2025 Pillar of New York Awards
For over 25 years, the Preservation League of New York State has celebrated individuals and organizations who have taken extraordinary steps to protect, preserve, and promote New York’s cultural and architectural heritage. These are the true believers in the power of preservation – those who understand that preserving our past ensures a vibrant, more sustainable future.
Many thanks to everyone who joined us in the Rainbow Room on Monday, May 19, as we honored the many historic preservation contributions of Roberta Brandes Gratz. Click here to watch Roberta’s acceptance speech from the event.
Roberta Brandes Gratz: Roberta is an award-winning journalist, urban critic, lecturer, and author known for her contributions to historic preservation, specifically to urban development and community revitalization. She is the author of several influential books, including We’re Still Here Ya Bastard: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City; The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs; The Living City: Thinking Small in a Big Way, and Cities Back from the Edge: New Life for Downtown.
Gratz has had a distinguished career as a reporter, including a position as an award-winning journalist for the New York Post. She has written extensively on urban issues for prominent publications such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Nation, Tikkun, and Planning Magazine, and her work has been translated into Japanese, Russian, Czech, German, and Polish. More recently, she has contributed frequently to online publications.
Gratz is a sought-after international lecturer on urban development and community revitalization, traveling extensively throughout the U.S., Central Europe, Japan, and Great Britain. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Surdna Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Fannie Mae Foundation, among others. She has also received numerous writing awards from organizations including the American Institute of Architects, American Planning Association, and the Municipal Art Society.
She has held leadership roles in various preservation and urban development organizations, including as a Trustee and former head of Public Policy for the League, Vice-President of the Salzburg Conference on Urban Planning and Development, and founder and President Emeritus of the Eldrige Street Museum. She has also been involved in key urban planning initiatives, including the New York Governor’s and Mayor’s Task Force on Planning Manhattan’s West Side Highway and Waterfront.
A native and resident of New York City, Roberta remains a tireless advocate for preserving and revitalizing urban spaces, and we are thrilled to recognize her lifetime’s achievements this spring.
Click here to see a full list of past honorees
The Pillar of New York Awards Gala is the League’s largest annual fundraising event – with proceeds directly supporting the League’s statewide efforts to advance preservation throughout the year. By attending, you will be contributing to vital advocacy, technical assistance, and educational initiatives that ensure the preservation of our state’s historic places for future generations.