Community and preservation groups — including the "Friends of the Lower West Side" and the "Save Washington Street" group led by St. Francis College student Carl "Antoun" Houck — have continued, especially, to advocate for a hearing on the Downtown Community House, arguing that its history demonstrates the multi-ethnic heritage of the neighborhood, and that its Colonial Revival architecture intentionally links the immigrants to the foundations of the country, and that preserving the three buildings together would tell a coherent story of an overlooked, but important ethnic neighborhood. In addition to national Arab-American organizations, Manhattan Community Board 1 and City Councilperson Margaret Chin have also advocated for the LPC to hold a hearing on the Downtown Community House. According to the "Wall Street Journal", however, the LPC argues that "the buildings lack the necessary architectural and historical significance and that better examples of the settlement house movement and tenements exist in other parts of the city." The activists have said they hope that the LPC under the new mayor will be more receptive to preservation in the neighborhood.