City Considers Landmarking 6 Historic LGBT Sites

WEST VILLAGE, NY — The Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering landmarking six sites tied to the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in New York City.

Six LGBT historic sites could be landmarked citywide — including in SoHo, the West Village, Chelsea, the Upper West Side and Staten Island. The city's LPC formally "calendared" the sites Tuesday, an LPC spokeswoman said.

The six sites include:

• Gay Activists Alliance Firehouse at 99 Wooster St. in SoHo
• Women's Liberation Center at 243 W. 20th St. in Chelsea
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center at 208 W. 13th St. in the West Village
• The Caffe Cino at 31 Cornelia St. in the West Village
• James Baldwin Residence at 137 W. 71st St. in the Upper West Side
• Audre Lorde Residence at 207 St. Paul's Avenue in Staten Island

The GAA Firehouse was known as the city's "first gay community center," according to LPC documents on the historic sites. Formerly a firehouse, the site was made into the headquarters for the Gay Activists Alliance in 1969, a group that lobbied for LGBT civil rights legislation and also acted as a gathering place for both dance parties and organizing. It was partially destroyed by arson in 1974.

In Chelsea, the Women's Liberation Center, another former firehouse, housed various lesbian and feminist organizations throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Jean O'Leary founded one of those organizations, the Lesbian Feminist Liberation, in 1972, which branched off from the GAA.

The LGBT Community Center on West 13th Street was where several LGBT rights organizations were located — including The Community Health Project, which was the nation's first community-based HIV clinic, per LPC.

Caffe Cino is known for become a haven for theatre and the birthplace of off-off-broadway and the city's first gay theatre. The shop started as a cafe and art exhibition space but soon became a place for poetry readings and theatre. The cafe closed in 1968.

Andrew Berman, a prominent preservationist in the West Village and head of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said in a statement the group was "deeply gratified" with the decision — which comes after four years of advocacy to landmark the sites on West 13th Street and Wooster Street.

"The LGBT Center [on West 13th Street] and the former GAA Firehouse [on Wooster Street] tell critical parts of our city's history, and our evolution towards a more just and inclusive society," Berman said. "In a city as diverse and progressive as New York, it's hard to believe that until 2015 we had no landmarks reflecting LGBT history, and up until now, only had one — the Stonewall Inn. All the threads of the rich tapestry of our city's history deserve to be recognized and preserved."

Berman's group also wants the city to consider landmarking Julius' Barr at 159 W. 10th St., which is not currently on the city's list.

A hearing for the landmarks will be scheduled for the public to weigh in. Following that, a vote will be scheduled on a later date.