Jessor:An exhibition about Herman Jessor and the limited-equity cooperative living movement in New York City, 1925–1974.
On view March 19 - May 23, 2026
A multimedia exhibition at Citygroup curated by photographer Zara Pfeifer, designer Brad Isnard, and journalist Daniel Jonas Roche features original photographs, drawings, and biographical research about Herman Jessor, the most prolific affordable housing architect in New York City history.
Set against the backdrop of New York City’s current housing crisis and renewed conversations about the need for government-subsidized social housing, JESSOR: opens to the public March 19 and will be accompanied by lectures, walks, and film screenings through May 23.
This is the second exhibition in an ongoing research and design project focused on Herman Jessor by this curatorial team. Mounted at Citygroup, JESSOR: debuts new photographs, research, and architectural drawings based on never-before-displayed materials from Jessor’s office. The exhibition and broadsheet is designed by Geoff Han and Katie Ladd contributed significant research and curatorial support.
The exhibition will include photographs of interiors and exteriors by Pfeifer taken since 2023 at housing cooperatives in the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn that record present-day life in Jessor’s buildings. A biography by Roche paints a portrait of Jessor and his milieu, informed by historical records, interviews with the late architect’s friends and relatives, and housing cooperative residents. Architectural drawings and theoretical text by Isnard, developed from extensive field and archival research, speak to Jessor’s design methodologies.
This exhibition is made possible by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and Citygroup. Thanks are also due to members of the Jessor, Speciner, and Graupe families; as well as Noel Ellison, Ilyssa Gillman, Felicity Scott, Todd Rouhe, Heather Hubbs, Trudy Rudnick, Tracy Gross and all the other residents we met for showing us their communities; and to Michael Cohen and Violette de la Salle for their ongoing belief in the project.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Zara Pfeifer is a photographer based in Berlin and Vienna. She recently received the MAK Schindler Scholarship in Los Angeles.
Daniel Jonas Roche is news editor at The Architect’s Newspaper. He teaches at The New School and is the co-author of Antifascist Architecture (Park Books: 2026).
Brad Isnard is a New York-based designer and critic. He teaches at the Kean University School of Public Architecture.
Photograph by Zara Pfeifer of Co-op City in 2023.