I

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1408

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 5, 1998

Referred to the Committee on Resources

AN ACT

To establish the Lower East Side Tenement 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 National Historic Site Act of 1998’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

3 (1)(A) immigration, and the resulting diversity

4 of cultural influences, is a key factor in defining the

5 identity of the United States; and

6 (B) many United States citizens trace their an7 cestry to persons born in nations other than the

8 United States;

9 (2) the latter part of the 19th century and the

10 early part of the 20th century marked a period in

11 which the volume of immigrants coming to the

12 United States far exceeded that of any time prior to

13 or since that period;

14 (3) no single identifiable neighborhood in the

15 United States absorbed a comparable number of im16 migrants than the Lower East Side neighborhood of

17 Manhattan in New York City;

18 (4) the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Or19 chard Street in New York City is an outstanding

20 survivor of the vast number of humble buildings that

21 housed immigrants to New York City during the

22 greatest wave of immigration in American history;

23 (5) the Lower East Side Tenement is owned

24 and operated as a museum by the Lower East Side

25 Tenement Museum;
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1 (6) the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is

2 dedicated to interpreting immigrant life within a

3 neighborhood long associated with the immigrant ex4 perience in the United States, New York City’s

5 Lower East Side, and its importance to United

6 States history; and

7 (7)(A) the Director of the National Park Serv8 ice found the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Or9 chard Street to be nationally significant; and

10 (B) the Secretary of the Interior declared the

11 Lower East Side Tenement a National Historic

12 Landmark on April 19, 1994; and

13 (C) the Director of the National Park Service,

14 through a special resource study, found the Lower

15 East Side Tenement suitable and feasible for inclu16 sion in the National Park System.

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

18 (1) to ensure the preservation, maintenance,

19 and interpretation of this site and to interpret at the

20 site the themes of immigration, tenement life in the

21 latter half of the 19th century and the first half of

22 the 20th century, the housing reform movement, and

23 tenement architecture in the United States;

24 (2) to ensure continued interpretation of the

25 nationally significant immigrant phenomenon associ-
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1 ated with New York City’s Lower East Side and the

2 Lower East Side’s role in the history of immigration

3 to the United States; and

4 (3) to enhance the interpretation of the Castle

5 Clinton, Ellis Island, and Statue of Liberty National

6 Monuments.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

8 As used in this Act:

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

10 means the Lower East Side Tenement found at 97

11 Orchard Street on Manhattan Island in City of New

12 York, State of New York, and designated as a na13 tional historic site by section 4.

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

15 Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a nonprofit or16 ganization established in City of New York, State of

17 New York, which owns and operates the tenement

18 building at 97 Orchard Street and manages other

19 properties in the vicinity of 97 Orchard Street as ad20 ministrative and program support facilities for 97

21 Orchard Street.

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

23 the Secretary of the Interior.
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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HISTORIC SITE.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—To further the purposes of this

3 Act and the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the preser4 vation of historic American sites, buildings, objects, and

5 antiquities of national significance, and for other pur6 poses’’, approved August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et

7 seq.), the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard

8 Street, in the City of New York, State of New York, is

9 designated a national historic site.

10 (b) COORDINATION WITH NATIONAL PARK SYS11 TEM.—

12 (1) AFFILIATED SITE.—The historic site shall

13 be an affiliated site of the National Park System.

14 (2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary, in con15 sultation with the Museum, shall coordinate the op16 eration and interpretation of the historic site with

17 the Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Is18 land National Monument, and Castle Clinton Na19 tional Monument. The historic site’s story and inter20 pretation of the immigrant experience in the United

21 States is directly related to the themes and purposes

22 of these National Monuments.

23 (c) OWNERSHIP.—The historic site shall continue to

24 be owned, operated, and managed by the Museum.
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1 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF THE SITE.

2 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—The Secretary may

3 enter into a cooperative agreement with the Museum to

4 ensure the marking, interpretation, and preservation of

5 the national historic site designated by section 4(a).

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The

7 Secretary may provide technical and financial assistance

8 to the Museum to mark, interpret, and preserve the his9 toric site, including making preservation-related capital

10 improvements and repairs.

11 (c) GENERAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta13 tion with the Museum, shall develop a general man14 agement plan for the historic site that defines the

15 role and responsibility of the Secretary with regard

16 to the interpretation and the preservation of the his17 toric site.

18 (2) INTEGRATION WITH NATIONAL MONU19 MENTS.—The plan shall outline how interpretation

20 and programming for the historic site shall be inte21 grated and coordinated with the Statue of Liberty

22 National Monument, Ellis Island National Monu23 ment, and Castle Clinton National Monument to en24 hance the story of the historic site and these Na25 tional Monuments.
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1 (3) COMPLETION.—The plan shall be completed

2 not later than 2 years after the date of enactment

3 of this Act.

4 (d) LIMITED ROLE OF SECRETARY.—Nothing in this

5 Act authorizes the Secretary to acquire the property at

6 97 Orchard Street or to assume overall financial respon7 sibility for the operation, maintenance, or management of

8 the historic site.

9 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

11 as are necessary to carry out this Act.

Passed the Senate October 2, 1998.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.