[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1408 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1408

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 7, 1997

  Mr. D'Amato (for himself and Mr. Moynihan) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish 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 Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1)(A) immigration, and the resulting diversity of cultural 
        influences, is a key factor in defining the identity of the 
        United States; and
            (B) many United States citizens trace their ancestry to 
        persons born in nations other than the United States;
            (2) the latter part of the 19th century and the early part 
        of the 20th century marked a period in which the volume of 
        immigrants coming to the United States far exceeded that of any 
        time prior to or since that period;
            (3) no single identifiable neighborhood in the United 
        States absorbed a comparable number of immigrants than the 
        Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City;
            (4) the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street in 
        New York City is an outstanding survivor of the vast number of 
        humble buildings that housed immigrants to New York City during 
        the greatest wave of immigration in American history;
            (5) the Lower East Side Tenement is owned and operated as a 
        museum by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum;
            (6) the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is dedicated to 
        interpreting immigrant life within a neighborhood long 
        associated with the immigrant experience in the United States, 
        New York City's Lower East Side, and its importance to United 
        States history; and
            (7)(A) the Director of the National Park Service found the 
        Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street to be nationally 
        significant; and
            (B) the Secretary of the Interior declared the Lower East 
        Side Tenement a National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1994; 
        and
            (C) 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.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to ensure the preservation, maintenance, and 
        interpretation of this site and to interpret at the site the 
        themes of immigration, tenement life in the latter half of the 
        19th century and the first half of the 20th century, the 
        housing reform movement, and tenement architecture in the 
        United States;
            (2) to ensure continued interpretation of the nationally 
        significant immigrant phenomenon associated with New York 
        City's Lower East Side and the Lower East Side's role in the 
        history of immigration to the United States; and
            (3) to enhance the interpretation of the Castle Clinton, 
        Ellis Island, and Statue of Liberty National Monuments.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means the 
        Lower East Side Tenement found at 97 Orchard Street on 
        Manhattan Island in City of New York, State of New York, and 
        designated as a national historic site by section 4.
            (2) Museum.--The term ``Museum'' means the Lower East Side 
        Tenement Museum, a nonprofit organization established in City 
        of New York, State of New York, which owns and operates the 
        tenement building at 97 Orchard Street and manages other 
        properties in the vicinity of 97 Orchard Street as 
        administrative and program support facilities for 97 Orchard 
        Street.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF HISTORIC SITE.

    (a) In General.--To further the purposes of this Act and the Act 
entitled ``An Act to provide for the preservation of historic American 
sites, buildings, objects, and antiquities of national significance, 
and for other purposes'', approved August 21, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 461 et 
seq.), the Lower East Side Tenement at 97 Orchard Street, in the City 
of New York, State of New York, is designated a national historic site.
    (b) Coordination With National Park System.--
            (1) Affiliated site.--The historic site shall be an 
        affiliated site of the National Park System.
            (2) Coordination.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Museum, shall coordinate the operation and interpretation of 
        the historic site with the Statue of Liberty National Monument, 
        Ellis Island National Monument, and Castle Clinton National 
        Monument. The historic site's story and interpretation of the 
        immigrant experience in the United States is directly related 
        to the themes and purposes of these National Monuments.
    (c) Ownership.--The historic site shall continue to be owned, 
operated, and managed by the Museum.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF THE SITE.

    (a) Cooperative Agreement.--The Secretary may enter into a 
cooperative agreement with the Museum to ensure the marking, 
interpretation, and preservation of the national historic site 
designated by section 4(a).
    (b) Technical and Financial Assistance.--The Secretary may provide 
technical and financial assistance to the Museum to mark, interpret, 
and preserve the historic site, including making preservation-related 
capital improvements and repairs.
    (c) General Management Plan.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Museum, shall develop a general management plan for the 
        historic site that defines the role and responsibility of the 
        Secretary with regard to the interpretation and the 
        preservation of the historic site.
            (2) Integration with national monuments.--The plan shall 
        outline how interpretation and programming for the historic 
        site shall be integrated and coordinated with the Statue of 
        Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island National Monument, and 
        Castle Clinton National Monument to enhance the story of the 
        historic site and these National Monuments.
            (3) Completion.--The plan shall be completed not later than 
        2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (d) Limited Role of Secretary.--Nothing in this Act authorizes the 
Secretary to acquire the property at 97 Orchard Street or to assume 
overall financial responsibility for the operation, maintenance, or 
management of the historic site.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 
to carry out this Act.
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