Marian Sameth came to the Citizens Housing & Planning Council in April 1946, drawn by its commitment to NYC’s neighborhoods and civic advocacy.  An organizational innovator, Marian, along with her long term colleagues Frances Magee and Ruth Dickler, established CHPC’s library and archival collection.

Roger Starr, CHPC’s long-time Executive Director for whom our public service award is named, acknowledged that while he was the public face of the organization and received all the recognition, without Marian there would be no CHPC and that it was she who was really in charge.

Ms. Sameth served as Associate Director of CHPC until she retired in 2000 and assumed a position on CHPC’s Board of Directors.  She continues to be an active member of the Board, serving on the fall fundraiser and Annual Luncheon committees. She is an avid reader, theater goer, and music lover.  But most notably Ms. Sameth loves the City of New York, its neighborhoods and its people and has dedicated these past six decades to its improvement, preservation, and its future.

Born and raised in New York City, Mrs. Ruth Dickler first joined CHPC as a volunteer in 1962, where she began to build and shape CHPC’s archival library.  Recognizing that resources to expand the collection were scarce, she worked with NYC’s publishers to obtain book donations and established and edited CHPC’s BookNews, which provided reviews on books related to NYC housing and planning. She created the library’s first card catalogue and became an important resource for many of New York’s researchers, academics, and students. Her volunteer work grew into a staff position (the salary for which she donated back to the organization), and upon her “retirement” she became a member of CHPC’s Board of Directors, where she continues to serve today. 

Amy Oster, Marian Sameth and Ruth Dickler Archival Library Intern 2010

Amy is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, pursuing a major in Urban Studies and a minor in American Public Policy.  She is particularly interested in the intersection of government legislation, mixed-use and transit-oriented communities, and regional development, which she explored in Washington, D.C. this past year and plans to continue researching for her thesis. 

Growing up in New York and going to school in Philadelphia have strengthened Amy's fascination with cities and their history.  Given this interest, she is excited about the opportunity both to assist in policy projects and to pore through CHPC's extensive archival library, cataloguing and categorizing the collection, and highlighting documents of particular interest on the website.

Gina Levitan, Marian Sameth and Ruth Dickler Archival Library Intern 2009/2010

Gina Levitan is a graduate of Hampshire College where she focused on media and its impact on society and culture.  By extensively studying and writing about the German philosophers of the Frankfurt school her work culminated in a 120 page senior thesis that interpreted their ideas for a 21st century society. 

A lifelong New Yorker, Gina enjoys music, film, and art and takes advantage of all the City has to offer.  She enjoys running and the outdoors, and speaks Spanish.   She has traveled to Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Paris, Australia, Ireland, and Northern Ireland, where she spent time volunteering at Groundwork Trust Northern Ireland in Belfast working with children in the Short Strand housing estate in East Belfast.
A talented, painter, writer and researcher, Gina will begin a dual degree masters program in Library Science and the Humanities at New York University and Long Island University in the fall of 2010.

Kate Proshansky, Marian Sameth and Ruth Dickler Archival Library Intern 2009/2010

As an intern at CHPC’s archival library, Kate is responsible for cataloguing materials and manuscripts from CHPC’s extensive collection, creating a searchable data base, locating and digitizing items of special interest which are highlighted on CHPC’s website, helping to conserve fragile documents that are at risk, and assisting staff with research.

Kate will be pursuing a course of study in urban studies in the Fall of 2010.  Her interest in urban affairs has developed through courses she has taken at the New School for Social Research, her architectural photography which focuses on the urban landscape, and her experiences growing up in New York City.  Kate’s interest in other languages, cultures, and the urban environment has led her to travel to Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and France.

Anique is interested in urban planning, architecture, New York City’s history, and public housing.  She is currently a student of interdisciplinary studies at the New York Institute of Technology where she focuses on architecture, social science, and the humanities.  Building on her study of architecture at Morgan State, she will receive her BS degree in May 2010.  Anique has been volunteering in community efforts since she was 12, including at Common Ground, in community activities in the Bronx, and with young people in Baltimore while she was a student there.

Her interests in housing, architecture, and planning along with her excellent computer and organizational skills, are put to good use in CHPC’s historic archive collection where she helps catalogue and preserve our unique materials.  Anique is a lifelong New Yorker who grew up in the Bronx has travelled in Europe and spends her summers in Antigua with her family.