Weekend, April 1-2, 2023 – MORE LONG TERM RESTORATIONS TO THESE WONDERFUL SITES
FROM THE ARCHIVES
WEEKEND, APRIL 1-2, 2023
ISSUE 954
NEW YORK LANDMARKS
CONSERVANCY
LUCY MOSES AWARD WINNERS
PART 2
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“DOLLARS FOR DAFFODILS”
UPDATE:
OUR FIRST DONATIONS HAVE ARRIVED
THANK YOU TO RACHEL MAINES AND GLORIA, MARK HERMAN, CAROLINE CAVALLI, MR. & MRS. RICHARD MEYER, NANCY BROWN, ARLENE &STEVE BESSENOFF, MARIE EWALD & DAVID DANZIG, BARRY & JUDY SCHNEIDER, & MICHELLE ROY, ARON EISENPRESIS, TANYA MORRISETT, MATTHIAS ALTWICKER, JUDY CONNORTON, THOM HEYER, STEPHEN QUANDT, QING XUN & ANNONYMOUS FOR THEIR DONATIONS.
WE ARE WAITING TO ADD YOUR NAME TO OUR DONOR LIST
We need your help this spring to help us restore and enhance our garden.
Our goal is $2000.00 for a complete restoration of soil, drainage, plantings and fencing.
We will update donations daily. We will list our donors.
Join us in making our garden thrive again.
ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE
TO MAKE YOUR DONATION: https://rihs.us/donation/
TO MAKE YOUR DONATION BY CHECK: R.I.H.S., 531 MAIN STREET, #1704. NY NY 10044
The Lucy G. Moses Awards are the Conservancy’s highest honors for outstanding preservation efforts, named for a dedicated New Yorker whose generosity benefited the City for more than 50 years.
Winners of the “Oscars of Preservation” have been announced and they feature a wide variety of historic structures across New York City. The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award is the highest honor for excellence in preservation awarded by The New York Landmarks Conservancy. Every year the Conservancy recognizes outstanding contributions to the city from individuals, organizations, and building owners. Here, we take a look at the winners of this year’s preservation award, including a Manhattan armory, a historic lighthouse, stunning churches, and more!
In addition to the buildings being honored, Laurie Beckelman, former Chair of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, will receive the 2023 Public Leadership in Preservation Award. John J. (Jack) Kerr, Jr., attorney, will receive the Preservation Leadership Award in honor of his role in preservation’s most significant legal decisions, and for his work with many nonprofit organizations, including the Conservancy, where he served as Board Chair. Winners will be recognized at the Awards Ceremony on April 19th at 6:00 pm at Saint Bartholomew’s Church in Manhattan. You can register for tickets to attend the event here.
CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY’S ISSUE
5. 69th Regiment Armory, Manhattan
The 69th Regiment Armory still functions as an active military facility, which made preservation work challenging. Despite this obstacle, over 200 original dilapidated and unusable wood windows have been restored. All new fenestration that precisely matches the historic windows and meets current energy efficiency standards have been installed.
The restoration project also had the added requirement of meeting Department of Defense Anti-Terrorism standards for blast resistance. Discover more of New York City’s historic armories!
6. Lefferts Historic House, Prospect Park, Brooklyn
Photo by redit Jordan Rathkopf
The Lefferts Historic House is one of the oldest buildings in Brooklyn. Located within Prospect Park, the 18th-century farmhouse belonged to the Lefferts family, one of the wealthiest and most influential families in Brooklyn. In 1917, the John Leffert’s estate gifted the home to the city of New York under the condition that it be moved onto city property to be protected and preserved.
Today, the home is operated by the Prospect Park Alliance in partnership with the Historic House Trust. The building will be honored with a preservation award for the $2.5 million restoration project that replaced the cedar shingle roof and repaired the façades, windows, and porch. The project was funded by the Speaker and the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council.
7. St. Luke’s Historic Pavilions, Manhattan
Photo by Alex Severin
St. Luke’s Hospital Pavilions will receive the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award for a successful adaptive reuse project which has transformed the abandoned 19th-century hospital into a high-end residential complex. Designed by Ernest Flagg, a Beaux-Arts architect known for the Singer Building, the hospital complex sits just north of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights. Over the years, some of the original nine pavilions have been demolished, while others have been preserved. The Plant and Scrymser Pavilions for Private Patients became designated New York City Landmarks in 2002.
Four remaining pavilions make up the new residential complex. The restoration work that has been completed on these pavilions has stabilized and restored the elaborate brick and granite façade, slate roofs, and copper trim. Owner Delshah Capital made use of preservation tax credits to make the restoration possible. Thanks to the owner’s vision and financial planning, this old historic building has found a new use in the modern city.
8. Asia Art Archive in America, Brooklyn
Photo by Peter Peirce
The Asia Art Archive in America is housed inside a repurposed carriage house at 23 Cranberry Street in the historic neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights. The restoration project honored converted the building into a public space for the study of post-war Asian Art.
In the process of transforming this former carriage house into a public space, the lower levels were turned into offices and rooms for public programs, while the upper floors have been converted into residences. The legacy of the building’s former owner, sculptor John Rhoden, has been incorporated into the current iteration through pieces from his personal collection. Some of Rhoden’s items that are featured in the new design include a Buddhist prayer table, a teak railroad tie from Indonesia, and pieces of hardware and cast iron, brass, and bronze.
TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW
WEEKEND PHOTO OF THE DAY
WE WILL BE AWAY FOR A FEW DAYS
IDENTIFY THE IMAGE
FRIDAY PHOTO OF THE DAY
WE ARE AWAY FOR A FEW DAYS. ENJOY THE
VIEWS OF THE COLER GARDEN
Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by Melanie Colter and Deborah Dorff
All image are copyrighted (c) Roosevelt Island Historical Society unless otherwise indicated
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY
THIS PUBLICATION FUNDED BY DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FROM CITY COUNCIL MEMBER JULIE MENIN & ROOSEVELT ISLAND OPERATING CORPORATION PUBLIC PURPOSE FUNDS.
Copyright © 2022 Roosevelt Island Historical Society, All rights reserved.Our mailing address is:
rooseveltislandhistory@gmail.com
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