The New York Times has reported (5/30/13) that real estate developers,

big property owners, banks, insurance companies and investment firms

have established a $10 million PAC in order to become aggressively involved

in 2013 NY City Council elections to support and elect 21 candidates to further their

“pro-development,” anti-neighborhood, anti-small business agenda.

LW! is hosting a unique “Meet the City Council Candidates” roundtable discussion which

focuses exclusively on land use issues such as overdevelopment, historic preservation,

parks and open space in District 6 (approx. from West 59^th-96^th Streets) here in the Upper

West Side. There will be a brief introduction followed by an hour of your questions.

Although we can’t match $10 million, we can raise turn out at the polls.

Please attend the meeting and send this along to five people, minimum. Ceremonial Hall has

room for 150 people and we want to see it filled and make sure the candidates hear from you and your neighbors.

Montclair Film Festival, where the film THE ZIPPER is playing Saturday 5/4 at 12pm

Director Amy Nicholson looks at the legendary Zipper ride in Coney Island to study real estate wars in New York City. Filled with colorful personalities, the film “will resonate with anybody who has watched some quirky favorite place be demolished by developers who don’t appreciate its charm” (Hollywood Reporter).

http://zipperfilm.com/#

Walking tour and book signing: Sunday, May 5, 11:30am (book signing), 12:00 (tour

Join Preservation Greenpoint and author/photographer Frank Jump on a walking tour of the fading ads of Greenpoint.  For nearly 20 years, Jump has been documenting the painted ads of New York City as they quickly disappear, and his book Fading Ads of New York City was published in 2011.  Jump will offer a glimpse into Greenpoint’s commercial advertising history through the neighborhood’s remnant fading ads.  Please check Preservation Greenpoint’s website for updates.  This tour is free but space is limited.  RSVP to info@preservationgreenpoint.org.  Meeting location will be given when RSVP is received.

WHEN:  MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013

TIME:    6:30-8:30PM

WHERE: WEST PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

165 WEST 86^TH STREET at AMSTERDAM AVENUE

Meet the Candidates running for City Council District 6 (currently held by the Hon. Gale Brewer)

Candidates joining us are (in alphabetical order):

Ken Biberaj, Debra Cooper, Noah Gotbaum, Marc Landis, Helen Rosenthal, and Mel Wymore

Mingle and Ask Questions

Share Your Concerns and Ideas with the Candidates

Support Your Community

Enjoy Refreshments

Hosted by “The West 80s Neighborhood Association” and “Friends of West Park”

Please share this invitation with your neighbors and friends!

Melissa Elstein, Secretary and Founding Member

West 80s Neighborhood Association

P.O. Box 732

New York, NY 10024

www.west80s.org

TIME TO UNWIND: THE MOUNT VERNON HOTEL MUSEUM AND LEISURE IN JACKSONIAN NEW YORK: (Roosevelt Island, NY, April 1, 2013) –

Built in 1799 and one of the eight oldest buildings in New York City, The Mount Vernon Hotel Museum and Garden interprets travel, leisure, work and play in diverse antebellum New York. Dana Settles, Curator of Education, will describe the leisure activities of New Yorkers in the 1820s, in a lecture sponsored by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, at the New York Public Library Branch on Roosevelt Island, on Tuesday, April 9, at 6:30 p.m. Some highlights will include traditional toasts and activities in the taverns, and the guests who frequented these locales. The event is FREE and open to the public. It is the third in a series of spring lectures sponsored by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society.

DIRECTIONS: Take the Tram at 59th Street and Second Avenue or the F train to Roosevelt Island. Take the red bus for 25 cents or walk eight minutes north to 524 Main Street. The Roosevelt Island Historical Society promotes awareness of our Island’s unique story and pursues preservation of its landmarks and artifacts.

For more information, please visit www.rihs.us.

#RooseveltIsland

April 20, 10am-Noon
Marking the centennial of Grand Central Terminal, we’ll tour the GCT and Bryant Park vicinities, planned areas greatly altered since before the Civil War. Then we will see how historical cartography captures the changing urban landscape in the splendidly restored Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division of the New York Public Library.

Fee $15 payable at tour.
Preregistration required. Tour size limited.
RSVP to jaconet@aol.com using the SUBJECT= APRIL 20.
http://www.geognyc.com/

To the Editor,

The japes and mockeries in the recent editorial “Landmark Loonies” are both inappropriate and inaccurate.  The Historic Districts Council did several surveys of the area in order to formulate our list of buildings to be considered for landmarks designation, taking into account each individual building’s architectural and historical significance.  Brief reports, written by professional architectural historians and architects, were then submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. HDC’s list included the buildings which our colleagues at the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Municipal Art Society also recommended; we felt there was no need to reproduce their research independently. Each group performed its own surveys and reached its own conclusions – which add to each other, not detract.  The plan covers 78 blocks of a heavily-trafficked and well-known area of Manhattan with hundreds of buildings. It is not surprising that there is so much interest in trying to preserve the best of them.

Interestingly, the editorial did not mention the most important list, the one that the Landmarks Preservation Commission produced in accordance with its role in the plan’s environmental review.  That list has 32 sites that the LPC has identified as “potentially eligible” for landmark status, 18 of them appear on HDC’s list as well.

Sincerely,

Simeon Bankoff

Executive Director

Historic Districts Council

A letter to the editor of the ‘New York Daily New’ in response to the article ‘Landmark loonies throw bricks at Mayor Bloomberg’s Midtown East rezoning plan’ which was released today 3-25-2013.

The Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is excited to present the 6th Annual City of Water Day on July 20, 2013 at Governors Island in New York Harbor, and at Liberty State Park in Jersey City.

Each year we receive over 20,000 visitors overall and this year we expect more than 20,000 visitors on Governors Island and another 7,000 at Liberty State Park during the day.  City of Water Day offers an excellent opportunity to present your organization to a very enthusiastic public.  

Use City of Water Day to promote your work, hold an activity, or simply get the word out.  We encourage interactive and hands on activities - your table will get a lot of traffic!   

Please fill out this submission form if you’re interested in providing an activity, entertainment or food at Governors Island or Liberty State Park: http://www.cityofwaterday.org/sign-up/   

Notes:  

• Please submit two forms if you’re participating at both sites.    
• If you need to change your submission closer to the event please contact us.
• Please note that the children’s section at Governors Island is separate from the adult section.
• The event at Liberty State Park will not be held on the South Field due to post-Sandy repairs for the CRRNJ Terminal building. It will likely take place on North Field but we will confirm in the next month.  

We look forward to working with you!  Please feel free to contact me at shill@waterfrontalliance.org or Tel: 212-935-9831 ext. 106 if you have any questions.

Spring is in the air — with all its glory — on the Magnolia Blossom Walk to be held on Roosevelt Island on Sunday, March 31,2013 at 11:00 a.m. Take a 75-minute walk of scenic sites on Roosevelt Island and rejoice in the abundant color of the magnolia trees in full bloom. The tour, led by Judith Berdy, President of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, offers close-ups on the Island’s flowering trees for photographers and flower-lovers alike. This is the first in a series of two walks offering botanical insights about Roosevelt Island.

The Cherry Blossom Walk will be held on Saturday, April 20 at 11:00 a.m.

For reservations, please contact rooseveltislandhistory@usa.com or 212-688-4836.

A donation of $10 to the RIHS is requested. Payment is accepted via PayPal on the RIHS website.

DIRECTIONS: Take the Tram at 59th Street and Second Avenue or the F train to Roosevelt Island. (Check for normal subway service.) Walk 15 minutes north on Main Street or take the red bus (25 cents). Meet at The Octagon, 888 Main Street. The Roosevelt Island Historical Society promotes awareness of our Island’s unique story and pursues preservation of its landmarks and artifacts. For more information, please visit www.rihs.us. Note to Editor: Photo available; credit to The Roosevelt Island Historical Society.

COME TO RALLY AT CITY HALL 3/19
We need you to join us on Tuesday, March 19 from 12pm to 1pm on the steps of City Hall, for a Rally on Behalf of New Amsterdam Market.

TELL THE COUNCIL TO VOTE “NO”
This is our last chance to stop the mall developer’s plans to destroy the iconic, city-owned Fulton Fish Market and replace it with a luxury high-rise complex whose details have not been disclosed to the public.