STATUS:

• May 9, 2013.--Introduced.

Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Improvement Act of 2013 (Introduced in Senate - IS)

S 925 IS

To improve the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site, and for other purposes.

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Mr. SCHUMER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

To improve the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Improvement Act of 2013'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) Findings- Congress finds that--

(1) the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (referred to in this section as the `Museum') was founded in 1988 and has, for the past 25 years, preserved and interpreted the history of immigration through the personal experiences of generations of newcomers who settled in and built lives on Manhattan's Lower East Side, the iconic immigrant neighborhood of the United States;

(2) the Director of the National Park Service found the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street to be nationally significant;

(3) the Secretary of the Interior designated the Lower East Side Tenement a National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1994;

(4) the Director of the National Park Service, through a special resource study, found the Lower East Side Tenement suitable and feasible for inclusion in the National Park System;

(5) Congress designated the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street as a national historic site and as an affiliated site of the National Park System in title I of Public Law 105-378 (112 Stat. 3395);

(6) the National Park Service prepared a General Management Plan (referred to in this section as the `Plan') for the site in 2006;

(7) the Plan recognized the need for space for administrative functions, collections storage, and visitor services, including orientation and additional exhibits;

(8) the Museum obtained a neighboring 1888 tenement, 103 Orchard Street, which was restored and renovated to serve as a visitor and education center; and

(9) 103 Orchard was declared a contributing property in the Lower East Side National Historic District listed on both the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places.

(b) Purposes- The purposes of this Act are--

(1) to include 103 Orchard Street in New York City as part of the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site;

(2) to ensure the preservation, maintenance, and interpretation of the expanded site;

(3) to interpret at the site the stories of Holocaust survivors, Puerto Rican migrants, and post-1965 Chinese immigrants;

(4) to enhance appreciation for the profound role immigration has played and continues to play in shaping the evolving national identity of the United States; and

(5) to ensure continued interpretation of the nationally significant immigrant phenomenon associated with the Lower East Side of New York City and the role of the Lower East Side in the history of immigration to the United States, and to enhance the interpretation of the Castle Clinton, Ellis Island, and Statue of Liberty National Monuments.

SEC. 3. LOWER EAST SIDE TENEMENT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.

(a) Findings- Section 101(a)(4) of Public Law 105-378 (112 Stat. 3395) is amended by striking `the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street in New York City is an outstanding survivor' and inserting `the Lower East Side Tenements at 97 and 103 Orchard Street in New York City are outstanding survivors'.

(b) Definitions- Section 102 of Public Law 105-378 (112 Stat. 3396) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking `Lower East Side Tenement found at 97 Orchard Street' and inserting `Lower East Side Tenements found at 97 and 103 Orchard Street'; and

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking `which owns and operates the tenement building at 97 Orchard Street' and inserting `which owns and operates the tenement buildings at 97 and 103 Orchard Street'.

(c) Establishment- Section 103(a) of Public Law 105-378 (112 Stat. 3396) is amended by striking `the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street, in the City of New York, State of New York, is designated' and inserting `the Lower East Side Tenements at 97 and 103 Orchard Street, in the City of New York, State of New York, are designated'.

(d) Management- Section 104(d) of Public Law 105-378 (112 Stat. 3397) is amended by striking `the property at 97 Orchard Street' and inserting `the properties at 97 and 103 Orchard Street'.