PRESERVATION EMERGENCY: Landmarks Hearing on Sunnyside Gardens, Tuesday, 17th at 2:00 pm
HDC exhorts everyone who cares about landmarking to attend the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s public designation hearing of Sunnyside Gardens this Tuesday, April 17th at 2:00pm in the Municipal Building, at Centre and Chambers Streets, 9th Floor North.
As you have no doubt heard, the road just to get to this hearing has not been an easy one for this landmark-worthy district. Radical elements in the community have mounted a very public assault on the designation process. Despite the support of hundreds of neighbors in favor of landmarking, the designation of this nationally-important development as a New York City Historic District is far from certain. A very strong preservation presence is imperative to this process.
If this designation does not pass due to the race-baiting gutter politics of its opponents, it may have terrible implications for future preservation efforts throughout the city. As concerned New Yorkers, we must let the Commission know there is strong support for their mission of landmarking worthy areas throughout the five boroughs.
Even though Queens is physically the city’s largest borough, it only has six city historic districts (two of which are only one block long and another is on government-owned land). This is not due to a lack of historically and architecturally significant areas – 24 districts in Queens are on the National Register of Historic Places, including Sunnyside Gardens. The designation of Sunnyside Gardens would increase the number of city landmarked properties in Queens by over 30% and could boost the likelihood of more. A failed bid for a district however, could send a negative message to the city’s administration and might hinder future designations in the borough.
Sunnyside Gardens was developed between 1924 and 1928 in response to a growing need for quality housing for middle and low-income workers and their families. The complex consists of a series of nine “courts” or rows of townhouses and nine small apartment buildings, built on all or part of 16 blocks. Spread among nearly 54 acres, Sunnyside Gardens has a total of approximately 610 buildings. This huge complex is one of the most significant planned residential communities in New York City and has achieved international recognition for its low-rise, low-density housing arranged around landscaped open courtyards. Noted historian, architectural critic and resident Lewis Mumford called the neighborhood “an exceptional community laid out by people who were deeply human and who gave the place a permanent expression of that humanness.” (For LPC’s full description of the district go to http://nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/sig/info_sgg.pdf and for more information, go to http://www.hdc.org/neighborhoodatrisksunnyside.htm).
Tuesday’s hearing starts at 2:00 pm at the Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street, 9th floor. at the corner of Centre Street and Chambers Street, across from City Hall, in Manhattan. For directions, see http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/contact/contact.shtml. If you are planning to visit the agency, please make sure to bring photo ID. You may not be let into the building without photo ID. Even if you do not wish to testify, your presence speaks volumes. If you are willing to read the testimony of someone unable to attend the hearing, please let us know.
If you are unable to attend the hearing, your support still matters. Please send an email in favor of landmarking Sunnyside Gardens to LPC Chair Robert Tierney at [email protected]. See below for a sample letter.
Hon. Robert Tierney, Chair
Landmarks Preservation Commission
The Municipal Building, 9th Floor
One Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
[email protected]
Dear Commissioner Tierney,
I am writing in strong support of the landmark designation of the proposed Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. The Sunnyside Gardens complex is one of the most significant planned residential communities in New York City and has achieved international recognition for its low-rise, low-density housing arranged around landscaped open courtyards. This design by architects Clarence Stein and Henry Wright was one of the first American adaptations of Ebenezer Howard’s innovative “garden city” concept and served as a precursor to acclaimed later developments in Radburn, N.J. and Chatham Village in Pittsburgh. The neighborhood is characterized by a gentle and distinct humane scale and details which urbanist and resident Lewis Mumford described as “a permanent expression of…humanness.”
This neighborhood, which has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, is truly deserving of New York City historic district status. I support the Landmarks Commission’s action in bringing this forward for consideration, and urge the LPC to designate this worthy district.
Sincerely,
Your Name