Please join RPA for a celebration and discussion of It’s A Helluva Town: Joan K. Davidson, the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and the Fight for a Better New York. As cities everywhere confront uncertain futures in a post-pandemic era, important lessons can be learned from innovative and committed New Yorkers who, since the end of World War ll, have revitalized and returned to prominence many of New York’s iconic landmarks. We will be joined by award-winning journalist and urban critic, lecturer and author, Roberta Brandes Gratz to recount the stories of the transformation of New York’s civic and cultural landscape made possible by the J.M. Kaplan Fund under the leadership of the indomitable preservationist and philanthropist, Joan K. Davidson. Gratz will be interviewed by RPA Senior Fellow Rose Harvey. Special remarks will be made by Bob Yaro and Tom Wright.

About the Author
Roberta Brandes Gratz is an award-winning journalist, urban critic, lecturer, and author who has published four previous books, including We’re Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City; and The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs. Her writing has also appeared in the Nation, the New York Times Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal. She led the Eldridge Street Project for more than 20 years, the effort to restore the 1887 synagogue on the Lower East Side and establish the Eldridge Street Museum. She previously served on New York City’s Landmark Preservation Commission and NYC’s Sustainability Advisory Board. With Jane Jacobs, she founded The Center for the Living City. She lives in New York City.