2015 marks the 50th Anniversary of New York City’s Landmarks Law. That’s half a century of the City acknowledging that preserving historic buildings and neighborhoods is vital to New York, but just acknowledging something is not enough. Since 1970, the Historic Districts Council has worked to ensure that historic preservation remains a strong voice in determining the city’s future. From local concerns to citywide issues, the HDC is the only citywide group working with local neighborhood partners to advocate for our city’s irreplaceable historic buildings. Our efforts have brought success over the decades, but much still remains to be done. Please make an end of year gift now and help us continue our crucial work.
We’ve been busy all year – from a film series in Tribeca to bus tours of Staten Island to talks on historic murals and antebellum swine, it’s almost too much to recount. Two programs we’re really proud of have been our new Preservation School, a new monthly series of talks on topics such as reading architectural drawings and conducting building research that’s been so popular we’re looking at offering additional sessions and our Six to Celebrate tours exploring neighborhoods such as Forest Hills and Madison Square North. We’ve brought people to the former Loew’s Valencia Theatre in Jamaica, Queens and Roosevelt Island, gone on historic pub crawls and sampled authentic 19th-century bitters! In total, we had 20 tours and two dozen other programs attended by over 2,500 participants – and there is more to come in 2015!
Next year promises to be a time of celebration and challenge. New York City’s Landmarks Law is one of the strongest preservation tools in the country and something which all New Yorkers should be proud of. The Law has strengthened communities, preserved value, created jobs, and enriched the city for fifty years. HDC will highlight the law which protects our city through events in each of the five boroughs throughout the year.
HDC is able to offer this wide range of events thanks to the
support of our friends. Making a Friendship donation will ensure you receive early notice of and discounts to all of these exciting events. More importantly, your contribution will enable HDC to continue our work safeguarding and supporting all the community efforts which preserve New York.
Happy holidays, and we look forward to seeing you again in 2015!
