NEW PERMANENT ARTWORK HONORS CITY’S FIRST ARABIC-SPEAKING COMMUNITY

Located in Lower Manhattan's historic "Little Syria" district, which was razed in the 1940s, the work features a central sculpture and mosaic panels celebrating the community's literary legacy

The first new commemorative public artwork in a New York City park since 2020

Today, NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura joined First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan to celebrate the unveiling of the new permanent artwork Al Qalam: Poets in the Park by artist Sara Ouhaddou alongside the artist, Washington Street Historical Society President Linda Jacobs, and other guests. Presented in partnership with Washington Street Historical Society, the multipart artwork in Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza in Manhattan celebrates the literary legacy of New York's first Arabic-speaking community and shines a light on an often-forgotten facet of the city's diverse history.

The monument pays homage to the historic "Little Syria" community that thrived in Lower Manhattan from the 1880s to the 1940s and nurtured a flourishing community of authors and poets. In particular, the local writers' association al Rabitah al Qalamiyah ("The Pen Bond"), founded in Little Syria in 1916, played an important role in the literary renaissance in the Middle East by creating innovative forms of Arabic literature.

The central lawn features a striking three-dimensional representation of the Arabic word "al Qalam" ("The Pen") in an abstract calligraphy that Ouhaddou based on the geometries of Islamic architecture. Punctuating the surface of the sculpture are the names of nine respected writers of the Little Syria community, also transliterated into her abstract alphabet.

South of the sculpture, two gently curving mosaic panels serve as backrests for existing stone benches. These opulent mosaics feature excerpts from works by the writers honored on the sculpture, also rendered in Ouhaddou's unique script. The Washington Street Historical Society has created an augmented reality app that allows visitors to point their phone at any part of the mosaic to hear or read the excerpt in Arabic and English, the full poem, and a short biography of the writer.

"The culture and history of New York City's Little Syria will never be forgotten," said Mayor Zohran Mamdani. "When the community was razed in the 1940s to make way for the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, it did not disappear; it lives on across our city, from Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn to the literary legacy this artwork so beautifully celebrates. I am proud New Yorkers and visitors alike will be invited to rediscover the poetry, architecture and excellence of Little Syria through Sara Ouhaddou's thoughtful tribute."

"Our public spaces, and our monuments in particular, tell the story of our city, celebrating our shared achievements and elevating elements of our history that have been forgotten or ignored. This monument to the Little Syria community, and the incredible literary contributions that have been made here, are a beautiful reminder that our city has always been shaped by tremendous diversity, perseverance, and creativity," said NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura. "The striking sculpture and mosaics that Sara Ouhaddou has created vibrantly testify to the enduring impact that Arab New Yorkers have had on our city. We're proud to welcome this new permanent artwork into our collection of over 800 monuments and art installations, and we're grateful to Sara Ouhaddou and our partners at the Washington Street Historical Society, the Mellon Foundation, and DCLA for bringing this tribute to life."

In 1880, immigrants from Greater Syria, which encompassed modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and historic Palestine, settled on Washington Street between the Battery and Albany Street, just steps away from the park. "The Syrian quarter" or "Little Syria" was home to about 1,200 Syrians. Development in the Financial District led to the community's displacement, and the district was razed by the construction of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in the 1940s.

Writers and poets featured in the monument are al Rabitah's Elia Abu Madi, Naseeb Arida, Kahlil Gibran, Nadra Haddad, Mikhail Naimy, Ameen Rihani; and three respected members of the literary community who were not members of al Rabitah: Abbas Abu Shakra, 'Afifa Karam, and Agabia Malouf.

"This project is deeply important to me not just because it takes place in New York City-one of the most culturally rich cities in the world-but also because it is, in many ways, one of the defining projects of my life and my artistic practice. Through the discovery of the Little Syria community-its artists, its people, and their histories-I encountered something that resonated profoundly with my own story. For the first time, I became truly aware of my position in the world as the child of immigration, of my cultural background, my languages, my inherited narratives. Questions of language, writing, translation, and diaspora have since become central to my practice and will never leave me," said artist Sara Ouhaddou. "With this work, I hope to offer something that might, in its own way, resonate with others, whether they are visitors, passersby, historians, or descendants connected to this very particular place."

"On this, the very last day of Arab American Heritage Month, I welcome you to this tribute to the writers and poets of the first Arabic speaking community in the United States. Imagine an immigrant from Lebanon after a five-thousand mile voyage stepping into American soil and being greeted in Arabic, walking up Washington Street and seeing dozens of Syrian businesses and establishments. There was even a school where children could learn American history and adults could learn English. Though the conditions were as bad as any slums in the city, they not only survived, but thrived," said Washington Street Historical Society President Linda Jacobs.

"Ouhaddou treats language like architecture and produces deconstructed poems in glass and mosaic, an artform with a long history in the Middle East and Europe. The resulting imagery is intentionally illegible: an 'unreadable translation' that remains universally accessible through its visual poetry," notes Lila Nazemian, curator and Program Director at ArteEast.

"Sara Ouhaddou's 'Al Qalam: Poets in the Park' pays tribute to the incredible legacy of writers and residents who once flourished here in Manhattan's Little Syria," said NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diya Vij. "We were honored to work with the Washington Street Historical Society and NYC Parks to select the artist for this poignant work of public art so that the stories held by this community are alive for generations to come."

Completed in 2021, Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza is the result of advocacy beginning in 2012 when the growing downtown residential community and Alliance for Downtown New York urged the creation of a unified village green. As a result, several plazas were merged into a cohesive pedestrian greenspace that serves as a link between Ground Zero and the Battery. To construct the park, the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel's underutilized exit ramp was removed, and traffic was rerouted to Edgar Street (the City's shortest street) to reduce pollution and improve pedestrian safety.

Like the monument it now hosts, Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza pays homage to the lost community of Little Syria. The landscape is distinguished by undulating paths with irregular flagstone paving, an oval lawn and raised berms framed by curved rustic walls, cypress and cedar trees and a variety of shrubs and perennials that create an engaging yet tranquil refuge and buffer from vehicular traffic. These distinct features evoke the native lands and heritage of the Middle Eastern immigrants who settled nearby in the nineteenth century.

In 2017, Moroccan French artist Sara Ouhaddou was selected through a competition run by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs to create a site-specific artwork for the new plaza. The Washington Street Historical Society, under the leadership of Dr. Linda Jacobs (whose grandparents lived in Little Syria), sponsored the design, fabrication, and installation of the commemorative artworks and established a maintenance fund for their ongoing care and preservation, thanks to a major grant from the Mellon Foundation and other charitable donations. Fabrication was completed by UAP, EventScape, Miotto Mosaic Art Studio, with installation by Harder Landscaping.

Also present at today's celebration were New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diya Vij, New York City Councilmember Chris Marte, New York State Assemblymember Nader Sayegh, and Downtown Alliance President Jessica Lappin.

About the Artist

Born in 1986, Sara Ouhaddou lives and works between France and Morocco. Her mission is to address the various challenges facing crafting communities, envisaging art as a means of economic, social, and cultural emancipation. An important theme in her work is the Arabic language, whose letters she dissects to create abstract symbols, before transforming these symbols into a language in its own right. Her work has been exhibited at a number of institutions, including Mucem (Marseille); the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid); Z33 (Hasselt); the Centre Pompidou, the Palais de Tokyo and the Institute of Islamic Cultures (Paris); Bauhaus Dessau (Dessau) and the Cité internationale des arts (Paris).

About NYC Parks

NYC Parks is the steward of more than 30,000 acres of land - 14 percent of New York City - including more than 5,000 individual properties ranging from Coney Island Beach and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We are New York City's principal providers of recreational and athletic facilities and programs, and home to free concerts, world-class sports events, and cultural festivals. NYC Parks' Art & Antiquities (A&A) division is the chief steward of nearly 800 monuments and permanent artworks, programs temporary public art exhibitions, manages historic signs, and programs the Arsenal Gallery in the NYC Parks' headquarters.

About Washington Street Historical Society

Washington Street Historical Society (WSHS) aims to restore to the Great American Story the forgotten history of the earliest Arabic-speaking community in the United States. Its mission is to foster education and awareness about the history of Arab migration to the lower Washington Street neighborhood of Manhattan, once known as the Syrian Quarter. By working to preserve the few surviving historic buildings on Washington Street, promoting educational activities and events, including walking tours of the area, as well as collaborating with the City of New York to install public art in recognition of the literary legacy of the early community, WSHS aims to highlight Arab immigrant history and how it fits into the New York and wider American experience. 

About NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) is dedicated to supporting and strengthening New York City's vibrant cultural life. DCLA works to promote and advocate for quality arts programming and to articulate the contribution made by the cultural community to the City's vitality. The Department represents and serves nonprofit cultural organizations involved in the visual, literary, and performing arts; public-oriented science and humanities institutions including zoos, botanical gardens, and historic and preservation societies; and creative artists at all skill levels who live and work within the City's five boroughs. DCLA also provides donated materials for arts programs offered by the public schools and cultural and social service groups, and commissions permanent works of public art at City-funded construction projects throughout the five boroughs. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/culture.