About Us

Origins of this Effort

Save Washington Street is a national coalition of organizations and individuals advocating the preservation of the last remaining traces of the Washington Street neighborhood of the Lower West Side.

The coalition was established by Carl Antoun and Todd Fine, two young Americans who came together with the passionate belief that this neighborhood, one of the oldest parts of the city and which has had its ethnic history diminished and denied and has endured more demolition and destruction than any other neighborhood, deserves to have its few remaining historical traces preserved for posterity.

While the coalition’s first objective is to achieve the landmark designation of the community center at 105-107 Washington Street, already advocated by Community Board 1 of New York City, the long-term goal of the coalition is to improve education about this diverse neighborhood, and about Arab-American history in particular in order to combat stereotypes and ignorance. In order to join the coalition by signing our group letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission, please email carlantoun@savewashingtonstreet.org.

Carl Antoun serves as Save Washington Street’s director. He is currently an undergraduate studying International Culture Studies and Political Science at Saint Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, New York. A Lebanese-American, whose family once lived and worked on Washington Street, he has a deep connection to the area and a passionate interest in its history.
carlantoun@savewashingtonstreet.org

Todd Fine serves as historical and strategic advisor. He is the director of Project Khalid, the centennial campaign for Ameen Rihani’s The Book of Khalid. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Harvard University and holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He is the editor of a new critical edition of The Book of Khalid under advance contract with Syracuse University Press. At Harvard, Mr. Fine worked for Samuel P. Huntington as a research assistant for two years on his book on American identity and immigration, entitled Who Are We? (Simon and Schuster, 2004). He also organized and developed the Global Zero campaign on nuclear weapons, which launched in Paris, France in December 2008.
toddfine@projectkhalid.org

Norah Arafeh serves as the Outreach Director of Save Washington Street. She is currently an undergraduate student of History at the University of California, Berkeley where she reestablished the Arab Student Union and aims to promote an understanding of Arab history, culture and heritage through education and by example. As a first generation Arab American of Syrian descent, the effort to preserve the Arab community’s historical past in this country resonated with her, and she hopes to see Washington Street remain as a testament to Arab American history for generations to come.
noraharafeh@savewashingtonstreet.org