NYCHA Wins 2025 Moses Award for Preservation Projects
Three NYCHA restoration and preservation projects have been awarded a 2025 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award, the highest honor for excellence in restoration and preservation from the New York Landmarks Conservancy.
The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards, known as “The Lucies,” recognizes individuals, organizations, architects, craftspeople, and building owners for their contributions to preserving New York City. NYCHA was among 17 winners.
The three NYCHA projects that received a Preservation Project Award are Harlem River Houses, the Nivola Horses at Wise Towers, and the Exodus and Dance frieze at Kingsborough Houses.
Harlem River Houses
Harlem River Houses is the first federally funded, built, and owned housing development in New York City. The development has been undergoing a major renovation and restoration across eight buildings through NYCHA’s PACT program which includes renovating 693 apartments; modernizing building facades and façade repairs to landmarked buildings; upgrading elevators and security and heating systems; abating environmental hazards; energy- and sustainability-related improvements; and more. A key focus of the improvements was the restoration of historically significant features on the property, including the central fountain, as per historic preservation regulations. Construction began in March 2022 and is on schedule to be completed in 2025. Partners include project architect Curtis + Ginsberg and preservation consultant Higgins, Quasebarth & Partners, as well as nonprofit developer Settlement Housing Fund and West Harlem Group Assistance, L+M Builders Group, and C+C Apartment Management LLC.
Nivola Horses at Stephen Wise Towers
The Nivola Horses are 18 stone sculptures created in 1964 by late Italian artist Constantino Nivola located in the outdoor plaza at Wise Towers, where they have been an integral part of the development’s cultural fabric, serving as a place of play, meeting point, and neighborhood tourist attraction. In 2021, the statues were removed due to their location above a water main line that needed repairs. Wise Towers was undergoing conversion to PACT and received comprehensive upgrades; included in the upgrades was the full restoration of the Constantino Nivola art, which included the horses, a wall mural, a sculpture wall along 90th Street, and two concrete pyramids. The Nivola Horses restoration work was overseen by Jablonski Building Conservation, and the horses made a triumphant return to Wise Towers in January 2024.
Exodus and Dance Frieze at Kingsborough Houses
Exodus and Dance is a sculpture by renowned artist Richmond Barthé that depicts scenes of Black people dancing and participating in a religious celebration. It has been at Kingsborough Houses since 1941 and is called “The Wall” by residents. After more than 80 years on display outdoors at the development, the elements and time took their toll on the piece, and a restoration project has been completed to restore it.
In 2019, NYCHA received $1.8 million in City Council funding to initiate the restoration planning and design of the frieze. In 2023, the Public Housing Community Fund secured a $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to begin the restoration work. This additional grant funding closed a critical gap of the restoration project as well as established an artist-in-residence program, place-based storywalk, and community mural interventions co-created by the Kingsborough Houses residents and community stakeholders. The restoration involved carefully removing the frieze from the wall and transporting it to a conservation studio, building a new wall to serve as the base for the frieze, replacing the surrounding pavement, and upgrading the site lighting. Joining NYCHA and the Fund in completing this project were Jemco Electrical Contractors, Evergreene Architectural Arts, Ronnette Riley Architect, Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc., and Fisher Marantz Stone architectural lighting designers.
