‘Civil’ Obedience! State Designates Wallabout as an Historic District by Thomas Tracy - The Brooklyn Paper

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A portion of Wallabout will become a new historic district, preserving Civil War-era homes like these on Vanderbilt Avenue. Community Newspaper Group / Andy Campbell

The historic beauty of a swath of Civil War-era homes in an isolated corner of Fort Greene has finally been recognized.

More than 200 properties located within five blocks of Wallabout bounded by Myrtle, Park Washington and Clermont avenues were added to the New York State Register of Historic Places this week — a pivotal step for building owners hoping to tap into public preservation grants that will help them refurbish and restore the 150-year-old structures many in the area cherish.

“[The Wallabout area] is one of the oldest communities in Brooklyn,” said resident Gary Hattem. “It’s a history and a story that we want to pass on to future generations.”

Hattem’s right to say that Wallabout has a lot of history: it’s filled with homes from early 19th-century Brooklyn as well as brownstone additions from borough legend Charles Pratt (the same Pratt who gave his name — and money — to found Pratt Institute a few blocks away). Many residences were built between 1830 and 1930.

Several Greek and Gothic Revival townhouses — replete with porch swings — can also be found along the quiet tree-lined streets that give Wallabout its charm.

The neighborhood’s addition to the state register may be a boon to those who own a historic home, but it does nothing to protect the area from out-of-scale construction — only city landmarking can do that.

If the city designates the area as a historic district, all new buildings must contribute to “a coherent streetscape [and] a distinct sense of place” — language that restricts the 10-story modern condo.

“[The landmarking] would great for the block — it means we won’t have any more of that,” longtime resident Bill Washington told us, pointing to a seven-story black and gray steel condo at 122 Vanderbilt Ave., which he considers a modern eyesore. “This block has come a long way in the last 30 years, and we want to keep it that way.”

The city has yet to make Wallabout a historic district, although a public hearing on it was held last fall and a decision is expected by the summer.

Until then, the state grant money should help the local economy.

“We see it as a job creator,” said Michael Blaise Backer, executive director of the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project. “This will be a huge opportunity for local laborers when these brick buildings and brownstones start getting restored.”

The Wallabout neighborhood was initially built to accommodate laborers who moved eastward to work at the nearby Brooklyn Navy Yard, which has its own unique history.

But that piece of Brooklyn’s past may soon disappear. Despite a long fought battle to get the Army National Guard to preserve two 19th-century buildings on the Flushing Avenue side of the Navy Yard, the Army has backed away from its promise.

Rep Weiner, CM Ferreras Call on City to Sell Sexist Statue on Craigslist

Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D – Queens and Brooklyn), Council Member Julissa Ferreras, Chair of the Women's Issues Committee, and representatives from local women’s organizations called on the City to get rid of the sexist statue near Queens Borough Hall, Triumph of Civic Virtue, which depicts a nude man standing atop two women, and sell it on Craigslist to raise funds.

Sculpted by Frederick MacMonnies, the Civic Virtue statue has been the source of controversy in the Kew Gardens community since 1941, when then-Mayor LaGuardia moved the offensive figure out of City Hall Park to Kew Gardens. The marble statue, which depicts a nude man with standing over the necks of two woman, has been an eyesore on the community ever since.

With the passage of time, the statue has worn down significantly – and considerations are now underway to restore the decaying, misogynistic figure. Potential repairs, according to the Parks Department, would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Standing in front of the statue, representatives from the Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy and the Queens County Young Democrats Women’s Caucus joined Weiner and Council Member Ferreras in expressing their outrage over the offensive figure and urged the City to place the statue on Craigslist as means of raising revenue – rather than using already scarce funds to restore it.

“Mayor LaGuardia had it right when he banished this offensive statue from City Hall Park. Queens residents don’t want this sitting in our backward any longer,” Weiner said. “This statue is neither civil nor virtuous – and it’s time for it to go.”

"There is nothing NYC about this statue. It depicts women as weak and inferior to men- which is far from the truth- the statue has no place in a public space,” Council Member Ferreras said. “This should not be the first thing women see when getting out of the subway. The statue is located just one block away from the Queens Family Justice Center and sends the wrong message. It belongs in a museum."

Today’s press conference comes in the midst of recent anti-women proposals by the new GOP-led Congress, including the “Protect Life Act,” which would allow hospitals the right to refuse emergency abortions even when a woman’s life at stake, and the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act," which would impose tax penalties on Americans with private insurance plans that include abortion coverage.

Today, Rep. Weiner wrote to Edna Wells Handy, Commissioner of Department of Citywide Administrative Services, asking that the offensive Civic Virtue statue be removed and sold.

In the letter, Weiner stated, “Rather than pouring money into restoring the statue, the city should sell it on Craigslist. I am sure the city could come up with some productive uses for the proceeds.”

Full text of Weiner’s letter is below:

February 25, 2011

Ms. Edna Wells Handy

Commissioner

Department of Citywide Administrative Services

City of New York

1 Centre Street, Floor 17

New York, New York 10007-1602

Dear Commissioner Handy:

It’s time to get rid of Civic Virtue. Not the ideal, the statue. It’s sexist. It’s ugly. It’s time for it to go. I am writing to urge you to put the statue, located next to Queens Borough Hall, up for sale and removal.

The statue has been there since 1941, when then Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and Mayor Fiorello La Guardia moved it from City Hall Park in Manhattan. From the time the statue was moved to Queens, many members of the community have objected to the sexist nature of the statue, and I agree with them.

I appreciate the wealth and diversity of arts and humanities displays in the Borough of Queens. We have museums, cultural centers, stadiums and theatres – This statue does not contribute to the mix. It’s an eyesore that depicts a nude man standing triumphantly atop two women at one of the busiest intersection in Queens.

The statue apparently wasn’t appropriate for City Hall in the 1940s, and it’s an insult to think that it is fine for Queens today. What might have at one time been seen as a socially acceptable demonstration of our desire to stamp out vice and corruption is simply not appropriate today. This is particularly true given the assault on the rights of women underway today in Washington

I thank you in advance for your prompt attention and reply to this matter.

Sincerely,

ANTHONY D. WEINER

Member of Congress

Ridgewood Democratic Club - Meeting Friday, February 25, 2011 @ 7:30 pm - Landmarking

--- Meeting Notice ---

Regular Membership Meeting

Friday, February 25, 2011 @ 7:30pm

Landmarking

Learn how the process works to designate and regulate landmark and historic districts. The Landmarks Commission has been working to make parts of Ridgewood historic districts - Come and hear all about it.

~ Guest Speakers ~

Simeon Bankoff

Executive Director

Historic Districts Council

Angela Mirabile

Executive Director

Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corp.

Bring your friends and neighbors. As always, refreshments will be served.

Ridgewood Democratic Club, Inc.

60-70 Putnam Avenue, Ridgewood, New York 11385

(718) 821-9807

New York State Assembly Member Catherine Nolan

Democratic District Leaders 37 AD, Part B - Catherine Nolan & Tom Bornemann

New York State Committeeman - Jimmy Van Bramer

Club President - Jim Grayshaw

Addisleigh Park, Historic Black Neighborhood in Queens, Gains Landmark Status by Alice Speri - NYTimes.com

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Welcome to the landmark district: a house at 178th Place and Linden Boulevard in Addisleigh Park, Queens.

The predominantly African-American neighborhood of Addisleigh Park, an enclave of brick and stucco house in southeast Queens and the former home of luminaries like Jackie Robinson, W.E.B. Du Bois and Ella Fitzgerald, is now a historic district, New York City’s 102nd.

The vote Tuesday by the Landmarks Preservation Commission protects a triangular swath containing 426 buildings, many of them Tudor and Colonial Revival homes, roughly bounded by Linden Boulevard, Dunkirk Street and 112th Avenue.

The area, part of the St. Albans neighborhood and developed between the 1910s and 1930s, was built as an exclusively white community, and restrictive covenants prohibited the sale of any of its properties to blacks.

In the 1940s, two lawsuits were filed against homeowners by their neighbors, who accused them of having sold their houses to African-Americans. In a 1947 case, a judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs but noted that several African-Americans already lived in the neighborhood, including the singer and actress Lena Horne and the jazz musician Count Basie.

Map of Addisleigh Park Historic District

In 1948, though, the United States Supreme Court held that racially restrictive covenantsviolated the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment, and more and more blacks moved to the neighborhood.

In 1952, the magazine Our World called Addisleigh Park home to the “richest and most gifted” African-Americans in New York.

The jazz great Fats Waller, one of the first African-Americans in Addisleigh Park, lived there until his death in 1943. Other notable residents have included the jazz musicians John Coltrane and Milt Hinton, the Dodgers catcher Roy Campanella and the boxer Joe Louis.

Addisleigh Park’s history “illuminates African-Americans’ struggle for and achievement of the basic civil right of home ownership,” read the proposal to protect the site as a historic district.

Today, the neighborhood, now about 90 percent African-American, with an average household income of around $80,000, remains a distinct and relatively upscale pocket of residential Southeast Queens. Its asymmetrical houses with steeply pitched gables and wooden porches are sited back from the street and separated by spacious, well-landscaped lawns.

Historic Ridgewood Theatre, Oldest Theatre in Country, Houses Treasures Amid Ruins by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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Nick DiMola says he snapped pictures of many classic items when doing a cleanup estimate at the shuttered Ridgewood Theatre.

The nation's oldest continuously operated movie theater - now shuttered for two years - may offer more historic treasures than originally thought, the Daily News has learned.

Exclusive photographs obtained by The News show that the historic Ridgewood Theatre, though largely deteriorated, still bears gems from its heyday, from an aging projector to wooden armrests.

Snapped by a local rubbish remover, the images offer a rare glimpse inside the Myrtle Ave. mainstay, whose interior condition has been largely unknown since it closed in 2008.

The News first reported last month that the theater is set to be transformed into an Associated supermarket next year.

The photos show much of the theater is beyond saving, but some carvings, seats and other aspects seem intact. That could lead to new concerns about preserving the Ridgewood or rescuing artifacts.

"There's little, tiny things that are lying around," said rubbish remover Nick DiMola, who snapped the pictures when called to estimate cleanup costs in July.

The city declared the Beaux-Arts structure a landmark in January, crediting The News for alerting city officials to the site.

Landmarking bars major alterations on the facade, but the protective status does not extend to the interior.

It's unclear how Associated will renovate the five-screen theater. Max Figueredo, a lawyer for the new owners, said he did not know their plans.

Preservationists applied for interior landmark status in 2008, but the city is "very selective" with interior landmarks, designating only 110, said Lisi de Bourbon, a spokeswoman for the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Queens boasts only a handful of interior landmarks, which must be regularly open to the public, including the RKO Keith's movie theater in Flushing and the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia Airport.

DiMola said he will post all his photos within the next week on his blog, WeLoveGarbage.wordpress.com.

Ted Renz of the Myrtle Ave. Business Improvement District said he hopes the theater would be adaptively reused, but added that option may not be economically viable.

"There are artifacts particularly in the lobby that are still intact, but I don't know the cost that would be involved," Renz said.

Mayor Bloomberg is a Master of Hiding Documents When it's in His Best Interests by Adam Lisberg - NY Daily News

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Mayor Bloomberg's lawyers lately have been sticking up for the right of New Yorkers to see the paperwork their government produces.

It's too bad they only do it when it helps their cause.

The Education Department on Friday told a judge that parents, the press and the public should be able to look at internal ratings for 12,000 teachers.

News organizations requested the data under the city's Freedom of Information Law, and the city was prepared to release it until the teachers union sued to keep it under wraps.

"Public employees generally lack an expectation of privacy in information concerning their performance of public functions," the city's lawyers wrote. "There is a strong public interest in disclosing the requested information."

It's a ringing sentiment, arguing that the public's right to know how teachers perform outweighs the teachers' fears about inaccurate data.

That came barely a month after the city Law Department sued the United States government in federal court, because the feds didn't respond to a Freedom of Information Act request from the city.

New York has long struggled to collect property taxes on other countries' buildings near the United Nations, so it asked the State Department to cough up data on any taxes it pays for properties abroad.

"Almost one year after its request, the city has received no substantive response from the State Department," the Law Department said.

It must have been a new and bracing feeling for city lawyers to write that - because when people ask the Bloomberg administration for paperwork that could be inconvenient, there's no telling when it comes out.

"When they believe it's in their best interests, they may disclose information relatively quickly," said Robert Freeman, head of the state Committee on Open Government.

Last year, for example, Bloomberg's lawyers waited until four months after his reelection to hand over photos of Sarah Palin with the mayor during a City Hall visit.

This year, critics of the so-called Ground Zero mosque requested any correspondence between Bloomberg's office and the landmarks commissioners who approved the plan. Four-and-a-half months later, they're still waiting.

"We were trying to uncover whether improper political pressure was placed on the Landmarks Commission," said lawyer Brett Joshpe. "The mayor's office has just flagrantly and blatantly ignored the request."

Bloomberg spokesman Jason Post replied, "We make every effort to answer FOIL requests promptly, but they are often delayed because of the time it takes to collect documents, determine their responsiveness and process them for disclosure."

Bloomberg made his fortune putting out financial data, and in many ways, he has done more than any of his predecessors to make city data accessible.

Anyone with a computer can pull up monthly figures from the city website on how quickly it fills potholes or fixes housing project elevators. And the city's tech team has put huge databases online for computer developers to explore.

It shouldn't be up to Bloomberg, though, to decide what information should be available online and what should take a months-long wait.

Perhaps his lawyers will understand that, now that they're arguing cases on the other side.

Documentary Filmmakers Put 'The Vanishing City' and New York's Urban Renewal in Spotlight by Joe Neumaier - NY Daily News

THE VANISHING CITY—The Documentary

Global trends in major cities around the world have changed rapidly in the last several decades. As cities become more interconnected, and less dependent on localized economic models, domestic issues of increased class inequality and sustainability have emerged as central components to city planning debates. These trends are perhaps best exemplified in the city of New York.

Told through the eyes of tenants, city planners, business owners, scholars, and politicians, The Vanishing City exposes the real politic behind the alarming disappearance of New York’s beloved neighborhoods, the truth about its finance-dominated economy, and the myth of “inevitable change.” Artfully documented through interviews, hearings, demonstrations, and archival footage, the film takes a sober look at the city’s “luxury” policies and high-end development, the power role of the elite, and accusations of corruption surrounding land use and rezoning. The film also links New York trends to other global cities where multinational corporations continue to victimize the middle and working classes. 

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Signs of urban renewal are everywhere in New York. Yet in "The Vanishing City," a gripping new documentary, filmmakers Fiore DeRosa and Jen Senko reveal ominous trends that could forever change the city's neighborhoods and communities, and not for the better.

The film, which screened earlier this week at the Harlem International Film Festival, will be shown Saturday, Sept. 25, at 10 p.m. in Brooklyn at The Knitting Factory (361 Metropolitan Ave.) as part of the Williamsburg Film Festival, which ends Sunday Sept. 26.

"At first, we wanted to document the changes in the city, coming at it really from a nostalgic point of view," says Senko. "But the more questions we asked, the film became more of a journalistic expose, a detective story.

"Essentially, we found that the city was using taxpayers' money to more and more finance luxury housing, pushing out people and businesses that had been there for generations. These developers got huge subsidies and tax breaks, while taxes on small landlords and co-ops were going up nearly 40 percent.

Jen Senko and Fiore Derosa, directors of the new documentary called Vanishing City, pose outside of Katz's Deli on Houston Street. Rosier/News

"The result is changing the whole culture of Manhattan, and the film took on that focus."

"In short, New York is losing communities, a vital part of what makes it special," add DeRosa. "People and families who've lived here for 20 or 30 years -- and small mom-and pop-stores that had existed for decades -- face steep hikes in rent. The small businesses can't afford to stay here, and middle-class people are getting priced out."

The directors have experienced several sides of New York since each moved here separately from New Jersey in the late 1970s and early '80s. DeRosa has supported himself as a construction worker while pursuing acting and directing in off-Broadway theater; Senko has worked as a presentation artist with financial companies. "The Vanishing City," exec-produced by Oscar-winner Ericka Hampson and narrated by actress Kathryn Erbe ("Law & Order; Criminal Intent"), reflects a love of the entire city and their mutual concern about local government's unspoken policy of what the film terms "luxurification."

"If you have these types of high-rent-only structures and pricey commercial locations that only flagship stores can occupy, you don't get to know your neighbors, and you don't have small businesses that have a stake in your community," says DeRosa. "We're not against development – a healthy city evolves, of course. What we're against is using taxpayer dollars to only subsidize luxury housing, and the rezoning of neighborhoods."

The prospect of rezoning, the pair say, afflicts every neighborhood, in every borough.

"The Lower East Side and Williamsburg are really under threat from rezoning," says Senko. "And developers are really trying to focus on Chinatown -- people often talk about the ‘malling' of the city, and if it continues to happen there, it could be revamped and there may be a handful of small shops, but it won't be Chinatown."

There is, however, one upside to the changes shown in "The Vanishing City": The potential for communities and neighborhoods to unite in ways they haven't done in decades.

"In the movie, you see communities getting together, calling on the Bloomberg administration to rezone things so they won't get pushed out. That's an ongoing phenomenon," says Senko. "People are coming together to bring changes to their neighborhoods, and fighting for things like height caps on new buildings on the Lower East Side and in the East Village. Certain buildings are even being landmarked before developers can get hip to the real estate."

"The Harlem Tenants Association has fought back and got some concessions," adds DeRosa. "Greenwich Village has fought back successfully, and the West Village, too. They have no protections there, and they're trying to get landmark status for certain areas. The area around the Bowery has been really fighting hard as well."

"A lot of damage has been done, but we can regroup, and stop it from getting worse," says Senko. "And maybe we can turn it around. I love this city. I'm not going to give up on New York."

News from NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio...

Statement Re: Prop 8 Ruling - August 4, 2010

“Today’s ruling reaffirms the values of equality upon which our nation was founded. Achieving marriage rights for all Americans is one of the defining moral struggles of our time, and one we must continue to fight for everyday. I commend Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker for protecting the rights of California’s same-sex couples and I am committed to making sure that LGBT New Yorkers one day achieve the same rights and protections here in our state.”

Statement Re: The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s Decision

Allowing an Islamic Center Near Ground Zero ; July 3^rd, 2010

“I commend the Landmarks Preservation Commission for rejecting a landmarking request that would have effectively banned the construction of an Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero. While I am confident that the Commission evaluated the application on the merits of the request and not on any potential use of the building, this decision reaffirms our Country’s fundamental values of religious freedom and speaks to our determination to fight discrimination and fear.”

Statement Re: Court Ruling About Arizona’s Immigration Law – SB1070 – July 28th

“Americans scored a major victory today when a court effectively rejected the use of racial profiling as a tool to combat illegal immigration. The many problems caused by our broken immigration system can only be fixed with a comprehensive immigration reform, not by anti-immigrant measures that go against the founding principles of our country. ”

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio Calls on the City

to Delay Tax Dollars Allocated to Thomson Reuters

Citing Transparency and Labor Relations Issues – July 27^th, 2010

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, members of the New York City Council and Bill O’Meara, President of the Newspaper Guild of New York, today called on the New York City Industrial Development Agency (NYCIDA) to delay tax breaks allocated to the news corporation Thomson Reuters until they explain their poor record of job creation and clear outstanding labor violations.

“In these tough times we cannot afford to give out tax dollars to companies that simply can’t prove they are creating jobs,” Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said. “The City must delay new approvals of tax exemptions for Thomson Reuters until the company shows it can create jobs, maintain jobs, and treat the workers in those jobs fairly.”

Thomson Reuters is seeking to amend their 1998 agreement with the NYCIDA to reallocate up to $26 million that was meant for construction of their headquarters at 3 Times Square, by transferring those tax breaks to seven other Manhattan office locations. This amendment is being sought even though many questions remain unanswered as to whether Thomson Reuters achieved their job projections in the 1998 agreement and how they plan to meet lofty new promises made in the proposed amended agreement.

The IDA allows companies like Thomson Reuters to take incentives without giving an accounting of how they plan to retain and create jobs, and subjecting them to a full review of their conduct as an employer in creating, retaining, and maintaining fair jobs. This lack of timely information and full disclosure potentially puts New York taxpayer dollars at risk of being misused. The Public Advocate’s office is urging IDA to reform these practices.

Bill O’Meara, President of the Newspaper Guild of New York, said “The bottom line is that Thomson Reuters has been unable to live up to their job creation projections and continue to treat their employees with no respect. At a time when vital city services are being threatened, I do not believe New York City should be giving an extremely profitable, foreign-owned company like Thomson Reuters a second chance at up to $26 million in New York taxpayer money.”

The Public Advocate has sent letters to both Thomson Reuters and the NYCIDA. In a letter to the NYCIDA, he calls for subsidies requested by Thomson Reuters to be postponed upon further review of their current job creation data, the economic benefits of the deal and their plan to reach new job creation benchmarks.

Statement Re: MTA Board Meeting - July 28, 2010

Instituting a fare hike will simply force straphangers to pay more for less again. The MTA and the State should explore all available options to avert raising fares, including a toll on east river bridges that is pegged to the cost of a single subway ride. In the long term, New Yorkers need to see more transparent and comprehensive budget proposals from the MTA in order to honestly evaluate the tough choices we are being asked to make instead of facing proposals to raise passenger fares year after year.”

Statement Re: City Settlement in Sean Bell Shooting - July 28, 2010

“Sean Bell’s death was a tragedy that impacted communities across our City. I hope that this settlement will help bring some measure of healing to the Bell family. As we move forward, we must build a more community based approach to policing in order to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.”

Upper East Siders Push to Landmark the Marx Brothers' Childhood Home by Gabriela Resto-Montero - DNAinfo.com

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Shortly before his death in 1977, Groucho Marx surprised the family living in his childhood home at 179 East 93rd St. with a visit.

Back in the early 1900s, Groucho and brothers Chico, Harpo, Zeppo and Gummo lived on the fourth floor of the four-story walk-up with five other relatives. As the story goes, after the aging star looked around his former home, he left without saying a word.

The house remained in remarkable shape over the years since Groucho lived there — except for the floor. Shortly after his visit, crews arrived at the home to replace the worn-out floor with brand new Italian tile. Although he never took credit for the floor, the so-called "Groucho Tiles" remain today.

Now, proponents of preserving the Marx Brothers' childhood home are pushing to include the block on East 93rd Street between Lexington and Third avenues, which they call "Marx Brothers Place," in the Carnegie Hill Historical District.

The effort has the support of Harpo's son, Bill Marx.

"Marx Brothers Place shall at last become the historical site of monumental proportions it so justly deserves, and then nobody ever again will have to request that it should be anything but just that, and finally the good folks of both Manhattan and Freedonia can then get some sleep," Marx said.

The East 93rd Street Beautification Association began working on landmarking the block in 2008 after developers tore down several brownstones to make room for condos on the street, said Susan Kathryn Hefti, co-chair of the association.


"It's remarkable," Hefti said of the building's preservation preservation.

"If Groucho walked through the door today the house would look the same except for the cornices [they were removed decades ago]," Hefti said.

Before Groucho's reported tile intervention on the fourth floor, Marx brother Harpo wrote about the role of the home in his 1961 autobiography, "Harpo Speaks!"

In his memoir, Harpo said he learned to tell time time from the tower clock then in place at the Ehret Brewery on East 93rd Street.

By 1910, the talented family had moved to Chicago and was already on the road to super stardom, the New York Times reported.


Eventually, the vaudevillian family made 14 films together as the Marx Brothers including the classics, "A Night at the Opera," "Duck Soup" and "A Day at the Races."


The neighborhood association will speak before the Landmarks Committee at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 19 at the Hunter College School of Social Work.