NYU Proposes to Pulverize Provincetown Playhouse

The historic Provincetown Playhouse and Apartments, 133-139 MacDougal Street

From GVSHP:

This week NYU unveiled the latest phase of their 'NYU 2031' Plan, which include plans to demolish the historic Provincetown Playhouse and Apartments at 133-139 MacDougal Street. GVSHP was swift to call upon the university to drop this proposal; NYU's plans and GVSHP's responses were covered by AM NY, the Villager, Crains NY, City Realty, the NY Sun, and Backstage.

The Provincetown Playhouse is one of the most important sites in the history of 20th century American theater -- a launching pad for works of Eugene O'Neill, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edward Albee, John Guare, Sam Shepherd, Charles Busch, and David Mamet, among others. The apartments over the theater have housed many well-known artists over the years who wished to be near this center of cultural vitality. When NYU bought the building and then renovated it, they touted the Playhouse's rich history and their honor in owning and re-opening it. Additionally, NYU recently agreed to a set of "planning principles" with Borough President Stringer's NYU Community Task Force (of which GVSHP is a member) which says that university should "prioritize...re-use before redevelopment" in their planning. The Provincetown Playhouse is a key historic site within the proposed South Village Historic District, which NYU promised to support; demolition of a historic lynchpin in the proposed district like the Playhouse will damage the chances of landmarking the entire area moving ahead.

GVSHP wrote NYU President John Sexton strongly urging the university to rethink this plan, and wrote to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission urging them to move ahead swiftly with the proposed designation of the South Village Historic District section containing the Provincetown Playhouse to save this historic building.

'NYU 2031' Long-Range Plans: The latest stage of NYU's long-term planning process showed greater transparency and engagement with the public than in the past, but also showed some very disconcerting concepts. NYU continues to project adding as much as 3.6 million square feet of new space in and around its 'campus core' over the next 23 years. Analysis by GVSHP of NYU's growth (which was distributed to attendees at Wednesday's NYU Open House) shows that 3.6 million sq. ft. is the equivalent of all new NYU buildings built in the area over the last 42 years, or the equivalent of 20 more of their highly controversial new 26-story dorms on East 12th Street. This shows that NYU's projected growth in our neighborhoods in their 2031 plan is actually considerably accelerated over their past growth, which belies the impression the university has given.

The 2031 plans also showed that NYU is no longer considering Long Island City as potential location for satellite or remote facilities, and that the university has narrowed such options to Governor's Island, the East Side Medical Corridor, and Downtown Brooklyn -- a development we find very disappointing. At the same time, NYU is contemplating large-scale developments in and around their 'campus core,' in spite of commitments to "prioritize identifying opportunities to decentralize facilities" as part of the planning principles. GVSHP continues to push hard to get NYU to look for satellite locations if they need to grow, and to remain within their existing footprint and envelope in the Village.

HOW TO HELP:

Write to NYU President John Sexton urging him to reconsider plans to demolish the Provincetown Playhouse, and to reduce the University's plans for growth in the neighborhood -- go to www.gvshp.org/ProvincetownLtr.htm for sample letters and contact information.

Come to the Community Board #2 public hearing on NYU's plans for the Provincetown Playhouse on Wednesday, May 28th at 6:30 pm at the Caring Community, 20 Washington Square North; NYU will present their plans, and the public will be given an opportunity to respond.

Huge Turnout at St. Vincent's Hearing Part Deux; LPC Chair says design "should be rethought"

From the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

Yesterday's Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) hearing on the Rudin/St. Vincent's plan was again a big success -- thank you to the more than 100 people who were able to attend. The hearing room was packed, and speakers ran 7-to-1 against the current proposal. After ending the public hearing, members of the Commission asked tough questions indicating deep skepticism about some elements of the plan, and the Chair of the Commission stated that "aspects of this proposal should be rethought and restudied."

Click here and here for coverage of yesterday's hearing from Metro NY, and here for coverage from the NY Sun.

However, no decision has yet been made, and the LPC will discuss the proposal further at another meeting in May (date TBD; the public will be allowed to attend, but not testify at, this meeting). GVSHP will be submitting further information to the LPC in response to arguments made by St. Vincent's and Rudin, and we will let you know when the next meeting has been set and what you can do to help. While the final outcome is still very much to be determined, clearly the hundreds and hundreds of people who have turned out to testify before or write letters to the LPC, the Community Board, or elected officials have already had an impact, and we have every intention of continuing to work hard to affect the ultimate decision in this precedent-setting case.

Thank you for your support and participation, and let's keep the momentum going! Go to GVSHP's St. Vincent's/Rudin webpage for more information about the project and go to GVSHP's YouTube page to view our 360 degree animated views of the proposed developments in context.

Statement of the Historic Districts Council: Certificate of Appropriateness Hearing for the St. Vincent's Expansion Proposal

April 1, 2008

Items 1, 2, 3

CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF manhattan
08-4933, 08-4934, 08-4935 - Block 617, lot 55, Block 607, lot 1, Block 617, lot 1
20 7^th Avenue, 1 7^th Avenue, 76 Greenwich Street - Greenwich Village Historic District

A contemporary institutional building designed by Arthur A. Schiller and Albert Ledner and built in 1962-63. Application is to demolish the building and construct a new hospital building.

Two contemporary hospital buildings built circa 1980; a modern hospital building designed by Eggers and Higgins and built in 1961; a brick and limestone hospital building designed by Crow, Lewis and Wick and built in 1940-1941; two brick and limestone hospital buildings designed by Eggers and Higgins and built in 1946 and 1950; a brick and limestone hospital building designed by I.E. Ditmars and built in 1924; and a brick and limestone hospital building designed by Eggers and Higgins and built 1953-1954. Application is to demolish the buildings and construct townhouses and apartment buildings.

A brick building built in the mid-1980s and designed by Ferrenz and Taylor. Application is to alter the building and the surrounding landscape.

The Historic District Council is the advocate for New York City's designated historic districts and neighborhoods meriting preservation. Its Public Review Committee monitors proposed changes within historic districts and changes to individual landmarks and has reviewed the application now before the Commission.

Introduction

For decades the Historic Districts Council has reviewed and testified on Certificate of Appropriateness applications at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, projects ranging in scope from modifying a window opening to the demolition of a building and the construction of another in its place. This plan is the largest development proposal we have ever seen suggested in a designated New York City Historic District. HDC has grave concerns about this proposal – the massive, unprecedented amount of demolition requested as well as the out of character massing and design of the new construction – and what an approved plan would mean both to the Greenwich Village Historic District and the city’s 90 other historic districts.

In addition to these concerns there are other issues to consider including the blurring of the line between non-profit and for-profit ventures, of community facilities and private development. The practical needs of a community for an up-to-date medical facility and the need to preserve the city’s architectural heritage and a neighborhood’s character are also vital in this conversation. We are convinced that these last two matters are not mutually exclusive, and must work together for residents of this community and the city at large.

Proposed Demolition on the East Side of 7th Avenue

Eight structures, roughly half the block bounded by 7^th Avenue, 6^th Avenue, 12^th Street, and 11^th Street, are proposed for demolition. They range from a 1924 Nurses Residence to 1980’s LPC-approved pavilions, each one a piece of St. Vincent’s Hospital’s history. Six of these structures – the Nurses Residence, the Reiss Pavilion, and the Spellman, Cronin, Smith, and Raskob Buildings – exhibit an unusual level of detail and design for 20^th-century institutional buildings, obviously built to complement the historic district, decades before the idea of an historic district was ever conceived.

These hospital buildings were designed to compliment, but be subservient to, the main structure – the now demolished Seton Building designed by Schickel & Ditmars in 1897. The buildings are primarily of brick with limestone bases and trim similar to Seton, the window openings similar scale and similar decorative detail can be found in door and window surrounds. In addition, the buildings’ material and scale compliment their non-medical neighbors. The Greenwich Village Historic District designation report described the south side of 12^th Street, “There is a sameness in the design of the large hospital buildings and yet, in their use of brick and individual window openings, they harmonize, as a group, remarkably well with their neighbors.” Of the Nurses’ Residence, “It should be noted that one of these buildings near mid-block is set back above the second story, and had it been located in a row of town houses, would have blended remarkably well with them, as it does with those across the street.” (This is praise from a designation report that is not shy about criticizing other 20^th-century building ventures with comments like “They are not designed to harmonize with their neighbors, in scale, detail or use of materials. A cursory look at the relatively harmonious apartment house of the Nineteen-twenties, which line Fifth Avenue, might have given the architect at least a clue as to how he might have achieved some degree of harmony when designing these buildings.” or “Obviously no design controls were exercised here, and the result is a building which in every way defies its surroundings.”)

HDC is opposed to the demolition of these buildings as they are vital pieces of Greenwich Village’s history and are part of the neighborhood’s character. They are residential in nature and could be readily adapted for residential use.

HDC could approve of the demolition of the Link and Coleman Pavilions. In 1979, LPC approved the demolition of the Seton Building, the last 19^th century building on the St. Vincent’s Hospital Campus, and the construction of Link and Coleman. The newer buildings are sadly out-of-context with the district. In addition, they are not as readily adaptable to residential use as the other hospital buildings on this block. What is to go in their place is another matter of concern.

HDC would like to note the existence of the chapel annex of the Seton Building. A newspaper article from 1899 mentions the structure on the east end of the main building that contained a second floor chapel and “a spacious room on the first floor, to be devoted to community purposes.” While we are happy to hear that the chapel room may be moved to the new hospital building, we are concerned that more historic material exists than just the room – from Google Earth maps and a site visit it appears to still be an annex. HDC feels that what remains of the structure, the only link to the hospital’s 19^th-century past, should be preserved.

Proposed Construction on the East Side of 7th Avenue

While the presentation claims the construction of new townhouses on 11^th and 12^th Streets will restore the low-scale, residential character of these streets, as the designation report indicates, this is not an issue in need of a solution. Additionally, at five stories tall, the proposed buildings are larger than the typical Greenwich Village townhouse, more along the lines of a tenement building. HDC believes that what belongs most in an historic district are structures that help tell the story of a community, and the existing, not the proposed, buildings do.

While we approve of the demolition of Link and Coleman, HDC does not approve of the proposed replacement. The two existing buildings were already larger than the 1899 hospital building demolished for their sake, and the proposed is now larger than them. This incremental increase in the size of buildings on this block is worrisome. HDC feels whatever is to be built should be no taller than what exists now.

Proposed Demolition on the O'Toole Building

There was some debate amongst HDC’s board over the O’Toole. Some felt it was out of context, not the best example of modernism, and could be demolished. Others felt strongly that the building’s size made it contextual on 7^th Avenue and that it should be preserved as an example of modernism and a part of the design history of the Village. Still others, not necessarily fans of the building itself, felt uncomfortable demolishing a structure in an historic district described not unfavorably in its designation report.

Proposed Construction on the Site of the O'Toole Building

If a new building is to be built in a historic district, it must be more contextual than what it is replacing. This is not the case at the site of the O’Toole Building. The proposed is simply far too tall. At 330 feet, it would tower over the Avenue as the proposal illustrates. In addition, its elliptical shape, while interesting, is neither good for the hospital nor good for the neighborhood. If the aim of this whole project is to consolidate hospital functions in one building and space is an issue, a squared off floor plan would make much more sense. It would also allow for a shorter building, more in context with its surroundings. Also, the shape is not one found on buildings in the Greenwich Village Historic District.

Conclusion

In community meetings, this plan – massive demolition and the construction of out-of-scale buildings – has been presented as the only possibility. We believe strongly that it is not. While it may be the plan that will make the most money, it is not the plan that best serves the neighborhood or the historic district. The six historic hospital buildings on the east side of 7^th Avenue should be restored and adapted for residential use, more contextual, residential buildings designed for the site of the Coleman and Link Pavilions, and a plan for a hospital building of proper size, massing and style, including the possibility of renovating the O’Toole building, be created.

Finally, HDC feels we must address references to this being a “green project”. Reusing an existing building is the greenest of projects. It does not require tons of building materials to be demolished, transported and dumped into landfills. Neither does it use the vast amounts of energy needed to create new materials, to transport them to the construction site, and to finally build a new structure. Most of the buildings proposed for demolition in order to build the residential project are residential in character and are excellent candidates for reuse. Beyond the basic tenants of preserving New York City’s historic districts, this can be an even “greener project.”

LPC to hold hearing on St. Vincent's MEGA demolition

Please come to the CRITICALLY IMPORTANT Landmarks Preservation Commission Public Hearing on the St. Vincent’s/Rudin Development Plan

Tuesday, April 1 at 9:30 am
at Borough of Manhattan Community College
Theater One, 199 Chambers Street (at West Street)

Bring Photo ID to enter; arrive as early as 9:00 a.m. to sign up to speak
Take the 1,2,3 or A,C to Chambers Street, or the R,W to City Hall

Dear friend:

The most important hearing YET on the plan by St. Vincent’s Hospital and the Rudin Company to demolish nine buildings and construct 1.3 million sq. ft. of luxury condos and new hospital facilities will be held by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday, April 1 at 9:30 am at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street. The proposed demolitions and new development cannot move ahead without the approval of the LPC, which is charged with protecting the character of New York City’s historic districts, including the Greenwich Village Historic District within which these sites are located.

WE NEED YOU TO COME TO AND TESTIFY AT THIS HEARING. This case is entirely precedent-setting – no one has ever proposed demolishing nine buildings in a New York City historic district, and no one has ever proposed a development of this scale in any historic district.

The hearing is likely to take several hours, so please plan now if at all possible to stay there long enough to testify. If you cannot stay that long, you can also submit written testimony at the hearing. If you do testify, you will be asked to submit 10 copies of your written statement, so please bring copies of your testimony regardless. Testimony should be limited to 3 minutes.

Whether or not you come to the hearing, we also ask that you write to the Landmarks Preservation Commission IMMEDIATELY to express your concerns about the current proposal. Go to www.gvshp.org/StVincentsLetter.htm for an electronic version. You can also use the sample letter as the basis for your testimony at the LPC hearing on April 1st.

Please note that the LPC hearing on April 1st ONLY deals with the issue of the ‘appropriateness’ of the proposed demolitions and new development in relation to the character of the Greenwich Village Historic District; it does NOT deal with other very important issues like the impact the proposal would have on traffic, noise, environmental concerns, school overcrowding, affordable housing, or the finances or functioning of the hospital. All of those issues are supposed to be dealt with through other processes, but are not under the jurisdiction of the LPC to consider at this hearing, and thus testimony and letters at this time to the LPC should focus exclusively on the “appropriateness” issue.

For more information on the St. Vincent’s/Rudin proposal, see www.gvshp.org/StVincents.htm . I hope to see you on the 1st.

Sincerely,

Andrew Berman
Executive Director
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
212/475-9585 x38
232 East 11th Street
New York, NY 10003

Landmark Campaign Updates from Greenwich Village

South Village: A little over a year ago, GVSHP submitted a proposal to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) for designation of a South Village Historic District; this proposal culminated more than four years of research and community outreach. In December, we held a Town Hall attended by over 200 people in support of the proposed designation. GVSHP has received across-the-board support for the proposal from local elected officials, community groups, historic preservation organizations, and Italian-American organiztions.

Now the Landmarks Preservation Commission has informed GVSHP that they will begin considering the South Village Historic District proposal by surveying the proposed district west of 6th Avenue for potential designation. This is a critically important first step, and considering that the proposal was submitted only a little over a year ago, it is actually a very speedy response for the LPC. However, since the area is facing so much immediate pressure, and because the LPC has not yet made a commitment regarding the area east of 6th Avenue, GVSHP wrote to the LPC urging them to move ahead with the promised survey as quickly as possible and to begin work on the remainder of the proposed district as soon as possible as well. Special thanks go to State Senator Tom Duane, who also wrote to the LPC with a similar request.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Write to the Landmarks Preservation Commission thanking them for beginning work on the proposed South Village Historic District, but urging them to move ahead with designation of the entire proposed district as soon as possible. CLICK HERE for a sample letter you can use.

Proposed NoHo Historic District Extension: GVSHP has long joined NoHo neighborhood groups, other preservation organizations, and local elected officials in calling for an extension of historic district protections to the remainder of NoHo. The LPC is considering a proposed expansion of the existing NoHo Historic District, and will be holding a hearing on the proposal on Tuesday, March 18, at 9:30. Given the amount of new (and in many cases totally inappropriate) development which has taken place and is planned in NoHo, it is critical that long-overdue landmark designations move ahead as quickly as possible. Information about and pictures of the proposed NoHo Historic District expansion can be accessed through the LPC's website.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Write to the Landmarks Preservation Commission urging them to designate the proposed NoHo Historic District extension right away, but also urging them to include adjacent sites in NoHo which were left out. CLICK HERE for a sample letter you can use.

Come to the hearing on Tuesday, March 18th at 9:30 am at the LPC, One Centre Street (at Chambers Street), 9th floor; show support or (even better) testify at the hearing, using the sample support letter as a basis for your testimony.

Silver Towers Calendared for Landmarking: In late 2003, GVSHP proposed landmark designation of the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers complex, with it's "Portrait of Sylvette" sculpture by Picasso in its center. We have since been working hard with the board and residents of 505 LaGuardia Place (one of the three towers in the complex; the other two are NYU faculty housing), Councilmember Alan Gerson and other elected officials, and other preservation organizations to make this landmarking proposal a reality.

After a four-year effort, in February the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to "calendar" the complex for consideration for landmark designation, with a first hearing expected in June. This could not have come a moment too soon, as NYU has recently announced that it is considering building in and around the complex, including on sites which would now be protected by landmark designation (NYU Originally opposed designation, but is now supporting it). The ground-breaking landmark proposal received considerable press attention, including in the New York Times, the New York Sun, The Architect's Newspaper, and The Villager.

Winter Programs from GVSHP

John Sloan's Greenwich Village
A lecture with John Loughery

Wednesday, January 23
Jefferson Market Library
425 Avenue of the Americas
6:30-8:00 p.m.

Free. Reservations required.

One of the most celebrated American realist painters of the early 20th century, John Sloan captured the character and pace of Greenwich Village in a way few artists were able to match. In this illustrated lecture at the Jefferson Market Library (one of Sloan's favorite Village subjects), teacher and biographer John Loughery examines Sloan's diverse representations of the East, West, and South Villages. Placing Sloan’s work in the context of early 20th-century American urban painting, Mr. Loughery will also explore how underlying themes of romance and myth permeated Sloan's work as well as that of other New York City painters.

The Great Urban Paradigm Shift:
Robert Moses, Jane Jacobs, and West Village Houses
A lecture by Warren Shaw

Tuesday, February 12
Westbeth Community Room
55 Bethune Street
6:30-8:00 p.m.

Free. Reservations required.

The development of the West Village Houses has typified many of the diverse challenges facing preservationists in an ever-expanding city like New York. Warren Shaw, Asst. Corporation Counsel in the Real Estate Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department will examine the creation of the West Village Houses as an outgrowth of the epochal battle between Robert Moses (the Urban Renewal Czar) and Jane Jacobs (the champion of traditional urbanism). Now a partially privatized co-op, the West Village Houses is an exceptional symbol of a community both shaped and challenged by evolving attitudes toward city planning, conservation, and Urban Renewal.

Intimate Portraits:
African Americans in the Antebellum South Village
A lecture with Gunja SenGupta

Wednesday, February 27
Jefferson Market Library
425 Avenue of the Americas
6:30-8:00 p.m.

Free. Reservations required.

Celebrate African-American History Month with the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation as we explore the Village’s often forgotten African-American heritage. Professor Gunja SenGupta of Brooklyn College will trace the history of black Greenwich Village from slavery to tentative freedom in 1827 and beyond. Drawing on rich visual and archival resources, Prof. SenGupta will offer us insight into the lives of African Americans who lived in the Village in the decades before the Civil War and will examine who they were, where they came from, how they interacted with their immigrant and migrant neighbors, and how their community adapted to an environment of heightened racism and economic instability.

Gansevoort, St. Vincent's, NoHo & South Village Updates

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
http://www.gvshp.org/

Gansevoort Market Update: GVSHP continues the fight against the proliferation of illegal billboards in the Meatpacking District, and throughout our neighborhoods (see www.gvshp.org/GansvBlbd.htm ). We have some good news to report on that front – two illegal billboards we targeted have recently been removed. The first covered 1-3 Ninth Avenue at Gansevoort Street (see www.gvshp.org/documents/images/1-3NinthAve.JPG ). GVSHP was able to get violations issued by the City against the sign. Last month, the sign was removed, and the owner has told us it is gone permanently – we will continue to closely monitor the situation. At 675 Hudson Street at 13th Street, GVSHP had long pursued removal of two billboards from the roof of the building, both of which we contend are illegal. We were able to get the City to agree with us on the south-facing of the two billboards (see www.gvshp.org/675HudsonBillboard.htm ), and got violations issued for the sign and successfully opposed a request to “legalize” the billboard at the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Last week, the billboard was finally removed, and GVSHP continues to pursue the removal of the building’s other billboard, as well as the other signs in the area we contend are illegal (www.gvshp.org/documents/DOBBillboardLetterOct2007.pdf ). Unfortunately, however, the City has ruled that the billboards at the Hotel Gansevoort, which GVSHP continues to contend are illegal in their current form, are now legal. With this “final determination” by the City the only recourse is a costly legal challenge; GVSHP is consulting with other community and business leaders who joined us in leading the fight against these signs to determine our next steps.

According to the Greater Gansevoort Urban Improvement Project, the NYC Department of Transportation has indicated that they would like to create a public open space in ‘Gansevoort Plaza,’ the intersection of Gansevoort and Little West 12th Streets and Greenwich and Ninth Avenues (see www.gvshp.org/gguip.htm ). GGUIP has been advocating for traffic mitigation and pedestrianization measures in Gansevoort Market. GVSHP supports the creation of more pedestrian space in the Meatpacking District, but wants to ensure that any changes preserve the existing historic cobblestones.

HOW TO HELP:

Attend DOT’s Open House about plans for public open space in Gansevoort Plaza on Tuesday, November 27th, from 6-7:30, at One Little West 12th Street, to find out more and advocate for pedestrian spaces that preserve Gansevoort Market’s cobblestones.

NoHo Landmarks Expansion Proposed – Meeting Dec. 3: On Monday December 3 at 6:30 pm at the 45 Bleecker Street Theater, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission will present and discuss a plan for extending the NoHo Historic District – see map at www.nohomanhattan.org/ProposedNoHoHDExtensionREVISED.pdf . GVSHP, like many NoHo and historic preservation groups, has long advocated for the extension of landmark protections in NoHo, especially as a good deal of out-of-character development has taken place in the non-landmarked sections of the neighborhood.

HOW TO HELP:

Attend the public meeting on extending landmark protections in NoHo on Monday, December 3rd at 6:30 pm at the 45 Bleecker Street Theater to find out more, and advocate for the full extension of landmark protections to one of New York’s most historic neighborhoods.

St. Vincent’s/Rudin Development Update: Last week over 150 people attended the St. Vincent’s Community Working Group meeting about the hospital’s plan to demolish all eight of its buildings on either side of 7th Avenue between 13th and 11th Streets, and replace them with a new 330-ft. tall hospital west of 7th Avenue, and 650,000 sq. ft. of luxury residential development, including a 265 ft. tall building, on the east side of 7th Avenue. The overwhelming majority of those in attendance expressed concerns about the plan similar to those expressed by GVSHP – that the substantial increase in bulk, size, and height from the new development (which is mostly luxury housing), and the wholesale demolition of all the hospital’s current buildings (even those almost 85 years old and in context with the neighborhood), violates the character of Greenwich Village and the protections the Greenwich Village Historic District are supposed to offer, and that key elements of the plan should be reconsidered.

GVSHP has endeavored to supply clear and simple information about exactly what the plan – which would be the largest new development in Greenwich Village in fifty years – would do, and how it compares to the current conditions on the site. Please see www.gvshp.org/StVincentsPlans.htm for our latest graphs and images, which are approximations based upon information St. Vincent’s has supplied. St. Vincent’s has not yet formally filed their plans, which must be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the City Planning Commission, and the City Council; we are urging that changes be made before they do so.

HOW TO HELP:

SEND A LETTER URGING CHANGES BE MADE TO THE ST. VINCENT’S/RUDIN DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL NOW before it is filed with the City – go to www.gvshp.org/StVincentsLetter.htm and be sure to send copies the elected officials listed on the bottom of the letter.

South Village Preservation Update: Momentum continues to grow in our efforts to preserve the South Village. Last week the New York Landmarks Conservancy wrote to Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Robert Tierney about our proposal for designating the South Village a historic district, urging him to “act on the proposal soon,” and calling the South Village “one of New York City’s great historic neighborhoods…steeped in a rich heritage of cultural history” (see www.gvshp.org/documents/SVdistrictsupportltrs.pdf#page=8 ). The proposals has extensive and growing support from elected officials, historic preservation organizations, and local community groups, business leaders, and institutions (see www.gvshp.org/documents/SVdistrictsupportltrs.pdf ), but danger to the area is also growing, and we need the City to act on our landmarking proposal.

Toward that end, GVSHP will be holding a Town Hall meeting on landmarking the South Village on Monday, December 10th, which will be a critical opportunity to rally support for the preservation effort and push ahead with this campaign. The Town Hall is co-sponsored by Community Board #2.

Finally, GVSHP has been monitoring, and urging the City take action against, a development at 159 Bleecker Street which we believed violated zoning regulations by, among other things, not containing the “community facility” for which it got a zoning bulk bonus (i.e. got to be bigger than normally allowed). It appears our contentions had merit, as the Dalton School, which the developer had previously claimed was operating a “student dormitory” on site to satisfy the “community facility” requirement (even though Dalton is a day school not known to house students), has recently pulled out of the project. See www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/realestate/11Deal2.html for the latest and www.gvshp.org/Circletheater.htm for background.

HOW TO HELP:

COME TO THE SOUTH VILLAGE TOWN HALL MEETING on Monday, December 10th at 6:30 pm in the basement hall of Our Lady of Pompei Church, at Bleecker and Carmine Streets (enter on Bleecker Street) and SPREAD THE WORD!!! -- use the flyer at www.gvshp.org/documents/TownHallflyer1207.pdf
(please note: it is illegal to post flyers on NYC public property).

WRITE TO THE CITY URGING THEM TO DESIGNATE THE SOUTH VILAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT RIGHT AWAY in light of the urgent threats the neighborhood faces – go to www.gvshp.org/southvillagesupportlet.htm for a sample letter you can use. PLEASE SEND THIS LETTER EVEN IF YOU HAVE WRITTEN BEFORE!

For more information on the effort to preserve the South Village, see www.gvshp.org/southvillage.htm

December Events from GVSHP

December Programs from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
Please call 212.475.9585 x35 or e-mail rsvp@gvshp.org for reservations.

A Village Christmas
A walking tour with Marilyn Stults
Saturday, December 1

Meet in front of the Washington Square Arch at 2:00pm; Tour ends at 4:00 p.m.
$10 GVSHP Members; $15 All Others

Advance payment required by Nov. 28th.

To pay by credit card, please visit www.gvshp.org/events.htm
If you would prefer to send a check, please contact us at
212.475.9585 ext. 34 or khusayko@gvshp.org.
Please send checks payable to GVSHP to:
232 E. 11th Street; New York, NY 10003.

Usher in the holiday season with this unusual walking tour of Greenwich Village as the birthplace of many of the Christmas traditions we are familiar with today. While we enjoy picturesque historic streetscapes, guide Marilyn Stults will explore the Christmas lore that helped establish the Village as an American cultural treasure.

GVSHP would like to thank Marilyn Stults for donating all proceeds from this tour.

First Houses: A Monument of the Past, A Model for the Future
*Free!*
A lecture and discussion with Warren Shaw
Thursday, December 6

Parish Hall, St. Mark’s Church
131 E. 10th St
6:30-8:30 p.m.

Free. Reservations required.

Dedicated in 1935 as the first publicly sponsored housing complex for the poor, the East Village's landmarked First Houses on Third Street and Avenue A helped inaugurate the era of urban renewal. While critics have derided urban renewal as an aesthetic and sociological failure, recent phenomena such as staggering real estate inflation and the "up-marketing" of affordable housing such as Stuyvesant Town make it necessary to re-examine the legacy of public housing. In this recapitulation of his January 2007 lecture for GVSHP, Warren Shaw, Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Real Estate Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department, will consider these questions as he traces the history of the First Houses and discusses their present-day implications.

This lecture is co-sponsored by the Neighborhood Preservation Center.

Tour and Class Audit of HB Studio
Free for GVSHP members!
Choice of
Tuesday, December 11 or Thursday December 13

120 Bank Street
7:00-8:00 p.m Tour
8:00-10:00 p.m. Class Audit

Free for GVSHP Members.
All Others $10.
Reservations required.
To pay by credit card, please visit www.gvshp.org/events.htm
If you would prefer to send a check, please contact us at
212.475.9585 ext. 34 or khusayko@gvshp.org.
Please send checks payable to GVSHP to:
232 E. 11th Street; New York, NY 10003.

Established in 1945 by the renowned Viennese actor/director Herbert Berghof, the Herbert Berghof (HB) Studio provides professional theatre training and practice for aspiring and accomplished actors of all ages. With course offerings in a full range of subjects essential to the stage, including acting, voice, musical theatre, dance, movement, improvization, fencing, writing, and stage combat, the HB Studio is a fixture in the Village and New York City cultural realm that continues to thrive and evolve. Join us for a guided tour of the exceptional facilities and conclude the evening by auditing one of the studio's courses. The Tuesday, December 11th session, Performing Improvisational Comedy, will feature special improv tricks for advanced comedians. On Thursday, December 13th, The Practice of Acting will introduce acting techniques and allow new students to sharpen their craft.

St. Vincent's Must Build or City Is Doomed to Fail - from the NY Sun

Never let it be said that we don't give air-time to the anti-landmarks crowd.

Let St. Vincent's Build
New York Sun Staff Editorial
November 13, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/66318

The blocks around St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan's Greenwich Village are full of the eclectic diversity that makes New York's street life second to none. There is celebrated Israeli food at Taim on Waverly Place. There is the Village Vanguard on Seventh Avenue, a temple of the jazz music created by the city's African-American and Jewish cultures. There's a nod to gay culture and sexual promiscuity in a store called "Fantasy World," steps away from multimillion-dollar, elegant, tree-shaded brick townhouses lived in by actresses and private equity financiers. That's all in the shadow of a Catholic medical center that doesn't perform abortions or tubal ligations but has made a specialty of serving patients with the virus that causes AIDS.

The neighborhood is now at a turning point, as the hospital, emerging from bankruptcy, is proposing to sell its building to a private developer, the Rudin family, as a site for new residential housing. The proceeds would be used to build a new hospital building on the west side of Seventh Avenue, across the street from the existing hospital on the site of an existing medical office building.

Hospital executives, architects, and members of the Rudin family briefed The New York Sun on the project yesterday, and they make a strong case for a speedy and enthusiastic approval of the plans by city and state officials. While the construction of a new, $2 million-a-bed hospital by a health care organization still paying off its creditors from bankruptcy might seem a stretch in a state that is trying to stem the growth of taxpayer-supported health care costs, hospital officials note that at 366 beds, the new hospital would be smaller than the 750 beds for which St. Vincent's is licensed and smaller than the 460 beds currently in operation at the existing Manhattan hospital.

St. Vincent's, notwithstanding its bankruptcy, stands for the proposition that the Catholics of this city have something to contribute to the health care marketplace. This is a historical fact: It's hard to forget the memories of preparations at St. Vincent's for a wave of September 11 victims who never arrived because they were buried in the collapse of the twin towers. The hospital's plan is also a statement about the future: the president of St. Vincent's, Henry Amoroso, says his hospital's supporters are prepared to raise $150 million in a capital campaign for the new building. They would keep Catholics as a player in a city whose hospitals include Beth Israel and Mount Sinai, with their Jewish roots, and the NewYork Presbyterian hospital system, with its Presbyterian roots. The plans for the new hospital are crafted by the world-class architects at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, led by Ian Bader. Every room would be private.

We are also enthusiastic about the Rudin family's plans, by FXFOWLE architects, for housing on the old hospital site. It is a plan for entirely-market rate housing, eschewing "affordable housing" components that developers too often cram into their projects in an effort to chase taxpayer subsidies. The plan would return the site to the property tax rolls, with no abatement. The Rudin family has long been involved in the civic life of New York, and its partnership with St. Vincent's, which serves a significant number of poor patients, on this site is an example of the way that capitalists can be good partners with charities.

So why are the Rudin family and the hospital's leadership girding for a potentially grueling two-year approval process? The hospital is in the Greenwich Village historic district, which, if historic preservation fanatics had their way, would mean it would be preserved unchanged forever as if embedded in amber, with patients still being treated by being bled with leeches. We exaggerate only slightly. There is a danger that the Landmarks Commission will, in its fetish for facades, strangle a vital Manhattan health care institution — the only major trauma center South of 96th Street that isn't run by the City's Health and Hospitals Corporation — that is on the verge of a comeback.

It would be a tragedy to keep St. Vincent's from unlocking the market value of its property and from moving into a more modern building that better suits its needs and that of its patients. If the landmarks commissioners feel the need to assert themselves, they can always extract an agreement that the more charming exterior details of the existing hospital — we think of the reliefs of the nurses that face West 12th Street and the elaborate, though unused, West 12th street entrance pictured alongside — be incorporated somehow into the new hospital or the new housing. It would be a fine idea for the hospital or the Rudins to initiate on their own.

If there's a juncture at which this project deserves to meet government skepticism, it isn't at the city level, but at the state level, where through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, the taxpayers of New York will be asked to stand behind tax-exempt financing for the new $750 million hospital to the tune of more than $400 million. Mr. Amoroso makes the case that if the bonds are approved, St. Vincent's debt-to-operating income ratios will be lower than that of other New York institutions. The real answer to the financing issue, though, is in opening New York to for-profit medicine that would allow the health-care industry to tap the capital in the private debt and equity markets. That broad restructuring can't happen soon enough.

Until then, it's hard to see the logic of depriving St. Vincent's and its patients — 55% of whom are covered by either Medicaid or Medicare — of the same state bond financing that is enjoyed by other New York hospitals. The result will be a Greenwich Village enriched by the dynamism that makes New York great, a combination of a faith-based institution and family-business capitalism joining to build new housing and better health care for New York. The alternative is the city-as-dust-covered-museum, hostile to change and new investment, a city that uses landmark historic districts to stifle innovation rather than embracing it as a force that can make the city better.

Rally for Affordable Housing in the Village & St. Vincent's Community Meeting

From Rob Hollander, LES Residents for Responsible Development
http://savethelowereastside.blogspot.com/

Friends and neighbors,

Village Independent Democrats is holding a demonstration against St. Vincent's Hospital's plan to build a 500-unit luxury condo tower without any affordable housing:

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 6pm
170 W 12th Street, corner 7th Ave.
Bring signs demanding affordable housing.

Following the demonstration, St. Vincent's Hospital will host a "Community Working Group" at 6:30pm in its Cronin Cafeteria, 170 W. 12th Street. This meeting is open to the public and provides an opportunity to hear from the hospital about their proposed luxury housing, as well as to ask questions and provide feedback. Elected officials' and Community Board representatives, who must ultimately vote on this plan, also participate in these meetings.

Updates on St. Vincent's Plan & the South Village landmarking efforts

from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
http://www.gvshp.org/

St. Vincent’s/Rudin Plan Public Meeting: St. Vincent’s Hospital will be hosting its “Community Working Group” on Wednesday, November 14th at 6:30 pm in its Cronin Cafeteria, 170 W. 12th Street. These meetings are open to the public and provide an opportunity to hear from the hospital and their development partners about their proposed luxury housing and hospital development, as well as to ask questions and provide feedback. Elected officials’ and Community Board representatives, who must ultimately vote on this plan, also participate in these meetings. As St. Vincent’s has announced their intention to file their application for approval of their proposal with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in December, this may be the last opportunity to provide feedback in a public forum with the hospital before these proposals are finalized, and the formal public hearing and approval process begins. The plan for 650,000 sq. ft. of new luxury housing and a new 625,000 sq. ft. hospital (replacing about 1 million sq. ft. of hospital space currently on the sites) must be approved by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, the City Planning Commission, and the City Council. ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN THIS PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT IS STRONGLY URGED TO ATTEND THIS PUBLIC MEETING.

GVSHP has expressed some very strong reservations about several aspects of this plan. The current proposal would consolidate most of the hospital’s current facilities spread among eight buildings into one new building of approximately 330 feet high and 288 feet wide. All of the hospital’s current buildings would be demolished, and east of 7th Avenue they would be replaced by luxury housing developed by the Rudin Family, including a 265 ft. tall, 207 ft. wide apartment building on 7th Avenue. GVSHP is very concerned about the size and height of these buildings (both of which would be substantially larger than the hospital’s current building, the Coleman Pavilion, and would be among the largest buildings ever constructed in Greenwich Village – see www.gvshp.org/StVincentsPlans.htm ), as well as the plan to demolish all the hospital’s buildings, even those which are as much as 85 years old and merit the landmark protections of the historic district within which they are located (see www.gvshp.org/documents/Amoroso10-07Ltr.pdf for full text of letter to St. Vincent’s outlining our concerns).

HOW TO HELP:

COME TO THE ST. VINCENT’S COMMUNITY WORKING GROUP MEETING on Wed. Nov. 14 at 6:30 pm in the Cronin Cafeteria of St. Vincent’s Hospital at 170 W. 12th.

SEND A LETTER URGING CHANGES BE MADE TO THE ST. VINCENT’S/RUDIN DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL NOW before it is filed with the City – go to www.gvshp.org/StVincentsLetter.htm and be sure to send copies the elected officials listed on the bottom of the letter.

South Village Town Hall Dec. 10th: GVSHP and our South Village Advisory Board (www.gvshp.org/SVadvisorybd.htm ) will be hosting a Town Hall meeting on the effort to preserve the South Village and secure landmark status for the area. While the proposal for landmark designation (www.gvshp.org/documents/SouthVillageDolkartReportPDF.pdf ) has attracted tremendous support (www.gvshp.org/documents/SVdistrictsupportltrs.pdf ), including recent letters from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilmember Tony Avella (Chair of the City Council’s Italian-American Caucus), the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission still has not taken any action to protect the area. This in spite of an increasing number of threats to the South Village’s historic buildings (see www.gvshp.org/documents/Bleeckerlandmarking.pdf and www.gvshp.org/firepatrol.htm ). This growing number of threats, and our efforts to counter them with historic district designation, were recently covered by Metro NY newspaper – see http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/Looking_to_save_S_Village/10546.html .

The Town Hall meeting on December 10th will be an important opportunity to learn more about the status of preservation efforts, find out how you can help and get involved, and send a strong message to the City that we need historic district designation as soon as possible. Participation in the Town Hall will be crucial to our efforts to push the campaign to preserve the South Village forward.

HOW TO HELP:

COME TO THE SOUTH VILLAGE TOWN HALL MEETING on Monday, December 10th at 6:30 pm in the basement hall of Our Lady of Pompei Church, at Bleecker and Carmine Streets (enter on Bleecker Street) and SPREAD THE WORD!!! -- use the flyer at www.gvshp.org/documents/TownHallflyer1207.pdf (please note: it is illegal to post flyers on NYC public property).

WRITE A NEW LETTER TO THE CITY URGING THEM TO DESIGNATE THE SOUTH VILAGE HISTORIC DISTRICT RIGHT AWAY in light of the urgent threats the neighborhood faces – go to www.gvshp.org/southvillagesupportlet.htm for a sample letter you can use.

PLEASE SEND THIS NEW LETTER EVEN IF YOU HAVE WRITTEN BEFORE!
For more information on the effort to preserve the South Village, see www.gvshp.org/southvillage.htm .

St. Vincent's Plan Revealed, NYU Long Term Plans, the Truth about Trump and more

St. Vincent's/Rudin Development Plan Unveiled: On Wednesday, St. Vincent's Hospital and developers the Rudin family unveiled their initial draft plans for a new hospital and several new luxury housing developments on the current St. Vincent's Hospital site. The plan is to tear down all eight of their current hospital buildings east of 7th Avenue, and the O'Toole Building on the west side of 7th Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets (see www.gvshp.org/documents/BuildingInfo.pdf ). St. Vincent's would consolidate most of their facilities from these eight buildings into a new hospital to be built on the site of the O'Toole Building, while all their buildings east of 7th Avenue would be torn down to make way for new luxury housing by Rudin, which would help pay for the new hospital. St. Vincent's 'triangle site' would not change substantially, though St. Vincent's has said they are willing to improve its public access and aesthetics.

The plan is not yet a formal proposal; these very substantial changes must receive several hearings at the Community Board, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), the City Planning Commission (CPC), and the City Council, at which the public will be able to testify. The plan must be approved by the LPC, CPC, and City Council in order to move ahead. The plan has not yet been filed with any of these bodies, though St. Vincent's/Rudin say they plan to do so later in the year.

If approved, the plan would be the largest new development in Greenwich Village in 50 years. The new hospital building on the west side of 7th Avenue would sit on a 60-75 ft. tall base, topped by an ovoid tower oriented diagonally from the northeast to the southwest corner of the site, rising to a total of 300 feet or 21 stories (plus mechanicals on top), with a small setback at the 18th floor. On the east side of the street, Rudin plans to tear down all of the existing buildings and replace them with a 21-story, 235 ft. tall (plus approx. 30 feet of mechanicals) residential building on 7th Avenue, with small setbacks, covering most of the site. The building would gradually step down on 11th and 12th Streets and would abut ten new townhouses that would be built on 11th Street and nine on 12th Street. To the east of the new rowhouses on 12th Street would be a new approx. 10 story apartment building. All together, this would include 400-500 new units of luxury housing. For perspective, St. Vincent's Coleman Pavilion, the largest of the hospital's current buildings (7th Avenue btw. 12th and 11th Streets) is 200 feet tall.
St. Vincent's/Rudin are making additional presentations of their plan, open to the public, on Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th at 6:30 pm in their Cronin Auditorium, 170 W. 12th Street, the 10th floor. GVSHP strongly urges you to attend these presentations to see the plan for yourself at this preliminary stage.

MTA 'Emergency Ventilation Shaft' Project: In late September, the MTA made a public presentation regarding their plans to construct an emergency ventilation shaft at one of nine possible sites in and around Mulry Square, the intersection of Greenwich and 7th Avenues (see http://mta.info/mta/news/hearings/8avp_dsd.pdf and www.gvshp.org/ventilationplant.htm for more information). GVSHP continued to press the MTA on the need for the project at this time and location, and on the various impacts it could have on surrounding buildings, traffic, environmental conditions, and the character of the neighborhood (see letter to the MTA at www.gvshp.org/documents/MTAMulrySqLtr10-07.pdf ).
There is still time to get your feedback to the MTA as they continue to analyze the various possible alternatives for the plan. For sample letters you can send to the MTA, go to www.gvshp.org/ventilationplant.htm .

NYU Open House on Long-Term Plans: NYU will be holding another Open House on Wednesday, October 17th, from 4-7 pm, to present to the public their ongoing planning for the next 25 years (see www.nyu.edu/about/open.house/openhouse10172007.html ). The Open House will take place at Hemmerdinger Hall, 100 Washington Square East (Waverly/Washington Place). While NYU has given indications over the last several months that they are working seriously to look for alternate locations outside of our neighborhoods for future expansions (see www.gvshp.org/NYUexpansion.htm), the University nevertheless projects a need for an additional 6 million square feet of space over the next 25 years, and NYU President Sexton has said that he believes about half of that must go in our neighborhoods. Three million square feet is the equivalent of seventeen of their new 26-story mega-dorms on East 12th Street (www.gvshp.org/NYUdorm.htm ). That is why GVSHP continues to push NYU to remain within its existing footprint and envelope within our neighborhoods, and seek locations outside our neighborhood if future expansions are needed (see www.thevillager.com/villager_221/talkingpoint.html ).
GVSHP urges you to attend the Open House on the 17th, to find out more and to let NYU know that finding locations OUTSIDE of our already oversaturated neighborhoods MUST be their #1 long-range planning priority.

Meatpacking District Billboard Disapproved: GVSHP continues to fight illegal billboards throughout Greenwich Village, the East Village, NoHo, the Meatpacking District, and Hudson Square (see www.gvshp.org/documents/DOBBillboardLetterOct2007.pdf and www.gvshp.org/GansvBlbd.htm ). In one small victory, this Tuesday the Landmarks Preservation Commission agreed with GVSHP and denied a request by the owner of an illegal billboard at 675 Hudson Street in the Meatpacking District (the "Little Flatiron Building" -- see www.gvshp.org/675HudsonBillboard.htm ). While the LPC denied the request to legalize the south-facing billboard, the Department of Buildings granted permission for the north-facing billboard on the building before landmark designation took effect in 2003. However, GVSHP has discovered that the even the north-facing billboard violates zoning regulations, and has urged the Department of Buildings to revoke its permits and force its removal.

The Truth About Trump: Three recent articles shed some very interesting light on the Trump SoHo 'condo-hotel' project (www.gvshp.org/trump.htm ):
Crain's NY's recent "Residential Life" issue featured the planned Trump SoHo 'Condo-Hotel" on its cover, citing its provision of "hotel amenities for condo residents and hotel guests" (see www.gvshp.org/documents/CrainsResidentialCvr10-07.pdf ). Of course GVSHP and other community groups have claimed from the beginning that Trump's project contained residential uses and therefore should not be permitted by the City, because such uses are illegal under the zoning for the site . Several dozen elected officials, community, business, and civic groups from across the city agreed (see www.gvshp.org/trump.htm#supporters ), and now apparently so does Crain's NY. The City, however, has stubbornly clung to its approvals for Trump, and now plans to go to court and use taxpayer money to defend the Trump project and its approvals against a community-initiated lawsuit.
In a recent interview, Trump partner Julius Schwarz of the Bayrock Group admitted that the ONLY reason they were able to develop the Trump SoHo is because of the funding mechanism offered by it being a condo-hotel, and that without it, they would not have been able to move ahead. From the interview:
So why [a condo-hotel, and] not a straight luxury hotel? "It's a financing mechanism," said Schwarz, who added that financing is tough to come by...Hotel rooms will always be in high demand, said Schwarz, "but you can't rely on the $1,200 a night rates. Even with a very high-end luxury hotel like this, where rates are going to stay high, you have to convince a lender. That's the most important thing; otherwise, the deal doesn't get done." (see the full article at www.therealdeal.net/issues/October_2007/1191450566.php ).
Various city officials, in refusing to agree with contentions that the Trump project should not be allowed because it in effect violated the zoning, contended, among other things, that the building could just get built as a 'straight' transient hotel anyway, which is allowed by the zoning. But Schwarz's own words show the developers felt they could only finance the project if it was allowed as a condo-hotel.
Those fighting another controversial Trump development plan in the UK have apparently been taking notes -- and taking heart -- from our battle against the Donald here in Lower Manhattan. See the article in this morning's issue of the Guardian at www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2189424,00.html .

More South Village Columbus Day Coverage: Please see the very nice articles about our recent Columbus Day event (www.gvshp.org/southvillagenews.htm ) calling for landmark status for the South Village at www.thevillager.com/villager_232/friendsromansvillagers.html and www.therealdeal.net/breaking_news/2007/10/09/1191971349.php .

Fall and Winter Programs from GVSHP

Our Little Italies: Past, Present, and Future
A lecture with Dr. Jerome Krase

Tuesday, October 23
Judson Memorial Church Meeting Hall
239 Thompson Street
6:30-8:00 p.m.

Free. Reservations required.

In this illustrated talk, Prof. Jerry Krase, Murray Koppelman Professor and Professor Emeritus at Brooklyn College, discusses the transformation of "Little Italies" throughout the United States. Once vital and vibrant Italian American communities have seen the replacement of original houses and businesses with what some call "Ethnic Theme Parks." Other areas have witnessed the complete destruction of the neighborhood. Prof. Krase explores the impact that these monumental changes continue to have on American cities, with special emphasis on New York City's Little Italy and the South Village.

GVSHP would like to thank the J.M. Kaplan Fund for supporting this lecture.


A Village Christmas
A walking tour with Marilyn Stults

Saturday, December 1
Meeting Place TBD; 2:00-4:00 p.m.

$10 GVSHP Members; $15 All Others
Advance payment required by Nov. 28th. To pay by credit card, please visit www.gvshp.org/events.htm
If you would prefer to send a check, please contact us at 212.475.9585 ext. 34 or khusayko@gvshp.org. Please send checks payable to GVSHP to: 232 E. 11th Street; New York, NY 10003.

Usher in the holiday season with this unusual walking tour of Greenwich Village as the birthplace of many of the Christmas traditions we are familiar with today. While we enjoy picturesque historic streetscapes, guide Marilyn Stults will explore the Christmas lore that helped establish the Village as an American cultural treasure.

GVSHP would like to thank Marilyn Stults for donating all proceeds from this tour.

First Houses: A Monument of the Past, A Model for the Future
A lecture and discussion with Warren Shaw

Thursday, December 6
Parish Hall, St. Mark’s Church
131 E. 10th St
6:30-8:30 p.m.

Free. Reservations required.

Dedicated in 1935 as the first publicly sponsored housing complex for the poor, the East Village's landmarked First Houses on Third Street and Avenue A helped inaugurate the era of urban renewal. While critics have derided urban renewal as an aesthetic and sociological failure, recent phenomena such as staggering real estate inflation and the "up-marketing" of affordable housing such as Stuyvesant Town make it necessary to re-examine the legacy of public housing. In this recapitulation of his January 2007 lecture for GVSHP, Warren Shaw, Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Real Estate Litigation Division of the New York City Law Department, will consider these questions as he traces the history of the First Houses and discusses their present-day implications.

This lecture is co-sponsored by the Neighborhood Preservation Center.

Tour and Class Audit of HB Studio

Choice of Tuesday, December 11 or Thursday December 13
120 Bank Street
7:00-8:00 p.m Tour
8:00-10:00 p.m. Class Audit

Free for GVSHP Members.
All Others $10.
Reservations required.
To pay by credit card, please visit www.gvshp.org/events.htm. If you would prefer to send a check, please contact us at 212.475.9585 ext. 34 or khusayko@gvshp.org. Please send checks payable to GVSHP to: 232 E. 11th Street; New York, NY 10003.

Established in 1945 by the renowned Viennese actor/director Herbert Berghof, the Herbert Berghof (HB) Studio provides professional theatre training and practice for aspiring and accomplished actors of all ages. With course offerings in a full range of subjects essential to the stage, including acting, voice, musical theatre, dance, movement, improvization, fencing, writing, and stage combat, the HB Studio is a fixture in the Village and New York City cultural realm that continues to thrive and evolve. Join us for a guided tour of the exceptional facilities and conclude the evening by auditing one of the studio's courses. The Tuesday, December 11th session, Performing Improvisational Comedy, will feature special improv tricks for advanced comedians. On Thursday, December 13th, The Practice of Acting will introduce acting techniques and allow new students to sharpen their craft.

These programs are supported by generous grants from: The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Member Alan Gerson; State Senator Tom Duane and Assemblymember Deborah Glick through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; the New York State Council on the Arts, and GVSHP members.

Learn how to Care for Landmark Properties and Gardnes

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation Presents:

Getting it Right: From Historic Properties to Urban Landscapes
Sponsored by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Janet Younkman and Jason Auerbach, Private Mortgage Bankers

An enlightening series on Wednesday evenings sharing successful strategies for renovation, restoration, and gardening in New York’s historic neighborhoods, featuring prominent keynote speakers, and panels of leading experts, each followed by a wine and cheese reception.

Click on the links below to learn about each program in the series, or visit http://www.gvshp.org/gettingitright.

October 17, 2007: Planning the Project from Landmarks Application to Expert Choices

November 14, 2007: Fixing the Facade from Stoop to Cornice

February 20, 2008: Sharing the Dirt on City Gardening

Pre-registration is strongly encouraged, as purchase at the door will only be available if seats remain open.

To find out how to purchase tickets with a check or credit card, please visit http://www.gvshp.org/gettingitright/tickets.htm.

Each series event will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M.
Sign-In at 5:30, First Presbyterian Church 12 West 12th Street, Parlor
Map This Location

http://www.gvshp.org/

Modernist Building Threatened in the Village

From New York Magazine's Daily Intelligencer

Albert Ledner Defends His White Elephant

Can St. Vincent's Medical Center's O'Toole Building be saved? Moderinist mavens hope so, and many of them, in chunky art-director glasses, gathered in Chelsea last night to hear its architect, Albert Ledner, 83, defend it. Ledner designed two nautical-themed New York buildings for the National Maritime Union in the sixties; one is now the Maritime Hotel, with its slab of porthole windows looking down on meatpacking revelers, while the other, a levitating rectangle that flares at the top with two rows of stylized sea "waves," has long since become the O'Toole Building. St. Vincent's wants to build an energy-efficient, seventeen-story hospital on the site, and many Villagers are happy to see Ledner's boxy, "wave"-bedecked rectangle go. (Its façades are "closed and forbidding," says local activist Zac Winestine.) Ledner's fans, however, want to preserve it.

The building "presents an alternative to the orthodoxy of an International Style sheer-glass curtain wall," gushed Michael Gotkin of the Modern Architecture Working Group, who turned out for the talk. "It has good scale, it has texture, it has rhythm," said John Kriskiewicz, a Parsons architectural-history professor, of the current building. The architect, who now lives in New Orleans, said he'll gladly come back to New York to testify on the building's behalf. "If it were removed, it would be very well missed," Ledner declared, cheerfully unaware that at least as many people detest the building as cherish it. But there's another modernist structure in town he'd part with: Edward Durrell Stone's 2 Columbus Circle — which, also unknown to Ledner, is undergoing a major redesign after preservationists lost a battle to maintain it. "I always thought that building had some strange elements," he shrugged, when we told him. Like an oddly windowless façade? —Tim Murphy

September Programs from GVSHP

Foods of the South Village and SoHo: A Walking (and Eating) Tour
Saturday, September 15; 12:15-3:30 p.m.
Meeting place announced upon reservation.
$25 GVSHP Members; $40 All others

Space is Limited. Advance payment required for reservation.
Please send checks payable to GVSHP to:
232 E. 11th Street; New York, NY 10003.
To pay by credit card, please visit www.gvshp.org/events.htm

Come with us as