DISTRICT LINES News and Views of the Historic Districts Council Winter 2002, Volume XVI, Number 3

DISTRICT LINES news and views of the historic districts council winter 2002, volume XVI, number 3

p1 ~ 2002—The Year in Preservation p2 ~ The President’s Column p2 ~ The Year in HDC p6 ~ The City as Palimpsest p7 ~ City Proposes Fees for Landmark Permits p2 ~ New Books about Old New York

2002—The Year in Preservation

Preservation in New York City has not had a good year. There have been successes, to be sure, most of them the victo- ries of neighborhood advocates who have soldiered on in some cases for decades. But the successes have been outweighed by losses. Some of the disappointments are due to the city’s budget crisis, which has scrapped almost any chance for the Landmarks Preservation Commission to gain needed staff. The budget is responsible also for the threat of landmark permit fees arising like a malignant phoenix (see article on page 7). More commonly however—and more preventable—the year’s losses are due to miscarriages of municipal land-use regulation. But first the good news: In Manhat- tan, Harlem’s Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill neighborhood has, by dint of intense community involvement and partnership with the LPC, increased the number of designated landmark properties almost three- One of the year’s biggest losses was the designated landmark Amster Yard, on 49th Street between 2nd and fold, from 206 to 586 (see map, page 4). 3rd Avenues. The 1860s courtyard buildings shown here around the time of designation in 1966 no longer When the Hamilton Heights Historic exist. They were demolished, the trees and plantings were uprooted, and the townhouses facing 49th Street District was designated in 1974, less than were torn down except for a one-brick-thick facade. See box, page 5. five blocks of 19th century rowhouses and low-rise apartment buildings were protected. Now fifteen blocks of apartment the original district. If it would only see SAVE THE DATE buildings, row houses, carriage houses, boundary avenues in other districts in the and churches are designated. With HDC’s same light! for HDC's Ninth Annual Preservation co-sponsorship, the neighborhood In Midtown Manhattan, for example, Conference received a grant from the Preservation although the Murray Hill Neighborhood "Preserving the Suburban Metropolis" League of New York State and the New Association succeeded in its 30-year cam- York State Council on the Arts to apply paign to gain historic status for parts of its A day of preservation panels about the for listing on the State and National Regis- rowhouse neighborhood, the district was "other" New York ter of Historic Places and received it. This gerrymandered to exclude the higher-rise allows tax incentives for appropriate reha- avenue blocks, leaving the new district Saturday, March 8, 2003 bilitation of commercial properties vulnerable along the edges. Similarly in In a laudable action after much com- Tribeca, the LPC designated a small The New-York Historical Society munity urging, the LPC designated the extension to the Tribeca South Historic 2 West 77th Street at Central Park West majority of Edgecombe Avenue in Hamil- District through the midblocks of Cham- ton Heights and expanded the boundaries bers, Warren, and Murray Streets exclud- Call HDC at 212 614-9107 for details of the 1974 designation to better protect continued on p. 4 Historic Districts Council District Lines ~ Winter 2002 ~ page 2

appointees chosen by the mayor absolutely must speak the language of THE PRESIDENT’S COLUMN preservation and have a thorough under- standing of the landmarks law and the commission’s role in upholding it. Impor- The Historic Districts Council was tant in the best of times, expertise in the proud to honor former City Council mem- top echelon is essential when money is so ber Ken Fisher as the 2002 Landmarks tight. Experience and intelligence can help Lion. Celebrated at Federal Hall National to some degree to make up for the eco- Memorial in Lower Manhattan, the event nomic shortfalls now faced by our city, but helped focus attention on the economic this is no time for on-the-job training at revival of downtown, our city’s oldest the Landmarks Preservation Commission. neighborhood. Ken eloquently addressed –Hal Bromm, President several concerns shared by HDC, among them the future of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The Year in HDC This concern was also expressed by Michael Bloomberg while he was cam- Over the past year, the Historic Dis-

paigning for mayor. At an August 2001 tricts Council continued and even Meris D. photo: candidates’ breakfast co-sponsored by increased its educational and community Joe Lombardi’s Octagon House, a candy-colored con- HDC, Mr. Bloomberg spoke convinc- outreach programs. In March 2002, we fection in Irvington, NY. ingly of his concern for the city’s land- hosted our 8th Annual Preservation Con- marks law and the commission that is ference at the New School in Greenwich charged with upholding it. He said there Village. Entitled “Preserving the Modern were “a whole bunch of agencies that Metropolis,” it focused on the architectural By drawing on examples in New York we’ve cut back–Landmarks is certainly legacy of the 20th century in New York and England, speakers in the morning one of them–where we’ve been penny City. In three sessions, it featured well panel discussed the intricacies of using wise and pound foolish.” Candidate known architects, historians and preserva- Modern design in historic communities. Bloomberg went on to say, “Landmarks is tion practitioners such as Hugh Hardy, Tom Anthony M. Tung, architect and former like your top management and organiza- Mellins, Rolf Olhausen, Françoise Bollack, LPC commissioner, gave an impressive tion, that’s where you really want to Jeffrey Kroessler, and Landmarks Preserva- keynote lecture with fascinating slides spend your money. If you’ve got great tion Commission chair Sherida Paulsen. and visuals collected during his tour of 22 people and structure at the top, it filters all the way down.” He also said “I think you have to have somebody running Landmarks who has the respect of the constituency they serve.” DISTRICT HDC agrees, and urges the mayor to fill the ten expired seats on the commis- LINES sion with dedicated, knowledgeable indi- news and views of the viduals who are professionally conversant historic districts council with historic preservation. Any new

editor ~ Penelope Bareau

layout and production ~ Ross Horowitz

editorial consultant ~ Jack Taylor

contributors ~ Simeon Bankoff, Penelope Bare Hal Bromm, Eve Kahn, Jeffrey Kroessler

the historic districts council is the citywide non-profit advocate for new york’s designated histroic districts, and for neighborhoods worthy of preservation. the council is dedicated photo: © P. Decker © P. photo: photo: © P. Decker © P. photo: to preserving the integrity of new Hal Bromm and presenters Kate Burns Ottavino and york city’s landmarks law and to HDC Director Franny Eberhart with the Joan K. Davidson present Ken Fisher with his Lion furthering the preservation ethic. redoubtable Margot Gayle, 1993 Landmarks Lion. award, a 19th-century engraving of City Hall Park 1993 was a good year for Lions.

Historic Districts Council District Lines ~ Winter 2002 ~ page 3

offer similar programs throughout 2003 in all five boroughs. On the publishing front, one new project is the New Boundaries Initiative, the first phase of which will be a white paper on the discrepancy between historic neighborhoods and designated historic districts. And over the summer, HDC revised our classic “Creating an Historic District” in order to account for changes in procedure at the LPC and to incorporate new resources available to the public. The new edition will be available in spring 2003. Lest we be dull from too much work, we had parties. In June, Joseph Pell Lom- bardi, a preservation architect and HDC photo: © P. Decker © P. photo: adviser, invited us to his astonishing Octa- HDC Adviser Joseph Pell Lombardi, who owns and restored the Octagon House, and HDC Director gon House in Irvington NY for a lawn Susan Tunick on the grounds of the Octagon House by the gazebo. party. His house is a fabulous 19th century confection which he has spent the past 20 years restoring and which he opened to us for tours. In September the annual Grass- cities throughout the world to research evening panels to Friends of HDC to roots Awards & Preservation Party took his recent book, “Preserving the World’s discuss specific aspects of preservation. place at Bargemusic underneath the Great Cities.” During the afternoon, Speakers included current officials from Brooklyn Bridge. The award winners speakers discussed Modern masterpieces the City Planning Commission and the were: Evelyn and Everett Ortner; the and communities in New York City: for LPC, former public officials, and neigh- Murray Hill Neighborhood Association.; every Ford Foundation and Seagram borhood advocates who discussed con- Save Gansevoort Market; the Jackson building that is protected under the Land- textual zoning and historic districts, the Heights Beautification Group; and Linda marks Law there are buildings such as 2 designation process and enforcing the Jones of Staten Island. Our Friend from Columbus Circle and neighborhoods such Landmarks Law. Standing-room audi- the Media Award went to The City Sec- as Parkway Village that remain at risk. ences were intrigued to learn how the tion of The New York Times; and our Friend The day was rounded out by a lunchtime Landmarks Law and Zoning Resolution in High Places Award was given to Coun- lecture on the Lower East Side by archi- are enforced by the people who have cilmember Dennis Gallagher from Rich- tectural historian Joyce Mendelsohn. been and are currently responsible for mond Hill. A special citation, the first Building on the success of the con- them. Because of the overwhelming suc- Mickey Murphy Award, was given to Eve- ference, HDC offered three free cess of the panels, HDC is planning to lyn Strouse for her long and active advo- cacy on behalf of Union Square. The award honors Mickey Murphy, a longtime HDC director and advocate for the Brooklyn waterfront, who passed away in January 2002. continued on page 4 photo: © P. Decker © P. photo:

Brooklyn Bridge Park Coalition Executive Director photo: © P. Decker © P. photo: Marianna Koval with 1993 Landmarks Lion Otis HDC Adviser Ron Melichar, left, and HDC Director John Reddick, center, with an unidentified guest. Pratt Pearsall.

Historic Districts Council District Lines ~ Winter 2002 ~ page 4

Friends and funders. We would especially use regulation. To start with inactions, like to thank the New York Community Amster Yard, a designated landmark con- Tr ust/Windie Knowe Fund, the J.M. sisting of a complex of 19th-century Kaplan Fund, the New York Department buildings on East 49th Street between of State and the New York State Council 2nd and 3rd Avenues, was demolished on the Arts for their general operating without full review by the LPC. The support, and the New York City Depart- developer, Instituto Cervantes, a Spanish ment of Cultural Affairs for its support of cultural institution, has suffered no our programs. penalties and the “reconstruction” of the complex has been approved without any public review (see box, page 5). 2002—The Year in But even some propositions that Preservation underwent public review have turned out ( continued from page 1 ) badly for preservation, the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Arts & Sciences being the most egregious. Cooper proposed a general large-scale development plan to transform Astor Place into a ing the boundary avenues of Church mixed-use commercial district and cam- photo: © P. Decker © P. photo: Street and West Broadway, which could pus that City Planning Commissioner LPC Chair Sherida Paulsen, right, with her prede- still see bulging rooftop additions, Joseph Rose called “a zoning shell game.” cessor, Jennifer Raab, center, and former LPC Chief stripped cornices and outright demoli- Under this plan, the institution, located of Staff, Terri Rosen Deustch. tions as Tribeca continues its transition at the crossroads of two historic districts, from commercial to residential. HDC has St. Mark’s and NoHo, would erect a 225- made a survey of excluded properties in foot office building at the site of its cur- Tribeca and is working with Manhattan rent 104-foot educational facility and Community Board 1 to encourage the demolish the historic two-story Hewitt In November our social season peaked LPC to follow the example it set in Building to erect a nine-story facility. The at the 14th annual Landmarks Lion Award Hamilton Heights and protect the rationale for this real-estate development ceremony at Federal Hall National Memor- entirety of Tribeca, not just pieces. was the institution’s increasing financial ial, when we honored Ken Fisher. Ken, who In terms of designations, the other needs. Although one commissioner said represented Brooklyn and the waterfront four boroughs did not fare well in 2002. In during the hearing, “It is not our respon- on the City Council for ten years, was the Queens, Richmond Hill was rejected for sibility to provide private institutions long time chair of the City Council Sub- consideration as an historic district, committee on Landmarks, Public Siting although the Richmond Hill Republican and Maritime Uses. As such, he sponsored Club was recently heard as an individual the 1998 Civil Fines Legislation, which landmark (a decision is pending). The finally gave the Landmarks Law some teeth, Richmond Hill Historic Society has not and also fostered the establishment of the given up on their proposed district and is Brooklyn High School of the Arts, the only going to the root of the problem by public high school in the United States encouraging homeowners to remove inap- whose curriculum is concentrated on his- propriate siding and restore the original toric preservation arts and skills. Although “Victorian” details to their homes. In the Ken has retired from public service, he has Bronx, progress on the proposed Grand not retired from preservation and has Concourse Historic District in the Bronx joined the HDC Board of Advisers. has once again stalled despite promising Other new members of the advisers meetings with the LPC early in 2002. And are former LPC chairs Gene Norman and in Brooklyn, the Fort Greene Association Beverly Moss Spatt; Ron Melichar from continues to advocate for the preserva- Hamilton Heights; Miriam Berman from tion of its neighborhood, strangely sun- Madison Square; former Councilmember dered into two separate districts in 1978. John Sabini (Ken’s successor as the Land- Ironically, development pressures marks Subcommittee chair); and Eve brought about by the success of the his- Kahn from the Upper West Side. James toric district now threaten its historic Ferreri, an architect, journalist and 2001 character.

Grassroots Award winner from Staten Even more disturbing than the lack of courtesy of the Landmarks Preservationmap: Commission Island, has joined the Board of Directors. designations outside Manhattan are some Map of Harlem’s Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill None of our work would be possible situations that have arisen through Historic District, designated this past year. without the generous support of our actions, or inactions, of municipal land- Historic Districts Council District Lines ~ Winter 2002 ~ page 5

with sources of income,” the plan was ulti- And in Morningside Heights in Man- Elsewhere in the city, blatant violations mately approved by CPC and the City hattan, the Cathedral of St. John the of Landmarks Law have been allowed to Council in October over the strenuous Divine is also asking special dispensation, stand. One example is in the Farm opposition of local groups and Manhattan in this case to allow development on the Colony–Seaview Hospital Historic Dis- Community Boards 2 and 3. cathedral campus, now being considered trict, one of only two designated districts on One element in the Cooper Union for designation. The cathedral trustees Staten Island. Buldings there have been suf- proposal has been at play elsewhere this want LPC to remove developable land fering demolition by neglect for many years. year: cancellation of easements and from the proposed landmark site under Not that the borough is unwilling to put restrictive declarations. An easement, their assurance that restrictive covenants money into the complex: A recent applica- covenant, or restrictive declaration will ensure compatibility of new buildings tion to the LPC proposed a clubhouse for restricts the use or bulk of an allowable with the cathedral’s. How can any assur- ball fields there. Never mind that the ball structure on a building lot, supposedly in ances, even a church’s, be viable when a fields were constructed illegally, without perpetuity. These mechanisms were pre- university can succeed so easily to set the Landmarks permits, in the first place. cursors to the Landmarks Law, and many restrictions aside? continued on page 7 that predate the 1965 law still exist throughout New York. In the case of Cooper Union, the institution was allowed in to develop property on the The End of Amster Yard demapped Stuyvesant Street roadbed strictly for educational use. There is cur- Amster Yard, a courtyard on East 49th Street with 1860s buildings inside, rently a Starbucks café on the site, not a was designated a landmark in 1966 and was deservedly one of the first designa- study hall, and the proposal called for tions the Landmarks Preservation Commission made. Last winter the buildings removing even that restriction. inside the courtyard were bulldozed, the trees and plantings uprooted. The town- Following Cooper’s example, the houses facing 49th Street are down except for a one-brick-thick facade. Brooklyn Law School won a variance from How this happened is a byzantine tale. James Amster, a designer, assembled City Planning to build a 216-foot-high the site at the end of World War II, and in 1970 he sold its air rights to permit dormitory just outside Brooklyn Heights development of a nearby 42-story office building. It was a precendent-setting Historic District in an area specially action, done ostensibly to guarantee the existence of Amster Yard in perpetuity, zoned only a year or so earlier limiting since no building could be built which would occupy the space sold as air rights. new construction to 125 feet. The Special In May 1999 the site was bought by Instituto Cervantes, a Spanish cultural Brooklyn Heights Zoning District will organization, to create an auditorium under the courtyard—the sale of air rights soon be home to the third highest sky- precluded building up—and otherwise construct what it termed “a $19-million scraper in Brooklyn. arts center.” Application was made to the LPC in August 2000 to excavate the courtyard going down as much as 16 feet; demolish two of the four houses inside the courtyard; create a rooftop addition to one of the 49th Street buildings; and make exterior and interior changes in the buildings. LPC held four public hearings between October 2000 and February 2001 and approved the application at the end of February, 2001. But total demolition may well have been inevitable. How could a pit 16 feet deep be dug underneath small 19th century buildings, providing access and egress for materials and machinery, without causing cave-ins or irreparable damage? It is puzzling that the application was approved at all. Other odd things happened. During the public hearings, apparently no concerns were raised about the soundness or stability of any of the buildings. Yet a month or so after construction began, one wall of the small courtyard houses was judged to be in such poor condition that it probably needed to be demolished. Instead, the buildings were torn down entirely. It was the contractor who made the decision to demolish, and he did so without consulting LPC, the Department of Buildings, the Fire Department, or any- body else. Only governmental bodies are empowered to make that decision in landmark cases, but no legal action has been taken. Also, the law says that if “all or substantially all of an improvement on a landmarked site...has been demolished,” a civil penalty may be imposed up to the market value of the property. No penalty has been levied. Apparently fines are forgotten if the owner promises to recon- struct a landmark exactly as it was, and Instituto Cervantes has promised to photo: C. McNeur photo: restore the garden to its 1949 state. Building at 92 Warren Street mysteriously left out of The way things are going, one wonders. the Tribeca South designation.

Historic Districts Council District Lines ~ Winter 2002 ~ page 6

The City as Palimpsest

The late Elliot Willensky, vice chair- quell any future uprising. The Baron was focus on uniting PATH, the subways, man of the Landmarks Preservation not concerned with any democratic sen- and possibly the Long Island Railroad Commission and co-author of the indis- sitivities, nor was there any pause to and Metro North in a new transit hub, pensable “AIAGuide to New York City,” consider the historic value of the but the site they are considering on once confided that he had the ideal title medieval city being demolished. Broadway is occupied by the Corbin for a book about New York: “The City as In truth, Lower Manhattan is not a Building, a handsome 1889 Romanesque Palimpsest.” Before anyone reaches for blank slate. There is a 16-acre hole Revival edifice. It is not even adjacent to Webster’s, a palimpsest is a writing where the World Trade Center stood, Ground Zero, nor did it suffer any dam- tablet on which layer after layer of mes- but the surrounding blocks are surpris- age (ironically, the building is named for sages were inscribed, always legible yet ingly intact. Few buildings, even those Austin Corbin, president of the LIRR). never completely erasing what was writ- adjacent to the site, were severely dam- To realize their dreams of new boule- ten before. What an ideal metaphor for aged. The 1907 skyscraper by Cass vards, the architects, planners and city the city, setting the contributions of our Gilbert at 90 West Street, a designated officials look right through entire own time among the monuments of the landmark, suffered damage to its facade blocks of offices, shops, and residences, past. In our casual, day-to-day experi- and roof, but it is surely reparable. Yet seeing nothing where others of us see an ence of that dialogue between the new this is precisely where it was suggested urban palimpsest. and the familiar, we rediscover the city’s that the New York City Opera erect its None of these paper plans would charm, and that is precisely what com- new home. What a shame it would be if ever find a warm welcome in the hearts pels so many of us to love our city. a nearly century-old building could of New Yorkers, any more than did the But a palimpsest should never be withstand the collapse of its neighbors, cold World Trade Center. In our deep confused with a blank slate. Sadly, that is only to be willfully demolished in pur- sense of loss, and a heartfelt desire to how too many visionaries are approach- suit of the new. Planners are right to have the towers back, we need not pre- ing the task of rebuilding Lower Man- tend that the complex ascended to an hattan. Imagine, they exclaim, a chance admirable level of urbanism. They stood to remake the metropolis, even reimag- apart from the street life, and it is pre- ine it! All is possible, and the circum- cisely the integration of new projects, stance demands that we consider all on however grand a scale, with the exist- options: new boulevards and a restored ing cityscape which will endear them to street pattern; opera houses and transit New Yorkers. Grand Central Terminal hubs; housing, offices, and open space; a and Rockefeller Center both interact transmission tower (the world’s tallest, with their surroundings; neither project naturally). Not since the fire of 1845 turned its back to the streets as the consumed 345 buildings in the blocks World Trade Center did. To drink in the around Whitehall Street has there been urban scene, crowds flock to Washing- such an opportunity. Then, as soon as ton Square and Bryant Park as they the ground cooled, property owners never did to the barren plaza between rebuilt to suit their current needs, and a To w er One and Tower Two. reborn yet familiar streetscape emerged. To demolish the historic fabric of Such an organic rebirth was never Lower Manhattan in favor of an arro- an option for Ground Zero, in part gant architectural conception or a plan- because the Port Authority, the city, and ner’s imperative is to betray the essence the state all have an interest in the site. of New York’s vibrancy. However well Instead, planners hold up the example conceived, any project which demands of Baron Haussmann, blasting boule- the erasure of preceding generations to vards through the heart of old Paris. accomplish its goal will never be Indeed, who can imagine Paris without embraced by those of us who love the the Champs-Elysées? Of course, Hauss- city. Press delete, and we lose the mann worked his magic after the revolu- courtesy of the Landmarks Preservationphoto: Commission palimpsest. tion of 1848, and part of the rationale 90 West Street, right, a 1907 Cass Gilbert landmark, – The author is Jeffrey Kroessler, a vice was to prevent the lower orders of the survived the attacks but may not survive the president of the Historic Districts Council city from barricading the streets and to wrecker’s ball. and author of “New York, Year by Year: A permit swift deployment of troops to Chronology of the Great Metropolis.”

Historic Districts Council District Lines ~ Winter 2002 ~ page 7 continued from page 4 Fees would damage the hard-won Despite these depressing setbacks in City Proposes Fees positive public perception of landmark- the bureaucratic realm, grassroots groups ing; designation would be regarded as a continue the struggle to preserve their for Landmark punishment rather than a generous neighborhoods. The Preservation League enhancement of everyone’s quality of life. of Staten Island has mounted a campaign to Permits The Landmarks Commission is increase the paltry number of districts already dangerously understaffed and within their borough and is working with For the fourth time in 14 years, the would badly serve its constituents by LPC and the Mud Lane Society for the Landmarks Preservation Commission has spending time on fee-related bureaucracy. Renaissance of Stapleton on two small dis- proposed charging fees for its permits, As Simeon Bankoff, HDC’s Executive tricts; other neighborhoods of Staten Island perhaps $50-$2,000 apiece, for an esti- Director, pointed out to the City Coun- are also being considered. In Manhattan, mated annual revenue boost of $1.05 mil- cil’s Land Use committee, “Even if Save Gansevoort Market, a project of the lion. Preservation advocates fiercely another agency, such as Buildings, col- Greenwich Village Society for Historic oppose the measure as an unnecessary lected the fees on behalf of Landmarks, Preservation and a 2002 Grassroots Preser- burden on the owners of historic build- LPC staff would still be burdened with vation Award winner, has recently been ings. As former Landmarks Commis- assessing the scope of work with an eye elected to the Preservation League of New sioner Anthony M. Tung told the City towards assessing a fee.” York State’s “Seven to Save,” a distinction Council’s Land Use Committee during a There is a far less harmful way to that has brought statewide recognition to preliminary budget hearing in March, “It increase the LPC’s annual revenue (which an already impressive public education would be difficult for me to identify a is currently accounted at about $7,000 campaign. On the other side of Manhattan, more counterproductive administrative from sales of publications and architec- a small section of NoHo–Bleecker Street practice, short of abandoning beloved his- tural salvage): credit the LPC in the between Lafayette Street and the Bowery toric buildings to aimless destruction.” budget with the fines collected for Land- was recently calendared by the LPC, but the Here are some more of the anti-fee marks Law violations. They amounted to remainder of NoHo, the stable buildings arguments that have been put forward: $52,000 this past year but are currently and low-rise apartments on Bond, Great Fees would discourage owners from credited to the Environmental Control Jones and East Fourth streets, is still very investing in properties while also tempting Board. Even more income could be pro- much at risk for high-rise development. them to flout the law. Residents of historic duced by strict enforcement of the law The preservation community, like all districts already tend to be cash-strapped; and mandatory payment of fees for viola- New Yorkers, is still adjusting to the new in some areas 55 per cent of the families tions of it. municipal and development landscape. In the live below the poverty line. Fees could thus Robert Tierney, newly appointed coming months, many decisions will be made be financially counterproductive for the Chair of the LPC, stated in a recent public that will have great and lasting effects on the city, harming recently beautified hearing that any fee proposed must be physical nature of our city. We must not lose streetscapes that have improved both carefully scrutinized to ensure that it sight of our past in the race for the future. New York’s tax rolls and its tourist appeal. would not negatively impact on the work

Join the campaign to preserve New York City’s historic neighborhoods!

The Historic Districts Council is the only citywide organization dedicated to preserving and advocating for New York’s designated historic districts and for neighborhoods meriting Name preservation. HDC depends on the support of individuals like you to accomplish our mission In the past year, HDC has reviewed and testified on more than Address 400 applications for work on designated landmarks at the Land- marks Preservation Commission, sponsored three free educational City/State Zip panels on strategies of neighborhood preservation, surveyed more ( ) than a dozen potential historic districts from the Grand Concourse Telephone to Stapleton, and created citywide surveys of the current zoning and boundaries of all 83 existing historic districts. ( ) Yes! I want to become a preservation partner and help support Fax the preservation of New York City’s historic districts! ( ) Enclosed is my gift of Email (for news, and electronic alerts) $50 ___ $100 ___ $250___ $500 ___ $ other amount ____ Special newsletter offer: Any contribution of $250 or greater Please make checks payable to the Historic Districts Council entitles you to a gift of any one of the preservation books reviewed and mail to: this issue! Please make sure to specify your choice with your gift. 232 East 11th St., NY, NY 10003. For information, please call (212) 614-9107.

Historic Districts Council District Lines ~ Winter 2002 ~ page 8 of the LPC. Proposed structures for the eloquently covers the neighborhood’s “It Happened on Washington fees are still being formulated by the development. The gorgeous illustrations Square,” by Emily Kies Folpe. Johns Hop- administration but public hearings have are mostly contemporary photos. kins, 360 pp., $22.50. As a staging ground not yet been scheduled. HDC will con- “Madison Square: The Park and Its for parades or protests against New York tinue to watch this process closely, and Celebrated Landmarks,” by Miriam University’s expansionism, as a perform- will muster public support against this Berman. Gibbs Smith, 144 pp., $34.95. ance venue for folksingers, and as a green damaging proposal. Berman, a member of the Historic Dis- space walled in by landmarks, Washington trict Council’s board of advisers, details Square has perhaps the most intriguing this newly designated historic district’s history of all City Beautiful relics in New New Books about evolution from British colonial parkland York. Folpe, who lives on the square, doc- to Silicon Alley. She also designed the uments its stints as a freed slaves’ refuge, a Old New York handsome book, using period paintings, potter’s field, and a college’s backyard. photos, advertisements, and hand- “Glory in Gotham: Manhattan’s tinted postcards. Houses of Worship, a Guide to their His- “New York, Year by Year: AChronol- tory, Architecture and Legacy,” by David ogy of the Great Metropolis,” by Jeffrey W. Dunlap and Joseph J. Vecchione. City A. Kroessler. New York University Press, & Company, 176 pp., $14. This meticulous 367 pp., $19.95. Historic District Coun- and invaluable survey devotes a page or so cil’s vice president has amassed a fascinat- apiece to 105 religious buildings that serve ing collection of chronological anecdotes, Christians, Jews, Muslims, or Buddhists. a city history in microcosmic glimpses. Afew de-sanctified spots like the Clois- Where else between two covers could you ters are also included. learn the names of Giovanni da Ver- “Harlem Lost and Found: An Archi- razano’s homeland (Tuscany), Tom tectural and Social History, 1765-1915,” by Thumb’s wife (Lavinia Warren Bumpus), Michael Henry Adams. Monacelli, 272 and 2001’s NCAA fencing champions (St. pp., $65. Harlem’s best known defender John’s University)?

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