notable can trace their origins (or at least a good portion of their […]
Christopher Moore (b. January 20, 1952, d. March 13, 2022, of complications from COVID and pneumonia) was a curator, archivist, author, storyteller, researcher, and the longest-serving member of New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, from 1995 to 2015. Moore became a notable fixture in the New York City preservation movement through his work to preserve […]
You never know what you may find when doing historic research in our neighborhoods, and it often raises more questions than it answers. I was recently looking into the history of a building on Fourth Avenue as part of our campaign to landmark the area south of Union Square. While scanning New York City Directories […]
The Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church at 140-148 West 137th Street is the sixth home of New York City’s very first black church, and the founding church of the A.M.E. Zion Conference of churches.
On January 10th, 1750, James Varick was born into slavery in upstate New York. Possibly a slave of the prominent Dutch Varick family, as a young boy he and his mother were freed and moved to New York City. The church he helped found, what would grow to be Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, had a profound effect on […]
