Preservation Fund Established in Honor of Evelyn Ortner
From Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn
Memorial Fund Established in Memory of Preservation Giant Evelyn Ortner
To Fund Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s Legal Fight
Over $22,000 Raised for Fund at Sunday House Party
BROOKLYN, NY— An Evelyn Ortner Memorial Fund has been established for the Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) legal efforts and has been seeded with over $22,000 from initial donors. The establishment of the fund was announced on June 24th at a fundraising house party in the Park Slope Victorian home of Clem Labine. The party was also hosted by Evelyn Ortner’s surviving husband and fellow preservationist Everett Ortner, as well as Park Slope activist Burnley Duke Dame of the Brownstone Revival Coalition.
Evelyn Ortner is best known for being a leader in the effort to first save Park Slope from destruction through an anti-redlining campaign and then achieving landmark status for the Park Slope Historic District.
Additionally a Fort Greene fundraising house party for the DDDB Legal Fund held last Saturday, June 16th, raised over $24,000. That party included readings by Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri (The Namesake) and best selling author Jennifer Egan (The Keep).
“We are moved and honored to have the community’s financial support for our legal efforts in memory of Evelyn Ortner, an unequaled giant in the preservation movement who showed her faith in our work by joining the DDDB Advisory Board before her passing,” said DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein. “If donors would like to contribute to the Evelyn Ortner Memorial Fund they can contact us through our website. Our fundraising efforts continue to achieve strong results, and our efforts will continue as we see our lawsuits through to ultimate victory. We deeply appreciate the community’s continued support.”
The DDDB Legal Fund is utilized entirely for the legal fees for the federal eminent domain lawsuit alleging that the Atlantic Yards project violates the US Constitution, and the state Supreme Court lawsuit challenging the state’s environmental review and approval of the project.
Photo from the party available here: http://dddb.net/houseparty.jpg
