NEWS: West 54-55 Block Ass'n Meeting Notice + Minutes
Reminder: the next meeting of the West 54 – 55 Street Block Association will be on Wednesday, Jan 17, 2007 @ 7 p.m. at the Warwick Hotel, 65 W 54 Street, Randolph’s Too.
The meeting will start promptly and will last approximately one hour. The Agenda will be sent later. Please come and RSVP me (212 581-1895, [email protected] ).
Just in case you missed it, I would like to bring to everyone’s attention an article in the Jan 3, 2007 New York Times, Art Section, p.1, January 3, 2007
MoMA to Gain Exhibition Space by Selling Adjacent Lot for $125 Million
By CAROL VOGEL
Conditions of the sale ensure that a mixed-use building on West 54th Street will connect the Modern’s galleries, while adding $65 million to the museum’s endowment.
MoMA’s development plans will be on the Agenda at our meeting on Jan 17. Please send me any questions you have and also bring them to the meeting.
Minutes of the Dec 13, 2006 meeting are enclosed below.
Regards,
Vera
MINUTES OF THE WEST 54-55 STREET BLOCK ASSOCIATION MEETING
December 13, 2006
The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, 8th Fl., Boardroom
Present: Joan Bulik, Napier Collyns, Francis & Veronika Conant, John Harrison, Marilyn Hemery, Hugo Hoogenboom, Violetta Landek, Sandra Ripin, Bill Shea, RitaSue Siegel, Charles Steinberg, Alice Ulm, Missy VanBuren-Brown
Officials present:
Andrew Sullivan, Chief of Staff to Council Member Dan Garodnick
Sharon Fuchs, from the Mayor’s Office
Guests:
Diana Simpson, Dir. of Visitor Services & Dir. of Gov. & Community Relations, MoMA
Tamiko Collier, MoMA
Ron Simoncini, Dir. of Security, MoMA
The meeting was moderated by Sandra Ripin. Official visitors and guests were welcome and the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church was thanked for providing space. The minutes of the November 15, 2006 meeting were approved.
Meeting Diana Simpson, our new liaison to MoMA
Diana Simpson discussed and answered questions about:
Sleepwalkers, MoMA’s special upcoming outdoor public project by video artist Doug Aitken, will have seven silent video scenes projected on seven walls of MoMA from Jan 16 – Feb 12, 2007, 5:00 – 10:00 p.m.. Discussed MoMA’s efforts to minimize effects on the neighborhood: traffic, noise, cleanup, crowd management during night time.
Problems with early morning deliveries, loading dock management and cleanup after late night parties were brought up, and cooperation promised by MoMA.
MoMA’s empty lot is getting paved and re-fenced. Aesthetics of MoMA’s empty lot for the short term and development plans for the long term need further discussion. The Board of the West 54 – 55 Street Block Association asked to meet higher management at MoMA to discuss these.
Status of Historic District designation and our landmarking project.
RitaSue Siegel discussed the status of the campaign to request landmark designation for selected buildings on the blocks. This has been going on for a couple of months. Since the Nov 2006 meeting volunteers have mailed to the Landmark Preservation Commission (LPC) a number of requests for landmark designation for 20 buildings, including those identified as potential landmarks in LPC’s internal Midtown West Survey in 1979 (12, 14, 16 , 18 W 55 St, 41 W 54 St, 46 W 55 St, 10, 16, 17, 26, 28, 30, 36, 39 and 46 W 56 St), and several apartment buildings thought important (15, 19 and 55 W 55th St as well as 35 W 54 St, a coop, listed in the Survey and 23 W 55 St, a garage, both recommended by Andrew Dolkart).
Each request for evaluation was submitted, together with full documentation for the given building from the “Dolkart Report”, including photographs. For each building ten requests were submitted to the LPC. A few are still waiting to be sent.
The “Dolkart Report” has documentation, with photographs, for every single building on both sides of W 55 and W 56 Street and the North side of W 54 Street. It also contains valuable additional materials.
V. Conant received a strange letter from LPC, dated Nov 3, 2006, postmarked Nov 22, turning down our request of September 2005 for Historic District designation. The form letter was most inappropriate for the subject.
The group plans to submit the entire Dolkart folder to the LPC.
The Association would like to work with Council Member Dan Garodnick/ Andrew Sullivan and Borough President Scott Stringer’s staff on a zoning amendment in order to protect our remaining buildings.
Charles Steinberg spoke to a couple of lawyers in our efforts to find a pro bono lawyer. This trail eventually led to the City Bar Justice Center, Director of Public Service Network who requested a statement to be delivered after the holidays of our situation so that they can recommend one of their members to us. The statement is being prepared by RitaSue Siegel.
Report about the City Council’s Public Forum on Dec 4, 2006 about improving the Dept. of Buildings (DOB).
Sandra Ripin and Vera Conant gave an account of the Forum. Several members went, wrote and gave testimony, with documentation, or intended to give testimonies ( thank you Tisha Jackson, RitaSue Siegel, Francis Conant (testimonies given), Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, Marilyn Hemery, Glenn Ehrenhaus, and Vera Conant (written testimonies submitted), Hugo Hoogenboom and Bill Shea). Council Member Oddo chaired the City Council’s Task force on Operations and Improvement of the Dept. of Buildings (DOB); Dan Garodnick is a member. During the three hours of the well attended and well conducted meeting every problem with DOB got identified – illegal internal demolition, lack of enforcement, mishandling of violations, corruption, easy façade alteration permits leading to demolition, the disconnect between LPC and DOB, and various city agencies, etc. Tisha Jackson and others also brought up problems with noise and pollution due to after hour construction, which badly needs regulation.
Due to the crowds the meeting was closed with a promise to all those unable to speak that they would be contacted to possibly meet another time.
Environmental Issues (Noise, pollution, sanitation)
See above. The Environmental Committee will meet after the holidays. Anyone interested in participating contact Vera Conant, Chair.
Report about the Midtown North Police Community Council’s Meeting on Nov 21:
Marilyn Hemery, Violetta Landek, Bill Shea and Vera Conant attended. Very friendly meeting. We asked for increased enforcement of ticketing idling vehicles. (To report idling vehicles, call 311). Mentioned opening of MoMA’s Education Wing which will attract more school buses. Sgt Stefanovich is our contact (212 767-8450/51).
Fundraising efforts, grants.
On Nov 29, 2006, the Association became a 501 (C) (3) not-for profit organization, with tax-exempt status from the IRS. Tax-exemption dates back to May 22 when the West 54 – 55 Street Block Association incorporated in NYS. We thank Clara Ingen-Housz for her heroic, terrific pro bono work to get us incorporated and tax-exempted.
We no longer need the Municipal Art Society (MAS) as conduit for our fund raising at 5% service charge. Many thanks to MAS for help during the transition.
Treasurer’s report.
Missy VanBuren-Brown gave the report: balance as of 12/12/06 $285.26, with several liabilities outstanding.
Many thanks to all the donors.
Grants to come: $2,000 grant from NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Proposal to be submitted.
$3,500 grant the City Council – NYC Dept. of Youth and Community Development.
Willensky fund: requested, pending.
Volunteers are needed to help with proposal writing. If interested contact Vera Conant.
Donations, both individual and institutional, are still needed for p
rojects planned.
Next Block Association Meeting: Wed, Jan 17 @ 7 p.m., location to be announced.
(Late addition: the meeting will be at the Warwick Hotel, 65 W 54 St, Randolph’s Too)
Veronika A. Conant, President, West 54 – 55 Street Block Association
45 W 54th St, Apt. 7C, New York, NY 10019
(212) 581-1895 [email protected]