The Jeffrey Kroessler Student Research Award is an annual juried award highlighting original graduate-level research on topics relevant to historic preservation in New York City. This research award will provide emerging preservationists an opportunity to gain public recognition by showcasing their research that is beneficial to the advancement of the historic preservation community. At least one $1,000 award will be presented each year and the awarded recipient(s) will have the opportunity to publicly present their research to peers and preservationists in 2026.
The 2025 application is officially closed. We thank all of the applicants who applied. Please stay tuned for the next application cycle in 2026!
2025 Jeffery Kroessler Student Research Award Winner
We are pleased to announce our 2025 Jeffrey Kroessler Student Research Award winner is Frederick for his thesis Preserving the Past, Serving the Present: The Role of Contemporary Restaurants in Balancing Modern Functionality with Historic Preservation in New York City. Learn more about him below!
Frederick is an architectural designer educated in Indonesia, with over seven years of professional experience designing restaurants in Jakarta, Jogjakarta, and Bali. His projects often involved working with existing buildings including historic structures, which sparked a deeper interest in how architecture can preserve cultural narratives through design. This led him to pursue graduate studies in Historic Preservation at GSAPP Columbia University, where he now focus on the intersection of preservation and contemporary restaurant design. Frederick’s research explores how adaptive reuse in cities like Jakarta and New York can keep historic buildings relevant, publicly visible, and integrated into modern urban life.
Congratulations once again, Frederick!
Meet our 2025 Jurors!
HDC is pleased to announce our jurors for our 2025 Jeffrey Kroessler Student Research Award! Read more about them below:
Laura Heim is an award-winning architect with a firm located in historic Sunnyside Gardens, Queens. Her firm has a particular expertise in historic preservation and adaptive reuse/renovation. She served as the Chair of Architecture on the Steering Committee of the Sunnyside Gardens Preservation Alliance, as president of the AIA Queens chapter, and was on the Board of Directors of AIA New York State. She was the Co-Chair of the AIANY Fellows Committee from 2021-2023 and frequently collaborated on historic preservation work with her late husband, Jeffrey Kroessler, which the award is named after.
Omar J. Walker is an accomplished Project Manager, Designer, and Professor who brings over a decade of experience directing collaborative teams on high-end residential projects, encompassing everything from apartment renovations to expansive townhomes and estates. Throughout his career, he has successfully overseen the restoration and construction of numerous well-published, award-winning custom homes. His expertise spans all facets of construction projects, from schematic design to construction administration. A strong advocate for historic preservation and adaptive reuse, Omar has effectively applied these techniques to preserve many of New York City’s historic private properties for his clients.
Beyond his significant residential work, Omar has made notable contributions to the civic domain and the historic preservation community. One key achievement includes his collaborative work with local stakeholders and community advocacy groups that led to the New York City landmark designation of the “Bedford Historic District” in 2015. He has also dedicated part of his time to academia as a Visiting Adjunct Professor at the Pratt Institute. There, he co-taught “Urban Genetics” with the distinguished late Professor Diane H. Lewis R.A. of Cooper Union for several years and subsequently developed his own critical design and theory course titled, “Hidden City.” Through teaching these principles of critical thinking, and interdisciplinary collaboration he has been able to help shape the next generation of future architects and designers.
Omar holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from The Cooper Union. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his receipt of fellowships, awards, and grants, including The Irma Giustino Weiss Fellowship and The Harold Kiel Prize, alongside his continued involvement in exhibitions.
Susan De Vries is a researcher, historian, and photographer. Active in the historic preservation field for over two decades she has experience in historic site management and interpretation, museum collections, architectural documentation, and advocacy. She has a passion for photography, documenting 19th century architecture, and ferreting out facts from folklore. Her writing and photography appear on Brownstoner.
2025 Jeffrey Kroessler Research Award Student Presentations
On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, our inaugural research award winners, Weijie “Christina” Sun and William Dunsmore, presented their awarded research to HDC supporters, friends, and family. View the presentations below!
Jeffrey Kroessler Research Award Fund
The Historic Districts Council is delighted to create the Jeffrey Kroessler Student Research Award in honor of our late esteemed board member, Jeffrey A. Kroessler. As a preservationist, author, educator, librarian, and historian, Kroessler assisted in crafting the organization’s advocacy strategies and educational programs on preservation across the city. Kroessler generously served on HDC’s board of directors and advisors for 36 years.
His contributions and publications have been included in The Encyclopedia of New York City, The Encyclopedia of New York State, Robert Moses and the Modern City: the Transformation of New York, Journal of Planning History, New York History, and Long Island History Journal. As a passionate advocate for the borough of Queens, Jeffrey co-founded the Queensborough Preservation League, participated in the successful effort to landmark the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Works Building in Long Island City, and spearheaded the successful campaign to designate the Sunnyside Gardens Historic District.
To preserve and maintain the legacy of Jeffrey Kroessler being a champion of New York City and his commitment to the education and development of upcoming preservationists, we ask for your support in making this award a reality for future generations. Their research is pivotal to the past, present and future of our city. Your award will directly support the prize for the awarded recipients, the student showcase, and the award ceremony. All donations are fully tax deductible.
To contribute to the fund, please visit the link below and if you have any questions, please contact Kaija Mendez-Bryan at [email protected].
Finally, we would like to thank John M. Bacon, Françoise Astorg Bollack and Tom Killian, Peter Bray, Andrew Scott Dolkart, Franny Eberhart, Laura Heim, and Ricardo Zurita, our founding donors who have contributed to the cause and have been catalysts in helping us honor Jeffrey’s legacy. We appreciate your support!
