Join Save Harlem Now! for our Second Annual Gene Norman Preservation Awards Gala as we honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the preservation of Harlem's architectural and cultural legacies.

The Gene Norman Preservation Awards Gala is named in honor of the late Gene Norman, who was the first, and to date only African American Chairman of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), and a co-founder of Save Harlem Now! Serving under Mayor Edward I. Koch in the 1980’s, Norman helped defeat New York State legislation that would have exempted religious institutions from landmarks designation. During his tenure as chairman, LPC granted landmark designations to St. Bartholomew’s Church; the Coty and Rizzoli Buildings; the Ladies’ Mile shopping area from 15th to 24th Street, between Park Avenue South and Avenue of the Americas; and the Coney Island Cyclone. He also secured a $60,000 grant from the Astor Foundation for crucial research and field work in Harlem.

Meet Our 2025 Honorees

Lana Turner, Cultural Historian
A. Philip Randolph-Bayard Rustin Lifetime Achievement Award

Lana Turner is quintessential Harlem, a landmark unto herself. A reader, writer, thinker and researcher with a keen interest in the elements of art and style in Black culture and why this meditation matters, she has earned the endearing title of “Queen of Harlem.” She works as a real estate professional, producer, archivist, and preservationist. Always breaking new ground to celebrate Harlem’s history and its institutions, she co-founded The Literary Society, a Harlem-based book discussion group; launched Men Who Cook, initially to support the Children’s Art Carnival in Harlem; and continues to collaborate with others to mount initiatives that preserve the history of Black culture. Also, she is recognized for her impressive collection of vintage clothing which has been featured in fashion, gallery and museum exhibitions.

Martin Spollen and Chen "Jenny" Jie
Tandy & Foster Architectural Heritage Award

Photo courtesy of The New York Times

The James A. Bailey mansion at St. Nicholas Place and West 150th Street was built in 1888 for the partner of P.T. Barnum in the Greatest Show on Earth. Although designated a New York City Landmark in 1974, by the early 2000’s the mansion was leak-plagued and in massive disrepair. Fortunately, the mansion has been saved by an enterprising couple, Martin Spollen and Chen “Jenny” Jie, who purchased it in 2009 and have been restoring it ever since. The couple has been doing much of the careful restoration with their own hands and, even with cash raised from renting out the mansion as a location for television shows like Law and Order and Boardwalk Empire, they expect that it will take them another 5 to 10 years to complete the restoration.

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Arturo Schomburg Stewardship Award

Founded in 1925 and named a National Historic Landmark in 2017, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is one of the world’s leading cultural institutions devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences. As a research center of the New York Public Library, the Schomburg Center features diverse programming and collections spanning over 11 million items that illuminate the richness of global Black history, arts and culture.

Jane Tillman Irving
Mistress of Ceremonies

Second Annual Gene Norman Preservation Awards Gala

By Save Harlem Now!

Second Annual Gene Norman Preservation Awards Gala

Celebrating the preservation of Harlem's architectural and cultural legacies!