UPDATE :: WEEK THREE, and we're past 50% funded!

We've passed the point of no return (though, did we ever really consider turning back?): $1,760 pledged (that's 59% of our $3,000 goal) to our Kickstarter campaign to fund the Upper West Side's first ever iPhone walking tour app.  With twenty five days to go before the campaign ends, the possibilities are endless!  

At LANDMARK WEST!, we're thrilled that so many people (we're up to 31 backers!) see this as an opportunity to make a big difference with a modest contribution.  When we said it only takes $1 to make a difference, we meant it!  It all adds up.  And while the big-dollar pledges are tremendous (and generous) votes of confidence in our iPhone app idea, the $5 and $25 pledges are the bread and butter of this campaign.  Please keep the pledges--in any and all amounts--coming, and share the news of our Kickstarter project with your friends.  Your support will encourage others to watch our video, get inspired and follow your lead with a pledge of their own.

Thank you-thank you again to the backers who've pledged their support so far (below).  It's not yet 11AM; let's see who joins your ranks before the day is out!

CityGirlWrites Cory Williams Tom Webee Walter B. Melvin Architects Linda R. Safran Roschel Holland Stearns Lori & Timon Malloy Lydia Mann Sarah Orlinsky Maitland Ronnie Eldridge Marcella LandmarkLion1984 Kate Wood Wendy Frank Ethel Wood Fritz Umbach

Sarah Bradford Landau Sumit Chachraa Sarah Michael Mandecki Romanid Hunter Armstrong Charles Simon Kerensa Wood Madelon Hambro David Patterson Eileen Marzola Pauline Eveillard Gordon Ryan Francesca Segreti Brandi Hayes

UPDATE :: DAY EIGHT of Kickstarter and we've surpassed $1,500

What else can we say but THANK YOU to all of our backers!  The Kickstarter project will succeed because of you:

Sarah

Walter B. Melvin Architects, LLC

Michael Mandecki

Linda R. Safran

Romanid

Roschel Holland Stearns

Hunter Armstrong

Lori & Timon Malloy

Charles Simon

Lydia Mann

Kerensa Wood

Sarah Orlinsky Maitland

Madelon Hambro

Ronnie Eldridge

David Patterson

Marcella

Eileen Marzola

LandmarkLion1984

Pauline Eveillard

Kate Wood

Gordon Ryan

Wendy Frank

Francesca Segreti

Ethel Wood

Brandi Hayes

Fritz Umbach

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!

Making headlines :: Recent e-press on our Kickstarter campaign

While we're spreading the word far and wide about our Kickstarter online fundraising campaign, these online news agents and blogs are doing the same!  Click on the images below to access their write-ups about our project:

UPDATE :: WEEK TWO of Kickstarter clears the $1K hurdle

The Office Maracas are going wild!!! 

At DAY EIGHT of the Kickstarter campaign to fund the West Side's first ever iPhone walking tour app, we've raised $1,120 in pledges.  That's 37% of our $3,000 goal.  And it's not even 10AM!  We couldn't have made it to this important milestone without the support of our newest backers:

Romanid
Linda R. Safran
Michael Mandecki

And of course, thank you again (and again, and again ...) to all of our supporters (see earlier blog posts, below, for names*).

The campaign continues--28 days remain!  Help us meet our goal!  RETWEET our Twitter alerts; SHARE our Facebook posts; FORWARD our email blasts!  Together, we can make this happen.

*Normally, we like to list each and every individual's name.  But being that we're likely to post again today, we'll save it for later.  Nothing personal!

UPDATE :: Kickstarter iPhone app campaign WEEK ONE recap

Day Four (and Week One!) comes to a close with our project 28% of the way towards its goal of $3,000!  With two write-ups in local press (DNA Info and the West Side Spirit), that number will only continue to grow!

Three new backers have added their names to the list of those who have found inspiration in our Kickstarter iPhone walking tour app project.  And, more importantly, to the list of people to whom we give our sincerest thanks!  They are:

Lori & Timon Malloy
Hunter Armstrong
Roschel Holland Stearns

As backers, they'll get regular updates on the project both here and on our extra-special "Update" tab on our Kickstarter project page.  PLUS they're privy to our "Backers Only" update posts.  But it's still early in the campaign, so here's a little something for everyone to enjoy and share ...

Click here to meet the Office Maracas (yes, you read that correctly).

Thank you again to all of our backers:

Fritz Umbach
Brandi Hayes
Ethel Wood
Francesa Segreti
Wendy Frank
Gordon Ryan
Kate Wood
Pauline Eveillard
LandmarkLion1984
Eileen Marzola
Marcella
David Patterson
Ronnie Eldridge
Madelon Hambro
Sarah Orlinsky Maitland
Kerensa Wood
Lydia Mann
Charles Simon

UPDATE :: DAY THREE of Kickstarter iPhone app campaign

We've asked (and blogged, and Tweeted, and emailed, and Facebook posted [and then repeat!]), and you've answered!

We're three days into our 35-day long Kickstarter online funding campaign, and our iPhone app is $735 (25% funded!) closer to becoming a reality!  Thank you to the backers who today pledged their support!

Kerensa Wood
Lydia Mann
Charles Simon

And we can't say "thank you" enough to the folks who signed on during the first two days of the project:

Fritz Umbach
Brandi Hayes

Ethel Wood

Francesca Segreti

Wendy Frank

Gordon Ryan

Kate Wood

Pauline Eveillard

LandmarkLion1984

Eileen Marzola

Marcella

David Patterson

Ronnie  Eldridge

Madelon Hambro

Sarah Orlinksy Maitland*

Let's keep the inspiration going 'round!  Share the project; check back here for updates; keep the pledges coming!

*Mis-spelled in previous blog post.  Apologies!

UPDATE :: DAY TWO of Kickstarter campaign, 21% of goal met!

Marcella
David Patterson
Ronnie Eldridge
Madelon Hambro
Sarah Olinsky Maitland

You all get gold stars next to your names in LW's proverbial book!  Thank you to the individuals named above who today pledged their support to our Kickstarter iPhone walking tour app development project!  We're closing the work day out at $615 -- that's 21% of our final goal!  The support from today's backers adds on to those who backed our iPhone app project from the word "go":

Fritz Umbach
Brandi Hayes
Ethel Wood
Francesca Segreti
Wendy Frank
Gordon Ryan
Kate Wood
Pauline Eveillard
LandmarkLion1984
Eileen Marzola

Stay tuned for more updates here, on Twitter and on Facebook!  And if you haven't already, WATCH THE VIDEO, get inspired and share the inspiration with others!  And, while you're at it, please pledge!

UPDATE :: DAY ONE of Kickstarter campaign, a recap

Mark it on your calendar!  Today, LANDMARK WEST! kick started the fundraising of a history-making project: the development of the FIRST EVER iPhone walking tour app of NYC's Upper West Side.  And, conveniently, we teamed with the revolutionary website Kickstarter to do it!

Early this morning, we sounded the call far and wide.  We want people from Bay Ridge to the Bay City; from the Upper East Side to the Upper Penninsula; from Manhattan to, well, Manhattan (KS!) (look 'em up, people!) to be inspired by our project.  And to pledge their support!

We can't go any further without thanking--profusely--the backers who've helped us launch the project with a bang!  So, thanks to:

Fritz Umbach

Brandi Hayes

Ethel Wood
Francesca Segreti
Wendy Frank

Gordon Ryan

Kate Wood

Pauline Eveillard

LandmarkLion1984

Eileen Marzola

You're our heroes!  And with 34 days to go, the list of others who support our iPhone app development project will only continue to grow!

We'll post updates here to the blog at regular intervals, but for the most up-to-date info on our Kickstarter campaign, check us out on Twitter and on Facebook!

BREAKING NEWS :: Online campaing to fund iPhone app launches!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, here's to hoping our Kickstarter project video is worth $3,000!

WATCH the video!  GET INSPIRED!  PLEDGE your support!

It Happened On East 6th Street ...

... IT CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE!

In her August 4, 2010, NY Times article, “Mr. Landlord, Tear Down That Penthouse”, Cara Buckley reports on the BSA-mandated demolition of additional stories constructed at 514-516 East 6th Street.  As Ms. Buckley explains, the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) ruled that the Department of Buildings (DOB) exceeded its authority in issuing permits enabling the construction of penthouses that infringed upon laws governing safety in multiple dwellings.  The details are in the article (we hope you’ll give it a read!).  (Click here for West Side online news source DNA Info’s take)

This shines a new light on the ongoing saga of 12-14 West 68th Street.  As the DOB exceeded its authority in allowing construction on East 6th Street, it circumvented the authority of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in issuing permits on West 68th Street.  On 68th Street, however, the misinformation by the building owner to the DOB as to the landmark status of Nos. 12-14 adds a significant twist in the matter.  As Craig Karmin wrote in the Wall Street Journal on May 4, 2010, quoting a DOB spokesperson, “[l]icensed professionals are required to notify the department about a building's landmark status when submitting construction plans. It appears that did not happen in this case.”  The illegal rooftop addition plaguing 12-14 West 68th Street has twice been denied after-the-fact legalization by the LPC.  And now, the owner of 12-14 West 68th Street is suing the LPC and the DOB!  Click here to read the owner’s official filing with the Sate Supreme Court.

The illegal rooftop addition at 12-14 West 68^th Street must come down.  It happened in the East Village; it can happen on the Upper West Side!  As always, stay tuned!

Photo: NY Times.

Sunday Sweets!

Who doesn't love a good brownie?  Especially when it represents an opportunity to support a neighborhood landmark.*

This Sunday, August 8, 2:00 PM, West-Park Presbyterian Church congregation will hold a bake sale in front of its building on West 86th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.  Stop by and eat up a storm!

Click here for more information!

*West-Park Presbyterian Church (original 1884 chapel designed Leopold Eidlitz; 1890 sanctuary addition designed by Henry F. Kilburn) was officially confirmed as a NYC Individual Landmark in May 2010.