THE COOPER SQUARE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT/ LOWER EAST SIDE, MANHATTAN
The Cooper Square Community Land Trust Oral History Project documents and honors the struggles, experiences, and memories of the individuals—residents, organizers, activists, and devoted advocates—who have stewarded the land of the Cooper Square Community Land Trust (CLT) since its inception in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. This transgenerational project aims to reveal lessons from past battles, victories, and setbacks while acknowledging the dedication, love, and care bestowed upon this land by those who paved the way. Conceived as an organizing and educational tool, it empowers future generations to engage in shaping the future of the Cooper Square community.
Born out of the struggles against Robert Moses and his controversial urban renewal plans during the 1950s and 1960s, the Cooper Square CLT was officially established in 1993. Since then, it has protected the principle of community control and shared ownership. For the past three decades, the Cooper Square CLT has owned and stewarded the land beneath the 21 buildings comprising the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association II. More recently, it has extended its custodianship to include the land of Two Buildings Tenants United HDFC, located in the same neighborhood.
This oral history project serves as a unifying endeavor, bringing together a diverse community of organizers, activists, and visionaries who have helped the Cooper Square community thrive in a context of disinvestment and, most recently, gentrification. In an ever-changing context, their narratives prove that alternative models of housing development and management are not only viable but vital to preserving low-income, working-class, and immigrant communities. By documenting the contributions of the Cooper Square CLT, this project illuminates its profound impact on the activism in the Lower East Side and New York City’s housing movement.
INTERESTED?
Listen to the oral history interviews here: Housing Justice Oral History Project.
LEADER
Gabriela Rendón
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Jiray Avedisian (MS Design and Urban Ecologies)
ADVISORY BOARD
Tom Angotti, Michael Atkins, Harriet Cohen, Larissa Ho, Monxo López, and Valois Mickens.
STUDENT TEAM / EMPOWERED NEIGHBORHOODS ELECTIVE
Sam Ayala (MS Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management)
Em Flaire (BFA Integrated Design), Isis Gamble (Ph.D. Public and Urban Policy)
Cristy Garcia (BA Anthropology)
Mariana Londono (MA Arts Management and Entrepreneurship)
Nan Fang (MS Strategic Design and Management)
Anna Roth (MFA Fashion Design and Society)
Lucas Tatarsky (MA International Affairs)
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