Exciting news! Joseph Cunningham, decorative arts historian and co-host of LW’s spectacular Evening at The Dakota celebration last September, will introduce Nina Gray at her slide lecture on June 12 (this Thursday). Don’t miss this special opportunity to join LW! in the lovely interior of St. Michael’s Church, with decorations by Louis Comfort Tiffany and others.
RSVP today! Call 212-496-8110 or email landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org.
“The Tiffany Girls”
The Designing Women of Tiffany Studios
A slide lecture by Nina Gray
Thursday, June 12, 2008, 6 pm
at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
West 99th Street & Amsterdam Avenue
(enter through garden and Parish House at 225 West 99th, between Amsterdam and Broadway)
Tickets for this program are $25 (includes lecture, wine reception and book-signing). See special offer above!
The “Tiffany Girls,” directed by Clara Driscoll, were the “gifted artisans who made vital yet almost entirely anonymous contributions to many of Louis C. Tiffany’s most famous mosaics, windows and decorative objects” (New York Times, 2/25/07). Recently discovered letters written by Driscoll inspired the ground-breaking exhibition, “A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls,” at the New-York Historical Society in 2007. Nina Gray, a noted independent scholar and co-curator of the exhibition, will share the story of the women who labored behind the scenes at the Tiffany Studios, presenting the firm’s celebrated works in an entirely new context. Gray also co-wrote the exhibition catalogue, A New Light on Tiffany (D. Giles Limited, 2007 - book cover shown above), and will sign copies immediately following the lecture. Please join us in the historic 1891 St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (designed by Robert W. Gibson and recently heard by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission for official Landmark status) in the glow of the sanctuary’s magnificent Tiffany stained-glass windows and mosaics.
Special "Talk & Walk" Offer! Sign up for both the June 12 "Tiffany Girls" lecture by Nina Gray and the June 25 "Central Park West Skyline" walking tour by Andrew Scott Dolkart. Pay only $40 per person! That's a $10 savings, so RSVP today...
Central Park West Skyline
A Walking Tour with Andrew Scott Dolkart
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 (rain or shine), 6 pm
Meeting location to be announced.
Tickets for this tour are $25. See special offer above!
The iconic Central Park West skyline silhouette is one of New York’s most beloved treasures. Learn about the past, present and future of this unique urban vista—the western “frame” of Central Park—with its soaring twin towers and low-rise cultural and religious institutions. Acclaimed writer and architectural historian Andrew Scott Dolkart, the James Marston Fitch Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University, will lead this special walking tour focused on the history, architecture, real estate, planning and preservation of Central Park West’s distinctive profile for future generations to enjoy.
Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling 212-496-1714 or emailing landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org. Space is limited.
~
LANDMARK WEST! is a non-profit award-winning community group working since 1985 to preserve
the best of the Upper West Side’s architectural heritage from 59th to 110th Street between Central Park West and Riverside Drive. Owing in large part to our advocacy, there are nearly 2,700 designated landmarks in this area (up from only 337 in 1985).
Preserving the best of the Upper West Side's neighborhood character and architectural heritage.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Special Guest to Introduce Nina Gray on June 12
Thursday, June 5, 2008
LW! Urban Forests Environmental Project UPDATE
If you didn't get a chance to Tune in to The Brian Lehrer Show on May 21 to learn about LW's environmental project: “Urban Forests in the Midst: In your Backyard,” you can download the conversation at: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2008/05/21
Scroll down to "backyard trees" and click on the arrow!
LW's Evan Mason and Bill Solecki from CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities talked with Brian Lehrer and fielded listener questions about the acres of open spaces located behind rowhouses throughout the City—in neighborhoods as diverse as the Upper West Side, Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Cobble Hill, and many more, in all five boroughs!
We are conducting a Pilot Project to:
Investigate the environmental benefits of these open spaces;
Instill awareness about the benefits of backyard open spaces, such as the capacity to reduce air pollution, alleviate strain on the the City’s water treatment system, and the temperature reduction capabilities of these combined backyards;
Inspire public policy officials and residents alike to recognize the environmental contributions conveyed by even small spaces to the urban air we breathe;
Incentivize landlords and tenants to maximize the environmental benefits of these backyards!
Stay tuned for future emails to update you about the progress of the study and shed light on what you can do to clean the air, reduce the burden on the City's aging water treatment infrastructure and enhance your enjoyment of even small open spaces—be they front, back or side yards!
Did you know that there are 108 acres of open spaces hidden behind rowhouses on the Upper West Side alone? That is 13% the size of Central Park! These backyard open spaces convey a range of environmental benefits to the entire City—and yet these benefits are overlooked by the architects of public policy for NYC, environmentalists, building owners and tenants alike.
To learn more about the project, check out this recently published Gotham Gazette article at http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/sustainabilitywatch/20080428/210/2511
"Urban Forests" Team:
This research study is a creative community-university partnership that brings together Landmark West!, a non-profit community-based organization committed to preserving the architectural heritage of Manhattan's Upper West Side with The CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in order to develop evidence-based policies and best practices with regard to environmentally sound management of privately owned open spaces.
To donate to this project, click here. Help us meet our goal of $200,00 for this project!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Talk & Walk: Tiffany Girls & CPW Skyline
Special "Talk & Walk" Offer! Sign up for both the June 12 "Tiffany Girls" lecture by Nina Gray and the June 25 "Central Park West Skyline" walking tour by Andrew Scott Dolkart. Pay only $40 per person! That's a $10 savings, so RSVP today...
“The Tiffany Girls”
The Designing Women of Tiffany Studios
A slide lecture by Nina Gray
Thursday, June 12, 2008, 6 pm
at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
West 99th Street & Amsterdam Avenue
(enter through garden and Parish House at 225 West 99th, between Amsterdam and Broadway)
Tickets for this program are $25 (includes lecture, wine reception and book-signing). See special offer above!
The “Tiffany Girls,” directed by Clara Driscoll, were the “gifted artisans who made vital yet almost entirely anonymous contributions to many of Louis C. Tiffany’s most famous mosaics, windows and decorative objects” (New York Times, 2/25/07). Recently discovered letters written by Driscoll inspired the ground-breaking exhibition, “A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls,” at the New-York Historical Society in 2007. Nina Gray, a noted independent scholar and co-curator of the exhibition, will share the story of the women who labored behind the scenes at the Tiffany Studios, presenting the firm’s celebrated works in an entirely new context. Gray also co-wrote the exhibition catalogue, A New Light on Tiffany (D. Giles Limited, 2007 - book cover shown above), and will sign copies immediately following the lecture. Please join us in the historic 1891 St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (designed by Robert W. Gibson and recently heard by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission for official Landmark status) in the glow of the sanctuary’s magnificent Tiffany stained-glass windows and mosaics.
Central Park West Skyline
A Walking Tour with Andrew Scott Dolkart
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 (rain or shine), 6 pm
Meeting location to be announced.
Tickets for this tour are $25. See special offer above!
The iconic Central Park West skyline silhouette is one of New York’s most beloved treasures. Learn about the past, present and future of this unique urban vista—the western “frame” of Central Park—with its soaring twin towers and low-rise cultural and religious institutions. Acclaimed writer and architectural historian Andrew Scott Dolkart, the James Marston Fitch Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University, will lead this special walking tour focused on the history, architecture, real estate, planning and preservation of Central Park West’s distinctive profile for future generations to enjoy.
Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling 212-496-1714 or emailing landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org. Space is limited.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
RESTORE the LPC Budget!
For the second year in a row, LANDMARK WEST! is working with a coalition of over 40 groups representing neighborhoods throughout the city to co-sponsor the Second Annual NYC Preservation Lobby Day on Wednesday, May 28, 2008. A press conference will take place on the steps of City Hall at 2:00 PM. Please join us! Voters make a difference.
Together, we're urging the City Council to RESTORE $300,000 in funding to the Landmarks Preservation Commission's 2008-2009 budget! This year, your participation is more important than ever. In 2006, the City Council, led by Council Members Jessica Lappin, Tony Avella and Diana Reyna, allocated $250,000 in additional funds to the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s budget, allowing the agency to hire five new full-time staff researchers to aid in their designation efforts. Last year that amount was increased to $300,000, which allowed the LPC to designate more than 1,000 buildings in 2007, a 2,000% increase in buildings since FY2005. Still, despite the amount of much-needed work that these grants have allowed, Mayor Bloomberg has declined to baseline this amount and it has not been included in the Commission’s FY09 budget.
Unless we band together in unified support of a well-funded, open, efficient, effective Landmarks Commission, the agency's staff and resources will shrink significantly -- at a time when its workload is higher than ever and the Department of Buidings is issuing record numbers of demolition permits!
WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY!
1) Call, write, email and/or fax your local council member stating your support for RESTORING $300,000 to the Landmarks Commission's budget. For contact information, go to http://council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml. A sample letter is attached.
2) Send copies of your letters/emails to Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Landmarks Subcommittee Chair Jessica Lappin (contact information on website above). In addition, please send copies to landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or 212-875-0209 (fax).
3) Invite council members, neighbors and colleagues to join you at the press conference. May 28, 2:00 PM, on the steps of City Hall.
4) Add your group's name to the coalition supporting the RESTORATION! Send emails to our colleagues at the Historic Districts Council, the citywide advocate for New York's historic neighborhoods - hdc@hdc.org.
SEE YOU ON THE STEPS!
Here's more information on why the Landmarks Commission needs your help (from the Citizens Emergency Committee to Preserve Preservation, www.savelpc.org)
1) The Landmarks Preservation Commission is one of the smallest city agencies in New York, yet its workload is impressively large and growing every day. Their staff and budget have become dangerously small.
2) The Commission’s budget has shrunk by 35% since 1990, in constant dollars.
3) The Commission’s share of the city budget has shrunk by 52% since 1990. It now occupies just .007% of the entire city budget.
4) The Commission’s staff has decreased by 25% since 1990. Over this same time period, the number of applications to repair or modify landmarks (which the Commission regulates) has more than doubled, to 9,000 per year.
5) The Commission has just 52 staff members who watch over more than 23,000 landmarks throughout the five boroughs; only 3 staff members are charged with enforcing the landmarks law.
6) Since 1990, the Commission has increased the revenue it generates for the city from just $10,000 per year to more than $1 million per year. It now raises nearly 1/3 of its agency budget, yet the city continues to deny the Commission the funding and staff it needs.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
May 31: New Taste of the Upper West Side
Join the Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID) and local culinary landmarks* for the first annual "New Taste of the Upper West Side." Unlimited tastings! Meet the chefs whose restaurants make our neighborhood a destination for connoisseurs of edifices and edibles alike. All funds raised will be dedicated towards the Neighborhood Streetscape Beautification Project, organized by our friends at the BID, in the heart of the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District.
To purchase tickets, visit http://www.newtasteuws.com/.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
5:00pm Patron and Sponsor Cocktail Party
6:00 - 8:30pm General Admission
Under a tent on Columbus Avenue (between 76th and 77th Street) Rain or Shine
*including Rosa Mexicano, the memory of whose pomegranate margaritas, guacamole and more - all donated for LANDMARK WEST's April 29 awards celebration - still lingers on many an Upper West Side palate... Here's your chance to savor pro bono fare from other local restaurants!
LW! Urban Forests Project on WNYC: Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
Tune in to The Brian Lehrer Show
Wednesday, May 21 at 10:30am
WNYC - 93.9 FM or 820 AM
LW’s Evan Mason and Bill Solecki from CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities will sit down withBrian Lehrer to talk about our environmental project “Urban Forests in Our Midst.”
Did you know that there are 108 acres of open spaces hidden behind rowhouses on the Upper West Side alone? That is 13% the size of Central Park! These backyard open spaces convey a range of environmental benefits to the entire City—and yet these benefits are overlooked by the architects of public policy for NYC, environmentalists, building owners and tenants alike. This project will have significant implications for the entire City given the many neighborhoods in all five boroughs characterized by significant numbers of rowhouses with adjoining backyards.
To learn more about the project, check out this recently published Gotham Gazette article at http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/sustainabilitywatch/20080428/210/2511
"Urban Forests" Team:
This research study is a creative community-university partnership that brings together Landmark West!, a non-profit community-based organization committed to preserving the architectural heritage of Manhattan’s Upper West Side with The CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities and NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in order to develop evidence-based policies and best practices with regard to environmentally sound management of privately owned open spaces.
To donate to this project, please go to www.landmarkwest.org and click on “green initiatives” link, or call 212 496-8100 for more information. Help us meet our goal of $200,00 for this project!
Monday, May 19, 2008
"Tiffany Girls" on June 12
"The Tiffany Girls"
The Designing Women of Tiffany Studios
Thursday, June 12, 2008, 6 pm
at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
West 99th Street & Amsterdam Avenue
(enter through garden and Parish House
at 225 West 99th, between Amsterdam and Broadway)
RSVP today! Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance. See below.
The "Tiffany Girls," directed by Clara Driscoll, were the "gifted artisans who made vital yet almost entirely anonymous contributions to many of Louis C. Tiffany’s most famous mosaics, windows and decorative objects" (New York Times, 2/25/07). Recently discovered letters written by Driscoll inspired the ground-breaking exhibition, "A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls," at the New-York Historical Society in 2007.
Nina Gray, a noted independent scholar and co-curator of the exhibition, will share the story of the women who labored behind the scenes at the Tiffany Studios, presenting the firm’s celebrated works in an entirely new context. Gray also co-wrote the exhibition catalogue, A New Light on Tiffany (D. Giles Limited, 2007), and will sign copies immediately following the lecture.
Please join us in the historic 1891 St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (designed by Robert W. Gibson and recently heard by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission for official Landmark status) in the glow of the sanctuary’s magnificent Tiffany stained-glass windows and mosaics.
Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling 212-496-1714 or emailing landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org. Space is limited.
~
LANDMARK WEST! is a non-profit award-winning community group working since
1985 to preserve the best of the Upper West Side’s architectural heritage from 59th to 110th Street between Central Park West and Riverside Drive. Owing in large part to our advocacy, there are nearly 2,700 designated landmarks in this area (up from only 337 in 1985).
Friday, May 2, 2008
April 29 "Unsung Heroes of the Upper West Side"
...and there are awards! Congratulations and thanks to everyone who made our April 29 "Unsung Heroes of the Upper West Side" Preservation Awards celebration such a resounding success...
What a fiesta it was!
Little did we know when we started planning last night's heartfelt, homegrown tribute to people who have made an honest-to-goodness difference for our city and our neighborhood that it would turn into such a hot ticket. (If you RSVP'd after we'd already sold out, your support and enthusiasm registered nonetheless!) The extraordinary turn-out speaks volumes about the accomplishments and contributions of our awardees (listed below, together with those who gamely presented the awards)...not to mention the lure of Rosa Mexicano's heavenly pomegranate margaritas, guacamole and other delicious fare (all donated, http://www.rosamexicano.com/) and the ideal historic setting in the former ballroom of the Hotel des Artistes, now LA PALESTRA, Center for Preventative Medicine (also donated, http://www.lapalestra.com/).
Last night was truly the highest of the high, an all-too-rare chance to revel in the good that comes of people working together; fighting the battles that need to be fought; recognizing, preserving and taking pleasure in the beauty right here in our midst.
Here's toour wonderful awardees...and to all of you. Start sending in your awards nominations for next year!
P.S. 87, 160 West 78th Street – Future Generations Award presented by Alexis Penzell, NYC Department of Education superintendent and former P.S. 87 parent
Whitney North Seymour, Jr. – Preservation Citizen Award presented by Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the United States District Court (SDNY)
Pomander Walk, 260-266 West 95th Street – Building Rehabilitation Award presented by Wint Aldrich, New York State Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation
Michael Laub, G&L Realty, 175 West 72nd Street & 170 West 73rd Street – “Domino Effect” Award presented by Fernando Ferrer, former Bronx Borough President
The Evanston, 610 West End Avenue at 90th Street – Architectural Detail Restoration Award presented by Andrew S. Dolkart, the James Marston Fitch Associate Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University
Cliff Dwelling Apartments, 243 Riverside Drive at 96th Street – Building Stewardship Award presented by Susan Tunick, President of the Friends of Terra Cotta
For more information about the awards celebration, please visit http://www.landmarkwest.org/.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Parkhouse v. Stringer: The Real Story
A recent New York Times article (April 12, 2008, Metro Section, pB1) tells thestory of Virginia Parkhouse-devoted preservationist, long-time Landmark West! volunteer, hardy citizen and, not coincidentally, target of small-minded, vindictive politicians. Click here for the"back story" behind the Times report...
In addition to a couple of minutes' worth of mandatory reading for any civic-minded New Yorker, you will find links to court papers filed by attorney Whitney North Seymour, Jr., defending Parkhouse against a NYC Department of Investigation subpoena issued after she testified at aLandmarks Preservation Commission public hearing in October 2006. You'll also find a link to a fascinating Amicus Curiae Brief filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union in support of Parkhouse's first amendment rights. Excerpts from the brief are included below.
Excerpts from the New York Civil Liberties Union Amicus Curiae Brief (dated December 27, 2007) in Parkhouse v. Stringer
"Virginia Parkhouse has spoken as a private individual before the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission and now finds herself investigated and subpoenaed by the Department of Investigation of the City of New York ("DOI") for non-perjurious statements made at the hearing." (p. 2)
"The very purpose of the First Amendment is to foreclose public authority from assuming a guardianship of the public mind."(citing Supreme Court decision Meyer v. Grant, 486 U.S. 414, 419 (1988)). (p. 2)
"Exercise of subpoena power to demand an individual to account for their speech before a public commission subverts those constitutional values that allow the people to decide the merit of political debate. By forcing Ms. Parkhouse to testify under oath concerning her statements to a public commission and by threatening prosecution, DOI has burdened her right to free speech without any connection to a legitimate governmental interest." (p. 3)
"An individual's representations before a public commission are expression, pure political speech to which the most rigorous First Amendment protection applies." (p. 4)
"Much like the additional speech required in McIntyre, the subpoena issued to Ms. Parkhouse undoubtedly burdens her First Amendment right to speak before a commission concerning issues of public importance. The practical burden of compliance with a subpoena includes hiring an attorney, appearing before the DOI at the appointed time, and facing a battery of hostile questions under oath. Undoubtedly these increased personal costs would make even a civic-minded individual such as Ms. Parkhouse secondguess whether he or she should express their opinion before a public commission." (p. 8)
"The First Amendment interests in this case are not confined to the personal rights of [the recipients of a subpoena.] Although their rights do not rest lightly in the balance, far weightier than they are the public interests in First Amendment freedoms that stand or fall with the rights that these witnesses advance for themselves."(quoting decision Bursey v. United States, 466 F.2d 1059, 1083 (9thCir. 1972)). (p. 9)
"The First Amendment does not convey a "right" to the public to hear only a sanitized and government-approved version of the truth; rather the public holds a right to state what they believe the views of their leaders to be, even if those beliefs are mistaken." (p. 11)
"Any further investigation serves only a retributive interest in prosecuting Ms. Parkhouse for her speech." (p. 16)
Friday, April 11, 2008
UPDATE: Shearith Israel Hearing: April 15 Hearing for Zoning Variances
Third and (Perhaps) Final Public Hearing at NYC Board of Standards and Appeals on Congregation Shearith Israel's Condo Plan for West 70th Street
Consider this email urgent notice to all of you who care about preserving the scale and character of our city's low-rise rowhouse midblocks, the rationale of New York's zoning laws, and the integrity of the public process intended to defend our neighborhoods from inappropriate development. Just think of all of the other institutional developers lined up for zoning variances around the city-St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, the New-York Historical Society, The Ramaz School, the list goes on and on...Connect the dots (and note that developer Jack Rudin, one of the city's most politically connected developers, is involved in both Congregation Shearith Israel and the St. Vincent's plan). This could well be the hearing that determines YOUR community's future. The hearing is open to all, and anyone may speak (even if you already spoke at a previous hearing).
DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 2008
TIME: Afternoon Session Will Begin at 1:30 p.m.
PLACE: Board of Standards and Appeals, 40 Rector Street, 6th Floor (take #1
subway to Rector Street, walk west)
YOU can help win a key battle, one with major ramifications for the entire city. Just by showing up-even just for 30 minutes or an hour.
YOU can help reinforce the importance of a fair and balanced review process, one that isn't weighted toward the developer and major institutions. It's important to note that, despite over a year of paper filings and public hearings, Congregation Shearith Israel still has failed to prove that it meets the standard for any of the 7 zoning variances from BSA it would need to build a 105'-tall building with 5 floors of luxury condos stacked on top of a new community house.
YOU can help hold the line against out-of-scale development that diminishes quality of life. Because of the luxury condos, this new building would be more than twice as tall as any other building on the brownstone midblock of West 70th Street, undermining both its contextual zoning and landmark protection as part of the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District, designated by the Landmarks Commission in 1990. For more information, visit www.protectwest70.org.
We know mid-day hearings aren't easy, and we wouldn't ask if your presence weren't vitally important. Showing up means just as much as speaking up, so please make every effort to attend even if you don't plan to testify!