| E-BULLETIN
OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL
October 2006, Volume 3 Number 10
Sick in New York a crowd pleaser
September’s Forlorn and Forgotten series on
the history of medical institutions in the five boroughs was a great
success. More than 200 people attended the series to learn more
about these storied buildings and complexes. HDC would like to thank
the Library
of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen for co-sponsoring
the series and all the fantastic panelists who shared their stories.
The September 23rd tour of was a fascinating walk through the history
of the rarely visited south side of Ellis Island. Attendees enjoyed
seeing buildings and wards not normally open to the public such
as an operating room, maternity ward, infectious diseases ward,
as well as hearing about future plans for the site from the staff
of the Save
Ellis Island Foundation. Click here
to see photos.
September at the Landmarks Preservation Commission
September continued a busy streak at the LPC with
a public hearing for a proposed historic district as well as several
important calendarings and designations that HDC have been advocating
for.
As our readers know, earlier this summer the Landmarks
Preservation Commission calendared the proposed
Crown Heights North Historic District in Brooklyn as the first
phase of a series of historic districts in that area. HDC has been
working closely with the Crown
Heights North Association on this effort and, on September 19
an overflow crowd attended to speak about the designation. More
than 20 residents, advocates and elected officials eloquently spoke
in favor of the designation. Thank you to everyone who sent
letters of support to the LPC. On that same date the LPC also calendared
the Fiske Terrace/Midwood Park community in Brooklyn to be considered
for historic district status. More information on the Crown
Heights North and Fiske
Terrace/Midwood Park neighborhoods can be found on the Neighborhoods
at Risk section of our website.
Swiftly following on the Crown Heights North hearing,
on September 26 the LPC held a public hearing on 1375 Dean Street
for consideration as an individual landmark. The structure, built
in the middle of the 19th century, is one of the oldest properties
in the proposed Crown Heights North Historic District and is threatened
by demolition. We applaud the Commission for moving so quickly to
preserve this house, which speaks to the early development of this
area of Brooklyn.
In terms of designations, the LPC conferred landmark
status on 140
Nassau Street, otherwise known as the Morse Building. The building
was once on of the tallest buildings in New York and is located
in the Fulton-Nassau
District, an area of important early skyscrapers in lower Manhattan
which HDC had successfully nominated as one of New
York State’s “Seven To Save” in 2003 and subsequently
got listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The LPC also designated the
Staten Island Savings Bank Building, a striking Neo-Classical
structure in Stapleton. Last year, the Historic Districts Council
announced 21
priority buildings that had previously had a public hearing at the
Landmarks Commission but were never designated. The Staten Island
Savings Bank is now the fourth building from HDC’s
Priority List to be designated. We will continue to advocate
for more “Heard but not Designated” buildings to finally
be designated.
In addition the LPC
calendared the former Dakota Stables at 348-358 Amsterdam Avenue
and the former New York Cab Company Stable at 318-324 Amsterdam
Avenue, both threatened structures which tell an important part
of the history of the Upper West Side. Please visit the Landmark
West! website for more information about these buildings.
Annual Landmarks Lion Award November 9th
Tickets are still available for the Landmarks Lion
Award to honor Robert
Silman, the noted structural engineer. The reception, dinner
and award ceremony will take place at Low Memorial Library, the
architectural centerpiece of Columbia University’s campus.
Benefit Committee listing begins at $500. For more information,
to join the Benefit Committee or place a congratulatory ad in the
program, please contact Frampton Tolbert at ftolbert@hdc.org
or 212-614-9107 x 13.
Become a Friend of HDC. You can now join us
On-Line!
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,
check out the updated
sections of our website or 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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