Learn about our civic past and plan our civic future!
Pre-Conference Panels & Lectures
As Part of HDC’s 15th Annual Preservation Conference
Communities & Cornices: Preservation in a Political World
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Civic Pride: New York City’s Government Centers, Past and Present
6:00pm, The New Church, 114 East 35th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues, Manhattan
This lecture will examine several of New York’s government centers, both before and after the consolidation of all five boroughs into the modern day city. Panelists will focus on civic centers in three boroughs: Staten Island’s Historic Richmond Town and St. George, both at one time the center of government for Richmond County; downtown Brooklyn, with its Borough Hall, courthouses and skyscraper district; and Manhattan’s City Hall area and its great variety of municipal buildings.
Panelists include historian and past Executive Director of the Staten Island Historical Society Barnett Shepherd; Alex Herrera, director of technical services at The New York Landmarks Conservancy; and architectural historian Matthew A. Postal.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Can Preservation Be Injected into NYC Mainstream Political Debate? Insights from Experts Outside the Field
6:00pm, Middle Collegiate Church, Second Avenue between East 6th and East 7th Streets, Manhattan
As we enter another Mayoral Election season, preservationists grapple with the perpetual challenge of trying to focus broader public attention on preservation’s agenda. How have other social causes raised their issues to this level of attention? Can preservation do it? What might it take? Hear the opinions and learn from the experiences of experts who have tackled such issues in their fields of interest.
Among those joining Moderator preservation activist, author, and historian Anthony C. Wood are Bob Hayes, formerly of the Coalition for the Homeless and the Medicare Rights Center, now senior vice president, health quality, Universal American Corporation; environmentalist Eric Goldstein, New York Urban Program director for the Natural Resources Defense Council; Vincent Montalbano, political consultant; and June M. Eisland, former New York City Councilmember (11th District) and former chair of the Council’s Land Use Committee.
Admission to both events is free of charge. Please RSVP to HDC at (212) 614-9107 or [email protected] .