[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 136 (Friday, October 2, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11373-S11374]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      LOWER EAST SIDE TENEMENT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ACT OF 1997

  The bill (S. 1408) to establish the Lower East Side Tenement National 
Historic Site, and for other purposes, was considered, ordered to be 
engrossed for a third reading, read the third time, and passed; as 
follows:

                                S. 1408

       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

[[Page S11374]]

     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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