Picking up the Pace at the LPC

The Landmarks Preservation Commission continues full steam ahead calendaring, holding hearings and designating new landmarks and historic districts throughout the city.

McCarren Play Center and the Sunset Play Center and bath house interior (both in Brooklyn) and the Thomas Jefferson Play Center in East Harlem were designated individual landmarks. They are three of 11 pools and recreational complexes in the City built with funding from the Works Progress Administration and opened in the summer of 1936. They join the Astoria, Crotona Park and Jackie Robinson play centers and pools already granted landmark status. The Betsy Head and Red Hook Play Centers in Brooklyn, Highbridge Play Center in Manhattan, and Staten Island’s Tompkinsville Play Center (also known as Joseph H. Lyons Pool) and the interior of its bathhouse have had hearings and await designation. In addition, the City has pledged $50 million to restore and rehabilitate McCarren Pool, the only one of the group which is currently non-functional.

Continued progress has been made in preserving the City’s federal-era town houses. The latest designations are 486 and 488 Greenwich Street in Greenwich Village. The two were constructed c.1823, stand only 2 ½ stories tall, and are topped by a single-dormered peaked roof. A hearing was also held for two more federals, 511 and 513 Grand Street. Meanwhile, the fate of 94, 94½ & 96 Greenwich Street (better known as the Pussycat Lounge) still remains to be seen.

Further uptown, LPC designated the former Edey and Seligman mansions along West 56th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, a block known as “Bankers Row”. The two French Renaissance Revival style townhouses, the former by Warren & Wetmore and the latter by Charles Pierrepont Henry Gilbert, were both completed in 1901. The designation was a happy event for a neighborhood that last year witnessed the demolition of four other elegant turn-of-the-century town houses just across the street from the new landmarks.

In the East Village (near to HDC’s office in the Neighborhood Preservation Center), the 11th Street Public Bath, Elizabeth Home for Girls and Webster Hall were calendared (check out here for a list of other potential landmarks in the East Village area, some of which are currently being considered by LPC). The Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden in Flushing, Queens was as well.

Recently the National Trust for Historic Preservation included Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront on its 2007 America’s Most Endangered Places list. The booming real estate market threatens to erase the heart of the city’s industrial history. Hopefully, some of those places might not be quite so endangered soon. LPC has calendared DUMBO and has held public hearings for the Domino Sugar Factory and Eberhard Faber Pencil Company. (In related news, on July 31st, the City Planning Commission held a scoping meeting about the proposed development at the Domino site. You can read a report of that meeting here.)

Finally, for you fans of the history of shopping, the Lord & Taylor Building on Fifth Avenue will have a Public Hearing on Tuesday, August 7th.

Support Sunnyside Gardens

On June 26th the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to designate Sunnyside Gardens as a historic district. With 624 architecturally and culturally distinctive residential buildings, Sunnyside Gardens is the largest historic district in Queens. Its designation pushes the number of properties landmarked by the Commission during fiscal year 2007 over 1,000 (1,160 to be exact – the highest number in two decades).

Yet despite the LPC's designation, the district still must pass through City Planning and City Council, where there will be more public hearings. In the weeks leading up to these important meetings it is imperative that we continue to voice our support for the Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. Please continue to write letters of support to your local elected officials and the city planning agency. Sample letters may be found here.

As always, addressing the commissioners and councilmembers directly is most effective. Come testify directly in front of the City Planning Commission on August 8th at Spector Hall, 22 Reade Street, Manhattan. The meeting will begin at 10am but Sunnyside is the last item on a very full schedule. If you are interested in coming to testify, please let us know and we will get back to you as soon as a window of time is determined (it will probably be in the late afternoon). Once the City Planning Commission makes its report, the designation goes to City Council to be affirmed, modified or denied. This hearing will probably take place in late September and we will keep you updated on the progress of the process.

Please note, this meeting of City Planning will be to discuss the landmark designation of Sunnyside Gardens. Proposed zoning changes to amend the Special Planned Community Preservation District will be discussed at a later City Planning meeting.

On the Town in New York: HDC’s Fall Lecture Series

During the month of September HDC will present “On the Town in New York: Historic Theatres and Bars of New York City,” a fascinating series of programs that will investigate the history, archaeology and preservation of some of New York City’s most notorious haunts.

On September 6, Comedy & Tragedy: Tales of Preserving the City’s Historic Theaters will discuss the theatres of New York City, focusing on their unique histories, architectural significance and façade design. From Broadway’s designated landmarks to the neglected theatres of the other boroughs with unknown fates, this panel will cover all aspects of theatre history in New York City. Scheduled speakers include preservationists and scholars Cezar Del Valle, Tony Robins and Susan Tunick.

On September 13, Bottoms Up: Dives, Drinking Holes & Other Historic Places of Good Cheer will examine the culture of social drinking and eating in New York City through an examination of establishments developed specifically for leisure. Discussions will focus on both the architectural and social significance of these historic watering holes. Historians and bon vivants Francis Morrone, Matt Postal and Mark Caldwell will be speaking.

Both lectures will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will be held at The SoHo Playhouse, located in the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District at 15 Vandam between 6th Avenue and Varick Street in Manhattan.

The series will conclude with Enter Stage Right: A Behind-The-Scenes Tour of Broadway’s Historic Theaters, a rare behind-the-scenes tour of Manhattan’s Theatre District. The tour, put together by noted tour guide Joseph Rosenberg of VIP Tours New York and restoration specialist Jeffrey Greene, will go inside some of Broadway’s most infamous theatres. Walk the stages graced for decades by the theatrical elite, relish in the extravagant designs of stately lobbies, discover firsthand what life is like behind the curtains! The tour will be given twice, on Sunday, September 23rd and Sunday, September 30th. Specific times and locations will be announced upon registration.

Each lecture is $15/$10 for Friends of HDC. The Sunday tour of the Theatre District is $45/$35 for Friends. The complete series of all three events is $65/$45 for Friends. Please note that the complete package includes attendance for only one tour session. Advance reservations are required. Tickets be ordered online via Paypal by clicking here, by calling the HDC office at 212-614-9107 or e-mailing lbelfer@hdc.org.

Save the Date: HDC’s 19th Annual Landmarks Lion Award

On October 24th HDC will present its Landmarks Lion Award to Lisa Ackerman, Executive Vice President of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. The reception, dinner and award ceremony will take place at the Prince George Ballroom in the Madison Square North Historic District. 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.

HDC Web site updates

We’ve done some façade work on our homepage! Be sure to visit www.hdc.org and check out the changes and look for featured updates on HDC’s current projects and new developments in the preservation world. We’ve also just launched our Annual Preservation Conferences section, where visitors may access information and presentations from conferences past. Many more improvements to come!

And, as always, be sure to check out our blog for the latest breaking news in the preservation community.

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