Central Park Conservancy Hosts Juneteenth Dinner Honoring Seneca Village's Lost Legacy

The postcolonial community of free African-American families, schools, churches, and businesses existed between 1825 and 1853, yet by 1857, the residential area was destroyed due to the use of eminent domain by the State of New York in order to become part of Central Park.

Intent on shining a spotlight on the legacy of Seneca Village while seeking to course-correct its erasure, the Central Park Conservancy hosted a commemorative dinner on Thursday evening timed to the celebration of Juneteenth.

Museum Mile—which runs along Fifth Avenue on Manhattan's Upper East Side—is home to a number of institutions tasked with preserving history, from the Met and the Guggenheim to the Jewish Museum. But across the greenery, from 82nd Street to 89th Street along Central Park West, lies a more hidden story regarding the once-thriving Seneca Village.