August 2005, Volume 2 Number 8

“Dead in New York”

Please join us in September for “Dead in New York” a lecture series co-sponsored by the Museum of the City of New York.

On September 7th, Dr. H. Arthur Bankoff, professor and chair, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Brooklyn College CUNY and advisor to the chair for archaeology, Landmarks Preservation Commission and Amanda Sutphin, director of archaeology, Landmarks Preservation Commission, will discuss sites that were once potter's fields within the historic confines of New York City, what happened to them, and what this tells us about our city's history.

On September 14th a panel discussion moderated by journalist Eve Kahn will explore preservation issues affecting New York’s cemeteries. Cate Ludlam, president of the Prospect Cemetery Association, will discuss the trials, tribulations and rewards of her fifteen-year quest to protect and restore gravesites in the 17th century Old Burial Ground adjacent to Prospect Cemetery. Susan Olsen, executive director of Friends of Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, will discuss issues relating to the preservation, accessibility and stewardship of Woodlawn’s artistic and architectural treasures. Mary Jablonski, partner at Jablonski Berkowitz Conservation, will present the history and conservation of the Congregation Shearith Israel cemeteries in Manhattan and how the information they contain on the early history of Jewish settlers in New York City will be made available on the internet. (The above two lectures will be held at the Museum of the City of New York.)

Finally, on September 21st, the program will end with a walking tour and reception at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood cemetery. Preservation architects Adrienne and Joseph Bresnan will lead an evening tour of Green-Wood Cemetery and discuss the preservation and conservation issues affecting this “rural” cemetery, incorporated in 1838. Tour attendees will march up to Battle Hill, the highest point in Brooklyn and site of the Battle of Long Island in the Revolutionary War, to see first hand how overdevelopment in surrounding neighborhoods is affecting Green-Wood’s historic views. A reception will follow immediately after the tour in the cemetery’s historic 1911 chapel designed by Warren and Wetmore, architects of Grand Central Terminal.

All events begin at 6pm. Please click here for more information.

Council Member Yassky Refuses to Support Designation of Highly Significant and Endangered Brooklyn Waterfront Building—Cass Gilbert’s Austin, Nichols Warehouse

On July 26th the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on Cass Gilbert’s Austin, Nichols Warehouse. HDC strongly supports the LPC’s decision to hold this hearing. As many of you are aware, HDC, along with numerous preservation and neighborhood groups, has long been advocating for the designation of this endangered building. Over thirty groups and individuals testified in strong support of this designation, including numerous experts in the field of architectural history. The owner stood in strong opposition and had hired a team of lawyers and his own architectural historian to testify in opposition. Shockingly, Council Member David Yassky testified in opposition of the designation, even after having received over 250 postcards from his constituents, asking for his support. Even more unfortunately, the City Council has the right to not approve a landmarks designation; so unless CM David Yassky stops listening to his contributors and starts listening to his constituents, a developer’s greed may obliterate one of Brooklyn’s most significant waterfront buildings. Please contact Council Member Yassky at yassky@council.nyc.ny.us and urge him to support this designation. For more information on this significant building and the battle to save it click here.

Endangered Building of the Month – All Saint’s Church, School and Rectory

Located on East 129th Street, All Saint’s Church, School and Rectory was heard by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on September 21, 2004, but action has yet to be taken. Known as “the Saint Patrick’s of Harlem,” this ecclesiastical assemblage is a masterpiece of colorful patterned brickwork. The church, designed by James Renwick and completed in 1894, is notable for its tall bell tower and unique wheel windows in the clerestory. The Venetian Gothic rectory, designed later by Renwick’s successor firm, Renwick, Aspinwall, & Russell, recalls the wheel windows of the church and has beautifully ornamented dormer windows. The school building, designed in the early 20th century by W.W. Renwick, while more utilitarian in style, maintains gothic detailing. Handsome terra cotta detailing and Gothic tracery only add to beauty of the complex.

Although this building is well-cared for and seems to have a stable congregation, HDC fears that as the Archdiocese continues to close churches, this architectural treasure may be lost. Its designation should also be a first step in identifying and designating the best of institutional and especially church design in the period when Harlem was receiving the attention of the best architects of the time. Please contact the Landmarks Preservation Commission at comments@lpc.nyc.gov and ask them to take action and designate the All Saint’s complex.

HDC is pleased to announce that on Tuesday, July 26th, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on July’s “Endangered Building of the Month,” the Drake-Dehart house in the Tottenville neighborhood of Staten Island. Many groups and individuals came out to testify in support of this designation. We commend the LPC for holding a hearing on this very significant building and look forward to its designation. For more information on the historic Tottenville neighborhood of Staten Island, visit http://www.tottenvillehistory.org/

HDC’s Board Member Lecture Series-Last Chance

We are pleased to present a lecture series on showcasing the projects our board members are involved in. The first two lectures have been lively and informative and we hope you will join us for the final program in the series.

Tuesday, August 2 Mitchell Grubler and Andrew Berman on Community Facility Reform

Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is also the co-founder and coordinator of the Citywide Coalition for Community Facility Reform, a consortium of over 125 groups from all five boroughs seeking changes in regulations governing the size, bulk, classification, and distribution of community facilities citywide. Of particular concern is the unequal bulk regulations for community facilities, which allow such uses to build significantly larger than all other types of developments in numerous zoning districts, and which allow them to encroach upon spaces such as rear yards that are otherwise protected. In 2002, Berman's group issued the report "After the Kimmel Center: How Can We Better Plan to Protect Our Neighborhoods, Parks, and View Corridors," (see www.gvshp.org/AfterKimmelCenter.pdf) which used the example of the
'as-of-right' NYU Kimmel Student Center, which permanently blocked the iconic view through Washington Square Arch, to issue recommendations for zoning reform to prevent institutional overdevelopment of neighborhoods, including the suggestion that the City work with institutions to facilitate the establishment of secondary campuses to prevent the over concentration of community facilities in one neighborhood.
Another example of community facility use is the Bowne Street Community Church in Flushing, Queens. Dedicated in 1892, the church was designed by G. E Potter of Long Island City in the Romanesque Revival style. The church is particularly noteworthy for its original stained glass Tiffany windows designed by Agnes Fairchild Northrup, a long time Tiffany artist and a life-long member of the congregation. In July of 2002, word leaked out that leaders of the congregation were considering the sale and demolition of the church building and 1925 social hall. Mitchell Grubler, executive director of the Queens Historical Society will recount how members of the congregation, community residents and preservationists rallied, petitioned and succeeded in getting LPC to calendar the building (but not the entire property) in September 2003.

The lecture is free to the public and will be held at 6:00pm in the Neighborhood Preservation Center located at 232 East 11th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in Manhattan. Space is limited so please rsvp to arich@hdc.org or call 212-614-9107 x 11.

Save the Date!

HDC is pleased to announce that beloved architectural historian and tour guide, Barry Lewis will receive this year’s Landmarks Lion award on Wednesday, October 26th. Be on the lookout for further details in your mailboxes and on our website. If you are interested in joining the benefit committee or event sponsorship please contact Frampton Tolbert at ftolbert@hdc.org or 212-614-9107 x 13 by August 12.

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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.

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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