I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2201
To establish the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 17, 1997
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. LAZIO of New York, Mr.
TOWNS, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. SERRANO, Mr.
MANTON, Mr. KING, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. NADLER, Mrs.
LOWEY, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. ENGEL, Mr.
RANGEL, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. LAFALCE,
Mrs. KELLY, Mr. OWENS, and Mr. BOEHLERT) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources
A BILL
To establish the Lower East Side Tenement National
Historic Site, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lower East Side Tene-
ment 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 Amer-
ican 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 Unit-
ed 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 im-
migrants than the Lower East Side neighborhood of
Manhattan in New York City;
(4) the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Or-
chard 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 ex-
perience in the United States, New York’s Lower
East Side, and its importance to United States his-
tory; and
(7) the National Park Service found the Lower
East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street to be na-
tionally significant; the Secretary of the Interior de-
clared it a National Historic Landmark on April 19,
1994, and the National Park Service through a spe-
cial resource study found the Lower East Side Tene-
ment suitable and feasible for inclusion in the Na-
tional 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 associ-
ated 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 Or-
chard Street on Manhattan Island in New York
City, New York, and designated as a national his-
toric site by section 4.
(2) MUSEUM.—The term ‘‘Museum’’ means the
Lower East Side Tenement Museum, a nonprofit or-
ganization 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 preser-
vation of historic American sites, buildings, objects, and
antiquities of national significance, and for other pur-
poses’’, 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 co-
ordinate 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 pur-
poses 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 mark-
ing, interpretation, and preservation of the national his-
toric 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 pre-
serve the national historic site including the making of
preservation-related capital improvements and repairs.
(c) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary shall, work-
ing 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 in-
terpretation and programming for the Lower East Side
Tenement National Historic Site and the Statue of Lib-
erty, 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 author-
izes 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.
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