Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Act of 1997

Summary: Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Act of 1997 - Designates the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street, New York, New York, as a national historic site and an affiliated site of the National Park System. 
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to coordinate the operation and interpretation of the Site with that of the Lower East Side Tenement Historic Site, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Castle Clinton National Monument.  Provides that the Lower East Side Tenement Museum shall continue to own, operate, and manage the Site. 
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Museum to ensure the marking, interpretation, and preservation of the Site. 
Requires the Secretary, working with the Museum, to develop a general management plan for the Site to:  (1) define the National Park Service's roles and responsibilities with regard to the interpretation and the preservation of the Site; and (2) outline how interpretation and programming for the Lower East Side Tenement Historic Site, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Castle Clinton National Monuments will be integrated and coordinated so as to enhance the stories at each of the four Sites. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lower East Side Tenement National 
Historic Site Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) immigration, and the resulting diversity of cultural 
        influences, is a key factor in defining American identity; the 
        majority of United States citizens trace their ancestry to 
        persons born in nations other than the United States;
            (2) the latter part of the 19th century and the early part 
        of the 20th century marked a period in which the volume of 
        immigrants coming to the United States far exceeded that of any 
        time prior to or since that period;
            (3) no single identifiable neighborhood in the United 
        States absorbed a comparable number of immigrants than the 
        Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City;
            (4) the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street in 
        New York City is an outstanding survivor of the vast number of 
        humble buildings that housed immigrants to New York City during 
        the greatest wave of immigration in American history;
            (5) the Lower East Side Tenement is owned and operated as a 
        museum by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum;
            (6) the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is dedicated to 
        interpreting immigrant life within a neighborhood long 
        associated with the immigrant experience in the United States, 
        New York's Lower East Side, and its importance to United States 
        history; and
            (7) the National Park Service found the Lower East Side 
        Tenement at 97 Orchard Street to be nationally significant; the 
        Secretary of the Interior declared it a National Historic 
        Landmark on April 19, 1994, and the National Park Service 
        through a special resource study found the Lower East Side 
        Tenement suitable and feasible for inclusion in the National 
        Park System.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to ensure the preservation, maintenance, and 
        interpretation of this site and to interpret at the site the 
        themes of immigration, tenement life in the later half of the 
        19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the 
        housing reform movement, and tenement architecture in the 
        United States;
            (2) to ensure continued interpretation of the nationally 
        significant immigrant phenomenon associated with New York 
        City's Lower East Side and its role in the history of 
        immigration to the United States; and
            (3) to enhance the interpretation of the Castle Clinton, 
        Ellis Island, and Statue of Liberty National Monuments.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means the 
        Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street on Manhattan 
        Island in New York City, New York, and designated as a national 
        historic site by section 4.
            (2) Museum.--The term ``Museum'' means the Lower East Side 
        Tenement Museum, a nonprofit organization established in New 
        York City, which owns and operates the tenement building at 97 
        Orchard Street and manages other properties in the vicinity of 
        97 Orchard Street as administrative and program support 
        facilities for 97 Orchard Street.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HISTORIC SITE.

    (a) Designation.--To further the purposes of this Act and the Act 
entitled ``An Act to provide for the preservation of historic American 
sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of national significance, 
and for other purposes'', approved August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et 
seq.), the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street, in the City 
of New York, State of New York, is designated a national historic site.
    (b) Status as Affiliated Site.--The Lower East Side Tenement 
National Historic Site shall be an affiliated site of the National Park 
System. The Secretary shall coordinate the operation and interpretation 
of the historic site with that of the Lower East Side Tenement Historic 
Site and the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Castle Clinton 
National Monument, as the historic site's story and interpretation of 
the immigrant experience in the United States is directly related to 
the themes and purposes of these national Monuments.
    (c) Ownership and Operation.--The Lower East Side Tenement National 
Historic Site shall continue to be owned, operated, and managed by the 
Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a nonprofit institution.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF THE SITE.

    (a) Cooperative Agreement.--The Secretary is authorized to enter 
into a cooperative agreement with the Lower East Side Tenement Museum 
to ensure the marking, interpretation, and preservation of the national 
historic site designated by this Act.
    (b) Assistance.--The Secretary is authorized to provide technical 
and financial assistance to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum to 
mark, interpret, and preserve the national historic site including the 
making of preservation-related capital improvements and repairs.
    (c) Management Plan.--The Secretary shall, working with the Lower 
East Side Tenement Museum, develop a general management plan for the 
historic site to define the National Park Service's roles and 
responsibilities with regard to the interpretation and the preservation 
of the national historic site. The plan shall also outline how 
interpretation and programming for the Lower East Side Tenement 
National Historic Site and the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and 
Castle Clinton national monuments will be integrated and coordinated so 
as to enhance the stories at each of the 4 sites. Such plan shall be 
completed within 2 years after the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this Act authorizes the Secretary 
to acquire the property at 97 Orchard Street or to assume overall 
financial responsibility for the operation, maintenance, or management 
of the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site.

SEC. 6. APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.