Central Park tennis bubbles: an electrical outlet away from reality?

UPDATE :: Central Park tennis bubbles, two months later

As reported by Cristiana P.

The West Side Independent picked up on LANDMARK WEST's email blast yesterday reminding the public about the brief yet intensely focused and ultimately successful battle waged this past Spring in Central Park: the Battle of the Bubbles!

Tennis bubbles, that is.  Because of the unwavering support of over 1,300 individuals who signed the online petition to Keep Central Park Open to All, the tremendous support of our local Community Board 7, and support from over a dozen ally organizations*, we burst the bubbles!  But as we stated in our email, the reprieve could be only temporary.
 

Watch NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Commission Adrian Benepe's interview on NY1 and you'll hear for yourself that a re-imagined bubble scheme could re-inflate in the foreseeable future.  The DPR hasn't abandoned the idea of installing tennis bubbles in Central Park, so we must not abandon our efforts to ensure that Central Park remains bubble-free for all to enjoy!

Sign the online petition and encourage others to follow suit!  Click here for the petition!
*For a full listing of the organizations and elected officials who joined in the fight, see our email.

Urban Outfitters to Metro Theater: "Howdy, neighbor!"

It seems as though the Metro Theater won't be welcoming Urban Outfitters as a new retail tenant after all.

For some time, it was speculated that Urban Outfitters (UO), the clothing and random-grab-bag-o-merchandise chain store already at home on the West Side at 72nd Street and Broadway, would be taking up residence at the Metro Theater.  Located on Broadway between 99th and 100th Street, the Metro Theater is an Individual Landmark building.  So when talk of a new occupant began to bubble up, LANDMARK WEST! kept its ear open.  The chatter subsequently died down. 

Then, discussion of a new location for UO in the 100th-and-Broadway neighborhood began anew this week.  Turns out the store has secured the retail space directly across Broadway from its previous site of interest, in the new Extell residential tower.  For details, check out the following articles:


Wall Street Journal covers this "bodega chic" venture.

West Side Independent's take on the "fake" neighborhood character proposed by UO.

The Shophound caught the story earlier this Spring, as did the blog MyUpperWest.

Landmarks and Landmarks-in-Waiting in the e-press

The Upper West Side press has been kept busy this week covering the landmark beat!  From the West Side's newest Individual Landmark, West-Park Presbyterian Church on 86th Street, to buildings deserving of landmarks status but locked in limbo, like the IRT Powerhouse on 59th Street, people are talking about our neighborhood's historic architectural resources!

Check out the articles below, then head to the LANDMARK WEST! Wish List advocacy page to learn more about how you can help further these campaigns.

West-Park fundraiser in the West Side Spirit and DNAInfo.

IRT Powerhouse chatter in West Side Spirit.

Stay tuned to LW! and these neighborhood news sources for more information on these and other landmark issues!

A Stellar Year for LW's Youth Education Program, Keeping the Past for the Future!

The 2009-2010 school year has been a Landmark year for LW's decade-old youth education program, Keeping the Past for the Future (KPF). The number of students experiencing KPF has sky-rocketed in a few short years.  This year, we have worked with 1,600 students in 66 classrooms in 11 Upper West Side schools for a total of 229 invdividual class sessions, compared to only two years ago when we worked with 1,000 students in 43 classrooms for a total of 133 sessions. We were thrilled to partner for the first time with PS163 (163 West 97th Street) and the Professional Childrens School (132 West 60th Street)!

Highlights of this year include:

Fifth Graders from PS145 (150 West 105th Street) studied the storied history and architecture of the former Towers Nursing Home.

Fourth Graders from PS87 (160 West 78th Street) looked at the West End Collegiate Church as an example of Dutch Revival architecture for their unit on New Amsterdam.

Third Graders from PS75 (735 West End Avenue) worked together to create poems inspired by the Cliff Dwelling (left).

KPF is a central part of our mission to preserve the architectural heritage of Manhattan's Upper West Side.  In studying and exploring their own surroundings as they were and as they are today, students relate history to their own world of home, school, and neighborhood.  By learning to "read" and understand the built environment that they experience everyday, students acquire a sense of ownership toward their surroundings.  KPF truly brings the neighborhood to life!

Historic house tours 2010: Murray Hill, Mount Morris Park, and Hamilton Heights

As summer approaches, the end of the historic house tour season draws near.  But fear not!  There are still opportunities to step inside the hidden-in-plain-sight treasures of New York City's historic neighborhoods.

Explore historic Murray Hill* or head uptown to landmarked Mount Morris Park on Sunday, June 13th (more info on both here; on Murray Hill, see "NOTE" below).


Can't wait until next weekend for your chance to explore?  Join the Hamilton Heights Homeowners Association (HHHA) this weekend, June 5th and 6th, for a walking tour and house and garden tour!

First on Saturday, June 5th, Michael Henry Adams, noted Harlem historian and author of Harlem Lost and Found, will lead a tour of historic Hamilton Heights.  Then on Sunday, June 6th, the HHHA will host its 21st Anniversary House and Garden Tour.

Stroll though the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District, stretching from 135th to 155th Street between Riverside DriveEdgecombe Avenue. This area contains many architectural gems of various styles, such as Flemish, Beaux-Arts, Romanesque Revival, and Tudor among its many townhouses and churches. and

For more information on the HHHA events, click here.

*NOTE: Logistics of the Murray Hill historic district tour have changed.  Please contact the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association for the most up-to-date schedule of sites.

Preservationists, ahoy!

On Wednesday, May 26th, LANDMARK WEST! and a group of our nearest and dearest set off for an adventure aboard the historic, National Register-listed John J. Harvey fireboat!  The sun set, the full moon rose, a sister fireboat spouted a patriotic water show ... all on cue!

Seeing New York from the water reminds us of how important it is to step back occasionally, admire, critique and reflect.  Significant birthdays do that, too. 

So, in the spirit of LANDMARK WEST's 25th anniversary this year, let us pause for a moment and congratulate one another on a job well done ... so far.

Tremendous thanks also to ...

Huntley Gill, John J. Harvey captain, West Sider and dear friend of LW!.  Our harbor adventure was a birthday gift from Huntley to the LW! family!  What a generous treat!  To learn more about the John J. Harvey and their team's great work, visit www.fireboat.org.
Fairway Market, for donating the delicious organic strawberries.
Rachel Simon Holzman, baker extraordinaire, for the sweet treats.

Relive this magical evening with our Flickr photo album.

Happy Memorial Day!

The End of (Another) Era

Today we learned that another Upper West Side institution is closing its doors - O'Neal's, nee The Ginger Man, a fixture on West 64th Street for nearly half a century and generous host to LW's Candidates Breakfast Forums through the years.  

Saying goodbye to O'Neal's comes all too quickly on the heels of losing the Cafe des Artistes on West 67th Street (in 2009) and, just recently, Gino's on the Upper East Side.  (See Anthony C. Wood's recent blogpost about Gino's closing at www.landmark45.org.)  As places to gather, eat and commune, these restaurants - and their familiar, artful interiors - leave an indelible impression on us all.  Below, a note from Mike O'Neal...

O'NEALS' TO CLOSE END OF JUNE

Dear Patrons and Friends,

With this letter I want to let my dear friends and patrons know that sometime at the END OF JUNE we will be bring the curtain down on a long and exciting run.

The O'Neal family has had a presence on West 64th Street for 46 years,  first at THE GINGER MAN and then as O'NEALS'.  It is with much sadness we say goodbye.

Many of you know all the many manifestations we have had over the years,  originally the Ginger  Man, we got good reviews and  we expanded.  Soon we broke through the wall into the Liberty Warehouse and opened the Liberty Ice Cream Parlor, We later turned this room into "the Grill Room", do you remember the beautiful fireplace? Little by little our original home, a renovated garage, became the site of a new building we moved all operations into the warehouse.

In 2001 The Liberty Warehouse was sold and the old owners went belly up. The strict foreclosure that followed terminated our lease with many years to go.

A buyer turned up and made the building a condo.  At this point we considered calling it quits but we held out and negotiated a new lease.  We waited 21 months to reopen.  Meanwhile the building had been gutted.  We rebuild saving many of our treasures and lovingly making a home for them in the new space.

We came back seven years ago, bigger and better than ever.  I think the new place is beautiful and we also build a modern new kitchen which make the food even better.

But along with all the building came "new debt".  At first we did well but when Lincoln Center cut back on their programs and the "world wide recession" up we started to loose ground.  It has come to that point where we have to admit "We bit off more than we can chew".  So rather than further increasing our debt we have made the painful and heart wrenching decision to close.

At this point I want thank all my loyal employees and management staff, who have done a yeoman's job trying to hold the place together, especially I would like to thank my partner Jim Enzel who took all the midnight calls and hand to  endure the creditors flack.  Also my wife Chris and my family they have all suffered through all this  turmoil, without their support I couldn't have made it. And now to all my beloved  patrons and customers I will miss you on a daily basis.  I always loved it when a customer would say "I am so glad to see you busy,  I can never get a table".  Down deep in my heart, I was thinking , "Where were you last Tuesday when there was no one here".

Amsterdam Avenue Street Festival 2010

UPDATE FROM THE FIELD

As reported by Cristiana P.

On Sunday afternoon, LW! staffers took to the streets--Amsterdam Avenue between 86th and 87th Streets, to be specific--for the annual Amsterdam Avenue Street Festival!

From our post directly across from West-Park Presbyterian Church, the West Side's newest Individual Landmark, we spoke with neighbors and festival goers about our advocacy initiatives, upcoming programming, our youth education program, and much more.  In turn, folks shared with LW! their thoughts on "what makes the West Side ... the West Side!" in brief video testimonials and our neighborhood survey.

A tremendous afternoon!  Thank you to everyone who visited LW's table!

PHOTO: LW's Kate Wood, neighborhood survey in hand, at our table during the street festival.

Coalition to Save West-Park honored

Congratulations to the individuals and organizations honored last night by the Historic Districts Council at its 20th Annual Preservation Party and Grassroots Preservation Awards.

This year, the awards were especially close to our West Side heart.  Among the grassroots efforts honored was The Coalition to Save West-Park Presbyterian Church!  Two decades of perseverance paid off on May 12, 2010, when the City Council voted to affirm the Individual Landmark designation of West-Park. 

Now the real work of preserving this extraordinary building can begin...  Click here to learn more.

Again, our sincerest thanks to all those whose dedication to West-Park made this communal victory a reality!

PHOTO: Members of The Coalition to Save West-Park Presbyterian Church join HDC to accept their Grassroots Preservation Award.  From left to right: Françoise Bollack, Simeon Bankoff, Susan Sullivan, Kate Wood, Rudy van Daele, Susan Nial, Klari Neuwelt.  More photos available on Flickr.

Seeing Is Believing! Preservation rally and West-Park council vote photos are in!

Experience the camaraderie and shared appreciation for our city's rich history as manifest at the preservation rally 2010, which took place on May 12, 2010.

Then, go inside City Hall for images from the decisive votes to confirm the Landmarks Preservation Commission's designation of West-Park Presbyterian Church as an Individual Landmark.

For more info, click here.