| E-BULLETIN
OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL
April 2005, Volume 2 Number 4
So, What Happened?
Last issue of the E-Bulletin detailed a number of upcoming
preservation concerns: the designation hearings of two modern buildings
by Morris Lapidus; the fate of the Plaza Hotel, and the bizarre
defacement of a potential landmark in Staten Island. Not much has
been resolved on those issues in the past few weeks, but they are
all still under consideration. Specifically: The 1961
former Summit Hotel and 1949
former Odd Jobs (a.k.a. the Crawford Clothes or the Paterson Silk)
Building were both heard for consideration as individual New
York landmarks by the Landmarks Preservation Commission at a public
hearing on March 29. Numerous individuals and groups spoke in favor
of both buildings, including a number of Lapidus scholars and friends.
Although owners of both properties had expressed their opposition
to designation prior to the hearing (how else would one characterize
the demolition of Odd Jobs’ distinctive glass tower?), they
did not testify against the designations at the hearing (representatives
of The Summit’s new owners expressed concern about the ramifications
of the designation, but stated mildly that they were there to learn
about it). Hopefully, the LPC will act soon to designate these buildings,
as work is continuing on both of them and their final forms are
still very much undecided. It’s
important to keep in mind that designation is only the first step.
The plan for the Plaza Hotel, meanwhile, has yet still to be presented
to the LPC. When HDC’s Public Review Committee reviewed the
plans at the LPC on March 25, they had somewhat changed from the
plans that were under consideration at Community Board Five. Detailed
proposals for treatments to the calendared historic interiors were
still vague however, and the actual changes to the outside of the
building (which is a designated landmark) were apparently more noticeable
than originally thought – especially to the roofline. The
restorative aspects of the plan for exterior were greatly improved,
although, in HDC’s opinion, still not enough to justify the
requested change in use under Section 74-711 of the Zoning Resolution.
As an correction to last issue, when an applicant applies to the
LPC for a change of use under that section, they still need to apply
separately to the City Planning Commission for a special permit.
The role of the LPC would be to give a favorable or negative recommendation
to the Planning Commission, based on their estimation of the preservation
purpose of the application. The application will probably be heard
before LPC sometime this month. From more information about the
campaign, visit http://www.savetheplaza.com/main.php
Finally, thanks to the swift action of Mayor
Bloomberg and the LPC, as well as the approbation of the Tottenville
community, the James L. Bedell House on Staten Island has been calendared
for a designation hearing on April 12. The owner, Mr. Grossi, has
painted over his graffiti but there was still damage done to the
house’s ornamentation. Just like the Summit and the Odd Job
Building, the work done to the Bedell House was done legally, as
the LPC does not have the legal right to rescind Department of Buildings
permits that are already issued or prevent work that does not require
DOB permits before the building is calendared.
While the LPC may not be able to intervene in every instance of
unsympathetic alteration to historic properties – particularly
not with the agency at its current level of resources – Mr.
Grossi’s comments that “he was unaware it [designation]
was a possibility when he bought the house about six weeks ago”
should serve as a wakeup call for anyone concerned with preserving
New York City’s historic buildings. Obviously, education is
needed so that property owners don’t regard landmarks as “hot
potatoes” and so developers don’t feel “blindsided”
by the process – but education is not enough. New York’s
older neighborhoods need a safety net to prevent irreplaceable historic
buildings from being thrown away.
Pennsylvania Station was only 51 years old
when it was lost
As regular readers know, HDC has been pushing for the City
Council to adopt the Historic Buildings Notification Bill (Intro
317). What people (even informed, concerned people like our
readers) might not know or have forgotten is that Pennsylvania Station
was only 51 years old when it was demolished. That’s why this
bill is so important; it will place preservation into the discussion
by requiring the LPC to consider the significance of older buildings,
rather than letting them suffer from the fait accompli of as-of-right
destruction. This bill alone can’t save every building –
but every building saved would be otherwise lost. Please take a
minute and follow the following link to send a message of support
to your councilmember, and thanks for your support.
http://www.nonprofitmaps.org/action/descrip.asp?Cname=hdc&AlertID=16
For an eye-opening look at some of the buildings that have been
lost after Penn Station, go to this recent article in The New York
Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/nyregion/03feat.html
Celebrate 40 Years of Landmarks in New York!
Fun fact: while April 19, 1965 is more commonly celebrated
as the Anniversary of the New York Landmarks Law, the City Council
actually passed the bill on April 6, 1965 (Mayor Wagner signed it
into law on the 19th – see Margot Gayle’s picture at
http://www.hdc.org/about.htm). Councilmember
William
Perkins (District 9; Central Harlem, Morningside Heights, Riverside
Park) is planning to give a tribute to the anniversary at the stated
Council hearing on Tuesday, April 12 at 1pm in the Council chambers
in City Hall, the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.
In addition to the official
celebrations of the 40th Anniversary of the Law, preservation groups,
New York history buffs and dedicated preservation enthusiasts are
also going all-out to provide a full social calendar chock-a-block
full of tours, receptions and lectures from now until the end of
May. See http://www.hdc.org/40thanniversarycalendar.htm
for details! Or if you have a preservation-related event you
would listed, please send information to arich@hdc.org.
Make certain to follow the cardinal rules of journalism and include
“who, what, where, when and why”. The website will be
updated weekly and our goal here is to keep you busy, entertained
and informed!
A subtle plug for our upcoming programs
Since this is HDC’s newsletter, allow us to take
special care to invite you to two upcoming preservation programs;
to wit: please join us on April 20 for a panel in Brooklyn for a
discussion of the Crown Heights North Historic District Designation
– The Process and the Impact: Insights from the Designators.
Hear directly from key representatives of the City agencies responsible
for neighborhood preservation (the City
Planning Commission, the Department
of Housing Preservation and Development, and the Landmarks
Preservation Commission) on how the historic district designation
process works and how historic district status may affect the neighborhood.
This panel is free and will be held at St. Gregory’s RC School
located at 224 Brooklyn Avenue, entrance on St. Johns Place between
Brooklyn and New York Avenue. This program is co-sponsored with
the Crown
Heights North Association.
Also, make sure to save the date of May 12 for the HDC’s
15th! Annual Preservation Party. As one might think, the first
preservation party was to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the
Landmarks Law and it was such fun, we kept it going lo these many
years. Along the way, we added the Annual Grassroots Preservation
Awards in order to honor our friends and colleagues. Tickets for
the event are $25, $15 for Friends of HDC. Sponsorships for the
event are still available – but we’re going to press
real soon. Contact Alice Rich at 212 614-9107, arich@hdc.org
if you’re interested in signing up (sponsorships start at
$100).
We promised more news but…
We’re trying to keep this issue brief (and the Spring
2005 issue of District Lines, which
should be in the mail by the end of April, will have a full description
of the Conference anyway). We are very pleased to report that the
nomination for the Fulton-Nassau National Register Historic District
is in its final draft and we are planning to have a community information
meeting in early May in downtown Manhattan. A date will be announced
as soon as one is secured. For more information on the proposed
district, see http://www.hdc.org/johnstmaidenlnhistory.htm
The map has been amended to extend the district to the north to
take in the important buildings on the south end of Printer’s
Row. Special thanks to Preserve
NY, a program of the Preservation League of New York State and
the New York State Council on the Arts for providing support for
this effort.
Become a Friend of the Historic Districts Council
HDC’s Friends and supporters make all our programs
possible. If you’re not one already, please take this opportunity
to become a Friend of HDC and receive benefits such as free events,
special admission offers, access to technical and moral support
and advance notice of preservation issues. Learn more about the
benefits of being a Friend and join our mailing
list to receive an information packet in the mail.
To unsubscribe from the email list please email hdc@hdc.org
and write "Unsubscribe" in the subject heading. We’ll
miss you!
The Advocate for New York City’s Historic Neighborhoods
232 East 11th Street New York NY 10003
tel: 212-614-9107 fax: 212-614-9127 email: hdc@hdc.org
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