Community Conference: The Village Past, Present, and Future

Located at the heart of Greenwich Village, The Jefferson Market Library has served as a center for creativity, intellectualism, and civic engagement in its community for the past 50 years. This conference seeks to celebrate that history by connecting a diverse array of Villagers in conversation about their experiences in the neighborhood. Structured like an academic conference, Village Past, Present, and Future seeks to encourage conversation and learning about local topics and experiences.

Here’s how it will work: a Village expert will provide a 10 minute “conversation starter” on an important historical, political, cultural, or personal topic, and then participate in a moderated discussion on that topic with all the participants in the room. This conference will serve to facilitate a space in which everyone’s voice can be heard! Some possible outcomes? To showcase exciting events in our neighborhood, inspire new collaborations and initiatives, collectively remember and honor our history, and to have healing discussions about growing pains in an ever-changing section of New York City.

Schedule of Events

Willa Cather Community Room (first floor)

1:30pm – Tom Eubanks, author of Ghosts of St. Vincent’s, will speak about St. Vincent’s Triangle Park, a tiny stretch of land in Greenwich Village, with an outsized portion of history attached to it.

2:45pm – Vicki Sando, a Greenwich Village parent and activist, will discuss how she successfully advocated for more green spaces in the city, culminating in the Greenroof Environmental Literacy Laboratory atop P.S. 41.

4:00pm – Andrew Berman, Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, will discuss two prominent buildings that were saved by the community and reborn with new purposes: The Jefferson Market Library (formerly a courthouse), and The Public Theater (formerly the Astor Library). Both institutions celebrate their 50 year anniversary this Fall.

Mae West Community Room (third floor)

2:00pm – Robert Kaufelt, former proprieter of Murray’s Cheese and third generation food retailer, will discuss his 25 years of leadership at the helm of an iconic Village retailer, from purchase to eventual sale, and the issues facing small businesses today.

3:30pm – Sheryl Woodruff, a public historian and Community Development Director at The Washington Square Conservancy, will speak about the many changes and controversies that Washington Square Park has undergone in its long history, and will explore the park’s most recent redesign in comparison to the landscape’s evolution over time.

Lobby Space (first floor)

3:00pm – Leonora Champagne, a local performance artist, will perform TRAPS, a solo about getting stuck on the subway, struggling with squirrels, and seeking light in a dark time. A reflection on the traps we encounter–both everyday and large-scale–this interactive performance aims  to show ways to get past the obstacles that hinder us, both personally and as a society at large through conversation with spectators. TRAPS is made possible in part with public funds from Creative Engagement, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, through the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

RSVP Here.