The Lower East Side Conservancy, also known as The Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy (LESJC), is an educational and advocacy organization, created in 1998 by Holly Kaye to preserve the

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s and cultural heritage of the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

. Through the organization's efforts, many have been designated as historic landmarks, and have been listed on

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

and National Registers. In 2000, the Conservancy assisted in designating a 32 – block area as a historic district. Their mission is accomplished through quality touring programs, both private, public, and educational, which showcase the Lower East Side's landmarks, history and people. A portion of the proceeds of each tour are returned to the sites visited, contributing to their restoration and conservation. They are the only touring organization with access to the Bialystoker Synagogue'', a former Methodist Church, believed to be a site on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

, and an active shteibl (a traditional one room house of prayer) on historic East Broadway. In addition to the Lower East Side, the LESJC provides tours of other New York neighborhoods of Jewish importance, such as Jewish Harlem, the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

, and

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

. The conservancy aimed to transform the old Beth Hamedrash Hagadol into a visitors center for the Lower East Side with educational programs and gallery space, but the building was destroyed in 2017 with a fire, and was torn down in 2019.

References

External links

* http://www.nycjewishtours.org/ {{Lower East Side Lower East Side 1998 establishments in New York City Jewish organizations based in New York City Architectural conservation Historic preservation organizations in the United States