I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2344

To establish the Lower East Side Tenement Museum National Historic Site,

and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 14, 1995

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ (for herself and Ms. MOLINARI) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

To establish the Lower East Side Tenement Museum

National Historic Site, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lower East Side Tene5 ment Museum National Historic Site Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Lower East Side Tenement Museum at

9 97 Orchard Street is an outstanding survivor of the

10 vast number of humble buildings that housed immi-
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1 grants to New York City during the greatest wave

2 of immigration in American history;

3 (2) the Museum is well suited to represent a

4 profound social movement involving great numbers

5 of unexceptional but courageous people;

6 (3) no single identifiable neighborhood in the

7 United States absorbed a comparable number of im8 migrants;

9 (4) the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is

10 dedicated to interpreting immigrant life on the

11 Lower East Side and its importance to United

12 States history, within a neighborhood long associ13 ated with the immigrant experience in America; and

14 (5) the National Park Service found the Lower

15 East Side Tenement Museum to be nationally sig16 nificant, suitable, and feasible for inclusion in the

17 National Park System.

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

19 (1) to ensure the preservation, maintenance,

20 and interpretation of this site and to interpret in the

21 site and in the surrounding neighborhood, the

22 themes of early tenement life, the housing reform

23 movement, and tenement architecture in the United

24 States;
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1 (2) to ensure the continuation of the Museum

2 at this site, the preservation of which is necessary

3 for the continued interpretation of the nationally sig4 nificant immigrant phenomenon associated with the

5 New York City’s Lower East Side, and its role in

6 the history of immigration to the United States; and

7 (3) to enhance the interpretation of the Castle

8 Clinton National Historic Monument and Ellis Is9 land National Historic Monument through coopera10 tion with the Museum.

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

12 As used in this Act:

13 (1) HISTORIC SITE.—The term ‘‘historic site’’

14 means the Lower East Side Tenement Museum des15 ignated as a national historic site by section 4.

16 (2) MUSEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the

17 Lower East Side Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard

18 Street, New York City, in the State of New York,

19 and related facilities owned or operated by the Mu20 seum.

21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

22 the Secretary of the Interior.

23 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HISTORIC SITE.

24 To further the purposes of this Act and the Act enti25 tled ‘‘An Act to provide for the preservation of historic
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1 American sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of na2 tional significance, and for other purposes’’, approved Au3 gust 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), the Lower East

4 Side Tenement Museum at 97 Orchard Street, in the city

5 of New York, State of New York, is designated as a na6 tional historic site.

7 SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may—

9 (1) acquire the historic site with donated or ap10 propriated funds; or

11 (2) enter into a cooperative agreement with the

12 Lower East Side Tenement Museum to carry out

13 this Act.

14 (b) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The

15 agreement may include provisions by which the Secretary

16 will provide—

17 (1) technical assistance to mark, restore, inter18 pret, operate, and maintain the historic site; and

19 (2) financial assistance to the Museum to ac20 quire ownership of and to maintain the historic site,

21 or to mark, interpret, and restore the historic site,

22 including the making of preservation-related capital

23 improvements and repairs.

24 (c) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—The agreement may

25 also contain provisions that—
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1 (1) permit the Secretary, acting through the

2 National Park Service, to have a right of access at

3 all reasonable times to all public portions of the

4 property covered by the agreement for the purpose

5 of conducting visitors through the properties and in6 terpreting the portions to the public; and

7 (2) prohibit changes or alterations in the prop8 erties except by mutual agreement between the Sec9 retary and the other parties to the agreement.

10 SEC. 6. LAND ACQUISITION.

11 The Secretary, through the use of appropriated funds

12 or funds donated for such purpose, may assist the Mu13 seum in acquiring real properties that the Museum occu14 pies or uses.

15 SEC. 7. APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

17 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

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