10 Years After Katrina, Book Talk by Roberta Brandes Gratz

 

Above: Photo of Uptown New Orleans by Eric Bouler  

Please join LANDMARK WEST! as we remember Hurricane Katrina (2005)
and celebrate 10 years of steady urban regeneration 

in the historic city of New Orleans.

Wednesday, September 9, 6:30PM
A Book Talk by Roberta Brandes Gratz*

award-winning journalist, urban critic and author of the newly released
We're Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City

Book Culture on Columbus**
450 Columbus Avenue (between 81st & 82nd Streets)

Tickets $15 ($10 for members of LW!)
RSVP - space is limited
landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or (212) 496-8110
or reserve online through Eventbrite

Talk followed by book signing and reception
Books available for purchase from Book Culture

On August 29, 2005, an ill wind swept across New Orleans. Her name was Katrina.

So begins RBG's riveting account of a historic city's near-destruction and, against all odds, rebirth. "Cities are never lacking in wise, energetic, passionate, and dedicated citizens who know how to rebuild their communities. New Orleans has more than its share of such citizens. They are the ones most responsible for their city's recovery."
 

What others are saying:

"Gratz provides a moving chronicle of the efforts of a real people to rebuild their battered city in the fact of bad engineering, cynical politicians, incompetent bureaucrats and greedy developers...This book is an absolute must read for anyone who cares about the future of our communities and nation."
- Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and professor at NYU 

"In this powerful book, Roberta Brandes Gratz turns her deep understanding of the work of Jane Jacobs into an astonishing account of how imaginative community activists like Jacobs emerge and grow in the wake of a disaster like Katrina. In virtually every domain of urban life-in housing, health care, education, economic development, and environmental protection-she discovers New Orleanians... A masterpiece of reportage and analysis!"
- Richard Rabinowitz, Phd, President, American History Workshop



*ABOUT ROBERTA BRANDES GRATZ
A Greenwich Villager by birth; a world traveler, lecturer and writer by profession; and an Upper West Sider by choice, Roberta Brandes Gratz began her preservation journey as a copy girl and went on to pen an award-winning-and game-changing series of articles probing the city's then-nascent landmarks process for the New York Post in 1973. Her coverage led directly to strengthening the Landmarks Law and set the stage for protecting more than 25,000 places covered by the Law in the years since. With Jane Jacobs, she founded The Center for the Living City. As a member of the Landmarks Preservation Commission from 2003 to 2010, and right on till today, Roberta is an outspoken defender of the New York's historic neighborhoods, including her own beloved West Side. She splits her time between New York and New Orleans. (for more about Roberta, visit www.robertabrandesgratz.com)

**ABOUT BOOK CULTURE
"As Upper West Siders, we want to start turning the tide right here in our own community, on a current trend that sees independent bookstores - and the power of choice that comes along with them - disappearing at an alarming rate. As New Yorkers, we want to do our part to make sure that our city's rich history and reputation for being home to writers, publishing houses, editors, and bookstores, remains intact - as does our city's position as the literary capital of the world." (excerpted from www.bookculture.com)

Upcoming Events - September 2015

Dear Friends of LANDMARK WEST!:

We have some exciting events coming up here at LW! to get you through these dog days of summer. Here is a sampling of our programs taking place in September:

Learn the ABCs of Central Park with Gerald Lynas!

Central Park

Monday, September 7, 10:00am 

A great Labor Day activity for the whole family!

Through the alphabet and numbers, artist/author G. Augustine Lynas introduces youngsters to the wonder and beauty of New York's Central Park, a NYC Scenic Landmark. First, we will discover where Lynas found inspiration for his book The ABCs of Central Park, then we will use our own keen eyes to snap candid photos of what Lynas calls "alpha-branches" and "number-limbs!" Check out Lynas' book here and see some pictures from our last tour with Lynas here. 

$5 per person. To make a reservation, please email landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or call (212) 496-8110.

Roberta Brandes Gratz Book Talk Celebrates Launch of 
We're Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City

Book Culture, 450 Columbus Avenue (between 81st & 82nd) 
Wednesday, September 9, 6:30pm

Join LW! as we remember Hurricane Katrina (2005) and celebrate 10 years of steady urban regeneration in the historic city of New Orleans. Award-winning journalist, urban critic, and author Roberta Brandes Gratz will guide us through her newly released publication, We're Still Here Ya Bastards: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City. Gratz's book provides a powerful account of how community activists are leading their city's recovery. 

$15, $10 for LW! members. To make a reservation, please email landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or call (212) 496-8110. Reservations also available through Eventbrite by clicking here.

An Architectural Walking Tour of Lincoln Center with architectural historian Thomas Mellins

Lincoln Center

Wednesday, September 30, 6:00pm

Join us as we explore Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts with Thomas Mellins, an architectural historian, independent curator, and author who has curated exhibitions for Jazz at Lincoln Center, the National Building Museum, the Yale School of Architecture, and many others. Mellins will lead us through the country's largest performing arts center, a space which represents the unity and talent of several prominent architects of the mid-20th century.  Then-starchitects Max Abramovitz, Pietro Belluschi, Gordon Bunshaft, Wallace Harrison, Eero Saarinen, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Phillip Johnson collaborated to create a world-class center of the arts in Manhattan, defined by an overall aesthetic that synthesized Classicism and Modernism. The tour will also highlight the recent redevelopment project, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Lincoln Center is on LW!'s Wish List of landmark designation priorities, and it was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

$25, $15 for LW! members. To make a reservation, please email landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or call (212) 496-8110. Reservations also available through Eventbrite by clicking here.

    

30th Anniversary! Help LW! pass on the torch in 2015!

June 2015

We're known for being obstinate.   
And we're known for being fighters.
This is no time to lose that reputation.

Dear Friends of LANDMARK WEST!:

…And now is no time to let your LW! membership lapse!  We need you more than ever.  If you’ve recently renewed or activated your 2015 membership (please call or email us to confirm), then you probably already understand why your involvement and support are so important.  If you haven’t renewed or become a member yet, please take two minutes and keep reading.

The quote above comes from Upper West Sider Roberta Brandes Gratz (journalist, urban critic, author,* and early LW! board member), who spoke out at a community meeting in 1983, when developers “rediscovered” the neighborhoods from 59^th to 110^th Street, between Central Park and Riverside Park.  Towers of unprecedented (for then) scale were planned for sites throughout the area.  “Mom & Pop” stores were pushed out.  Century-old buildings were demolished to make way for luxury housing.

Fortunately for the Upper West Side, there were Upper West Siders.  LW! was founded in 1985 and, true to our West-Sider reputation, we stood our ground… we organized… we advocated… and we succeeded in expanding such smart planning policies as zoning with contextual height limits and landmark and historic district protection that recognize the value of preserving existing neighborhood character and scale.

Thirty years ago, under the LW! banner, Upper West Siders reset the balance between preservation and development, public good and private interests, rich past and sustainable future.  Thirty years later, LW! continues to hold the line – day by day, building by building, block by block.

We won the landmark protection of over 3,000 sites, up from only 337 in 1985, securing the character and quality of our neighborhood.  We’ve set up award-winning partnerships with small businesses (our Retail Assistance Program) and schools (Keeping the Past for the Future children’s education program, which since 1999 has reached over 10,000 students and their teachers).  Through our email alerts and social media, we keep West Siders informed about issues and events that affect our lives (visit www.landmarkwest.org to get connected).  We act as the West Side’s “watchdog,” ever ready to spring from vigilance to activism (and often do so).

Those pressures from the 1980s never went away.  Developers have found ways around the laws.  Mayors and city agencies have been complicit.  The Upper West Side has changed, not always for the better. 

Now it’s 2015.  And we’re facing our biggest challenge yet.  HELP!

Just in the past six months:

• The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC, the mayoral agency charged with identifying and protecting our landmark buildings, interiors, and parks) announced that nearly 100 sites heard by the LPC for landmark designation would be removed from consideration.  Also, after delaying its vote on the proposed Riverside-West End Avenue Historic District Extension II for nearly four years, the LPC drastically reduced the district’s boundaries, eliminating protection for much of the west side of Broadway above 89^th Street.  Why?  Ask Mayor de Blasio and his appointed Landmarks Commissioners.
• City Council members (lobbied by the Real Estate Board of New York) introduced legislation that would severely curtail the LPC’s ability to designate landmarks in the future.
•  Mayor de Blasio announced sweeping citywide changes to zoning that would increase height limits on new buildings, with no study of how those changes would affect individual neighborhoods (like ours) that have worked for decades to try and protect character and scale.

Potential 80-story development, W. 66th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue

• Thirteen(!) new “mega-towers” (exceeding 1,000 feet, the equivalent of 100 stories) are underway or in the planning stages – including one on West 66^th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue – threatening to blight our skyline and cast shadows that will stretch across Central Park, New York’s great democratic open space, designated a Scenic Landmark in 1974.  Make sure to watch Bill Moyers’ powerful PBS program, “The Long, Dark Shadows of Plutocracy.”

• New breeds of development have emerged that manipulate existing outdated, or unenforced, regulations – for example, a planned building on West 96^th Street that will replace low-scale rowhouses and rise head-and-shoulders above its neighbors.

These issues and more are on LW’s Preservation Watch List, proof that there is still much work to be done to save the Upper West Side…by Upper West Siders and for Upper West Siders.

That’s where you come in.  It is only because of individual donors LIKE YOU that LW! is able to continue holding the line.  For thirty years, our work has produced a better neighborhood – a better city – but all of that could be erased in short order.  We need you to keep us strong.  Please renew your LW! (tax-deductible) membership today for as little as $25 (a mid-year special!). 

Thank you, as always, for your generosity and activism.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,


Arlene Simon                                              Kate Wood
Founder & President (1985-2015)                 President
Chair

P.S.      Membership has its benefits, such as discounts on walking tours, lectures and workshops.  Please make sure we have your email address to notify you about upcoming events!

*Roberta Brandes Gratz is the award-winning author of many books, including The Battle For Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs and most recently WE'RE STILL HERE YA BASTARDS: How the People of New Orleans Rebuilt Their City.

Preservation Heroes: Awards ceremony sings the praises of our "Unsung Heroes"

The world has many an unsung hero.

In 2011, the Upper West Side has eight more.

The Unsung Heroes of the Upper West Side

Awards Ceremony

Please join LANDMARK WEST! on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, in the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center (61 West 62nd Street, the extraordinary public space recently transformed by star architects, and our special guests for the evening, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien) as we celebrate the people and projects that—in some way, shape or form—lead the way in preserving our neighborhood’s special character and sense of place.

Click here for information about reserving your tickets.

And the 2011 awardees are…

Exterior Preservation
American Youth Hostel, 891 Amsterdam Avenue, and
Cutsogeorge, Tooman & Allen Architects, a model partnership to restore a West Side architectural gem

Community Steward
Margarita Curet, Amsterdam Houses tenant leader and all-around "Force to Be Reckoned With"

Future Generations
Samantha Deutsch, 5th-grade teacher and partner in preservation education at P.S.145, West 105th St.

Preservation by Design
Milton Glaser, graphic designer of “I [heart] NY,” New York magazine, and LW! logo fame
   
Preservation Advocate
Roberta Brandes Gratz, former Landmarks Commissioner, award-winning journalist, urban critic, and author

Archival A-Team
Office for Metropolitan History: Christopher Gray & Suzanne Braley, curators and chroniclers of New York’s architectural history

To meet the honorees, visit the event website.

Artwork by Ron Barrett, illustrator of the world famous "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs".