New 42nd Street President and CEO Cora Cahan to Step Down

Cora Cahan, the founding president and CEO of the New 42nd Street, has announced that she will step down at the end of June 2019.

At the helm of the New 42nd Street for 28 years, she helped transform the area formerly known as "the deuce" — 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues — from a block of moldy theaters, porn houses, and boarded-up buildings into an area grounded by the preservation and mixed reuse of many historic Broadway theaters. Among her many accomplishments, she spearheaded the creation of the New Victory Theater, the city's first and only year-round theater devoted to kids and families.

"The timing of my decision is no coincidence," Cahan said in a statement. "When we forged this organization from a combination of good intentions and strong will, buttressed by the beautiful if decrepit theaters that were there to be reborn, I had no notion of the level of success we would ultimately achieve. With all seven historic theaters now set up for long-term use, this feels like the exact right time for me to pass the baton and watch the organization that has been my professional home for these many years as it grows into its next phase."