NYC Landmarks and The Vote at 100

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Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, November 2, 2017

Interactive Story Map, “NYC Landmarks and The Vote at 100,” Launched to Commemorate the Centennial of Women’s Suffrage in NYS

Starting today this online resource will provide visitors with a tool to learn about NYC landmarks that tell the story of the suffrage movement.

Today the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission launched NYC Landmarks and The Vote at 100, an interactive story map commemorating the centennial of women’s suffrage in New York State through the lens of New York City landmarks.

The story map enables viewers to learn the history of more than 40 designated sites associated with the advancement of the suffrage movement for American women. Text, photographs, maps and video, weave an account of the movement in a seven-part narrative that includes sections on the mainstream movement and well as the specific contributions of young insurgents, labor activists, and African American suffragists.

“This story map will enable visitors to learn about the battles that suffragists waged for the right to vote, as told by our city’s historic spaces and neighborhoods,” said Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan. “These spaces – residential, institutional, commercial buildings and others alike – are treasures of our city and a part of the shared heritage that binds us together. They tell a story that is vitally important today as we continue to honor and further the legacy of great suffragists.”

"I applaud the Landmarks Preservation Commission for developing an innovative tool to commemorate the magnificent women and HeforShe activists who helped shape the suffrage movement. New York is the birthplace of the women’s rights movement and it continues to inspire today’s suffragists as we demand equal rights, equal pay – and the utmost dignity and respect for all women,” said First Lady Chirlane McCray.

“As we fight for equal rights and equal pay, the vision and fortitude of New York City’s suffragists is inspiring,” Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said. “Landmarks Preservation Commission’s story map brings this great civil rights movement to life using landmarked buildings across our city to spotlight untold connections to the suffrage leaders.”

As the country’s largest city, a sociopolitical trailblazer, and the media capital of the United States, New York City was crucial to the attainment of women’s suffrage in New York State in 1917 and nationally three years later. The Election Day referendum approving women’s suffrage statewide on November 6 was the product of decades of organizing that began in the previous century. Designated institutional sites such as Cooper Union, Carnegie Hall and the Colony Club gained a close association with the suffrage movement during this period.

"The Women's Suffrage Movement was a catalyst for the advancement of gender equity in the State of New York and across the U.S. NYC Landmarks and the Vote at 100 is an innovative way to celebrate the centennial of the 19th Amendment and recognize the pioneers that helped propel women into the voting booth and ultimately public office. As chair of the Committee on Women's Issues and co-chair of the Women's Caucus, I am proud to join the Landmarks Preservation Commission in commemorating this significant milestone in our city, state, and nation's history. Despite our significant achievements and invaluable contributions, women remain underrepresented as elected officials in all levels of government. As we embark upon the next century, we must endeavor to continue the legacy of these dynamic women by increasing opportunities for women of all backgrounds to have a seat at the table," said Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo, chair of the Committee on Women's Issues and co-chair of the Women's Caucus.

“I am absolutely delighted that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has launched an interactive map using historic sites as a way to tell the important story of women’s suffrage in New York State. On behalf of the entire Women’s Caucus of the New York City Council, I commend the City for using a variety of engaging tools to both educate the public and celebrate the tremendous heroism of the women who successfully fought for our right to vote,” said Council Member Helen Rosenthal, co-chair of the Women's Caucus.

Mainstream suffrage organizations included the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), headed by Susan B. Anthony and later, Carrie Chapman Catt, who lived at 2 West 86th Street before moving to 404 Riverside Drive. Catt’s “winning plan,” unveiled in 1916, was instrumental in securing the 19th Amendment, which extended full voting rights to women in 1920. The work of young insurgents like Lucy Burns and labor leaders like Rose Schneiderman was also crucial in gaining the vote.

Hoping the vote could also address racial injustice, many African Americans formed their own suffrage organizations. Among them was Sarah Smith Garnet, New York’s first female African American public school principal, who lived at 175 MacDougal Street and later 205 DeKalb Avenue. Garnet founded the Equal Suffrage League of Brooklyn by the late 1880s, and also helped establish the Women’s Loyal League of New York and Brooklyn, which fought for African American women’s rights, including suffrage.

Visitors to NYC Landmarks and The Vote at 100 are able to browse through all this and more, learning about the history of the suffrage movement through New York City landmarks. The web map includes key figures and organizations of the suffrage movement along with the buildings and sites associated with their efforts, and is available starting today on the LPC homepage at www.nyc.gov/landmarks, and also specifically at https://nyclpc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=6bd7801af0c64191b8e6376516df781e.

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The Landmarks Preservation Commission is the mayoral agency responsible for protecting and preserving New York City’s architecturally, historically and culturally significant buildings and sites. Since its creation in 1965, LPC has granted landmark status to more than 36,000 buildings and sites, including 1,398 individual landmarks, 120 interior landmarks, 10 scenic landmarks, and 141 historic districts and extensions in all five boroughs. Under the City’s landmarks law, considered among the most powerful in the nation, the Commission must be comprised of at least three architects, a historian, a realtor, a planner or landscape architect, as well as a representative of each borough.