Help Defend the Cathedral of St. John the Divine

HELP DEFEND THE CATHEDRAL OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE FROM TOWER DEVELOPMENT

As the grounds of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine are cleared to make way for massive new development, the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee (our colleagues to the north of 110th Street) continues to lead the fight for sensitive preservation of this world-class monument.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission opted out of the process by declining to include the Cathedral close in its designation of the site as a landmark in 2003 (prompting the New York City Council to reject the designation in its entirety, leaving the whole site unprotected). But that isn't the end of the story. Just a few months ago, the New York State Office of Parks stepped up and declared that the "proposed Residential Tower would have an Adverse Impact upon the nationally significant Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Close." The new tower would be "incompatible in scale" and "inconsistent with the character of the historic buildings and the high quality of design, materials, and workmanship that they represent."

What you can do today:

Join the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee and other preservationists citywide in the Campaign to Save The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and its historic Close. Bookmark the website www.geocities.com/SaveTheCathedral and go to www.petitiononline.com/SaveCath to sign the online petition calling on the National Trust for Historic Preservation (America's nationwide preservation advocacy force) to intervene.