2012 Preservation Party and Grassroots Awards!
22nd Annual Preservation Party and 13th Annual Grassroots Awards!
Two Bridges Neighborhood Council-2010
The Historic Districts Council holds a yearly event to honor those who have been especially influential in the preservation world. The Grassroots Awards are given to those who have worked tirelessly for their neighborhoods; by gaining recognition and protection for New York’s historic buildings.
The event will take place on Tuesday, June 5 from 6 to 8pm at the recently reopened, reinvigorated and expanded South Street Seaport Museum at 12 Fulton Street, in Lower Manhattan.
•To view pictures from the even go out 2012 Grassroots photo page.
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This year’s award winners are:
The Green-Wood Cemetery will be honored for its long-time historic preservation efforts, including its recent acquisition of the endangered Weir-McGovern greenhouse. Built in 1895, and the only surviving Victorian-era commercial greenhouse in New York City, this designated landmark had fallen into disrepair over the years. Under the leadership of Green-Wood’s president, Richard Moylan, the cemetery is committed to restoring the greenhouse to its full glory and to readying it for its new role as Green-Wood’s visitor center across the street from the cemetery’s main entrance.
•Parkway Village Historical Society
Parkway Village, a residential complex located in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, was built in the late 1940’s to house United Nations personnel, and was home to such notable people as Ralph Bunche and Betty Friedan. The Parkway Village Historical Society has recently completed a successful campaign to list the complex on both the New York State and the National Registers of Historic Places. Through the efforts of the Historical Society, Parkway Village has gained much deserved recognition for its history and contribution to the heritage of its city, state and country.
•The Coalition to Save Manufacturers Hanover Trust
Designed for Manufacturers Hanover Trust by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 1954, 510 Fifth Avenue is a revered Modernist structure whose exterior was designated a landmark in 1997. The Coalition to Save Manufacturers Hanover Trust led the fight to have the building’s interior designated last year and has continued its work through advocacy and legal efforts to ensure that changes to both the interior and exterior are appropriate to the original design.
•West End Preservation Society
Over a very short span of time, the West End Preservation Society (WEPS) has accomplished a great deal. In 2009, WEPS submitted a proposal to the LPC to gain landmark protection for roughly 800 buildings centered along West End Avenue from 70th to 107th Streets. They quickly gained the support of neighborhood residents and elected officials and most importantly, the Landmarks Commission, which voted unanimously in 2010 to place the district extensions on its calendar for public hearings. The effort currently awaits the LPC designation votes, which are expected in 2012.
•Friends From the Media: DNAinfo
DNAinfo, New York’s leading hyper-local news source covering Manhattan’s neighborhoods, will be honored for its role in raising awareness and keeping the public informed about historic preservation activity in the city. Its continual in-depth reporting on the status of landmark designations, proposals, and changes to historic districts includes the recent announcements of landmark designation for the Barbizon Hotel and Hudson Square Houses, as well as a feature on an innovative historic preservation program for school students in Bayside.
•Friends In High Places: New York City Council Member Al Vann of Brooklyn’s 36th District
Albert Vann has served his home community for nearly all of his adult life, both as an educator and an elected official. As New York City Council Member for District 36 in Brooklyn, Mr. Vann has been a strong advocate and leader in the preservation of numerous neighborhoods, including the now historic districts of Crown Heights North Phase I (2007), Crown Heights North Phase II (2011) and Alice and Agate Courts (2009), as well as recent hearings for districts in Bedford- Stuyvesant and Stuyvesant Heights.
•Mickey Murphy Award for lifetime achievement: Preservationist and cultural leader Susan Henshaw Jones
Susan Henshaw Jones has played a pivotal role in the cultural life of New York City and the preservation of its landmarks for decades. Prior to becoming president and director of the Museum of the City of New York in 2003, she served as the director of the New York Landmarks Conservancy and worked to revitalize the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. The latest chapter in her career is assuming the leadership of the South Street Seaport Museum, where she is working to resurrect the institution to its rightful place within the cultural sphere of the Seaport and the city.