By Albert Amateau
The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation held its 31st annual meeting on Mon., June 13, when it presented the 2011 Village Awards to the people, places and institutions that give the neighborhood its special character.
The event, which began at 6:30 p.m. at the Village Community School, 270 W. 10th St., honored Annisa Restaurant, Fourth Arts Block, Bob Holman, Judson Memorial Church, Le Poisson Rouge, McNulty’s Tea & Coffee Co. and P.E. Guerin.
The Regina Kellerman Award went to the Church of the Ascension for the recently restored nave of its 19th-century house of worship on Fifth Ave. at W. 11th St.
“Annisa” means “women” in Arabic, and chef Anita Lo leads the upscale restaurant at 13 Barrow St. Opening in 2000 with Jennifer Scism as a partner, the restaurant had to be rebuilt after a fire in 2009. Lo has been dubbed Celebrity Chef and bested Mario Batali on “Iron Chef America.” Nevertheless, she is a Village enthusiast and provides food for community events and raises funds to help breast and ovarian cancer survivors. The restaurant has earned a coveted Michelin star.
Fourth Arts Block was founded in 2001 by local arts and community groups to advocate for the E. Fourth St. Cultural District, which includes La MaMa Experimental Theatre Co., Millennium Film Workshop, DUO Multicultural Arts Center and Teatro Circulo. The group coordinated a capital campaign for the buildings and organizes programs, including the FAB Festival, The FAB Café at 75 E. Fourth St., streetscape improvements and discounts for district theaters and restaurants.
Poet Bob Holman has worked to promote poetry in Greenwich Village and the East Village for more than 30 years. He coordinated the St. Mark’s Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery from 1980 to 1984 and helped reopen the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, which led to the creation of spoken-word television shows on HBO and MTV. In 2002, Holman created the Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, to carry on the populist arts of the famed street, including burlesque and vaudeville. The club provides a venue for neighborhood poets and performers.
Judson Memorial Church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptist Churches, has long been a home for artists and social justice activists. Led by Senior Minister Donna Schaper and Minister Michael Ellick, the Washington Square South church has continued its tradition of providing spiritual guidance along with cutting-edge theater, music and dance. Its ministry includes teaching workers how to organize unions, counseling for drug addiction, resources for people with AIDS and defending immigrants threatened with deportation.
Le Poisson Rouge, a multimedia art cabaret at the site of the historic Village Gate, at 158 Bleecker St., is dedicated to the fusion of popular and high-art cultures in music, film, theater, dance and fine art. Founded and owned by musicians David Handler and Justin Kantor, Le Poisson Rouge is a member of the Bleecker Area Merchants and Residents Association. The cabaret’s programs include pop music, opera, poetry readings, classical performances and workshops and art exhibits.
McNulty’s Tea and Coffee Co., 108 Christopher St., has been offering tea and coffee to Villagers since 1895 and wears its age proudly with an original tin ceiling, old-fashioned scales, vintage tea bins and burlap sacks of coffee. The current owner, David Wong, along with his father, Wing, and longtime employee Tom, have presided over the shop since 1980, providing expert service to customers, some of whose parents and grandparents were patrons.
The oldest decorative hardware firm in the nation, P.E. Guerin, at 23 Jane St., is also the only metal foundry in New York City. Founded in 1857 by Pierre Emmanuel Guerin and located on Jane St. since 1892, the company remains a family business. Andrew F. Ward, Pierre Emmanuel’s great-grandnephew, owns the firm. P.E. Guerin employs more than 70 skilled workers in its custom and made-to-order metalworking business. The company has provided free tree-pit guards for neighborhood associations and bronze signs for Fire Department Squad 18 on W. 10th St.
The Church of the Ascension engaged Leo J. Blackman Architects to direct the restoration of the church’s nave, including structural changes needed to support the weight of a new French-built organ donated by the Manton Foundation. The new restoration unites the 1895 renovation designed by Sanford White and Richard Upjohn’s original Church of the Ascension design.
