E-BULLETIN OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL
June 2013, Volume 10, Number 1
Tonight!
VIGIL MONDAY, JUNE 3
6:00 – 7:30 PM at the 5th Avenue Entrance to the 42nd Street Library
DON’T GUT THE 42ND STREET LIBRARY!
DON’T SELL THE MID-MANHATTAN!
The Central Library Plan, at enormous cost to New York City and its
taxpayers, would irreparably damage the 42nd Street Library – one
of the worldʼs great research libraries and a historic landmark.
The Library administration plans to demolish the 42nd Street
Libraryʼs historic seven-story book stacks, install a circulating library
in their stead, and displace 1.5 million books to central New Jersey.
The new circulating library would replace the Mid-Manhattan and the
Science, Industry and Business Library, despite being less than onethird
the size of the two existing libraries.
This plan was created through a closed process with no public input,
and has been condemned by leading architecture critics such as Ada
Louise Huxtable in the Wall Street Journal and Michael Kimmelman
in the New York Times.
• It will cost $350 million (probably more), of which $150 million will
come from New York City taxpayers.
• It will jam patrons of the circulating library into a space one-third
the size of the existing Mid-Manhattan Library and SIBL.
• It will threaten the 42nd Street Libraryʼs role as one of the worldʼs
great research libraries, and threaten the architectural integrity of
the landmarked 42nd Street building.
• It does not take into consideration more efficient and less
destructive alternatives, such as combining SIBL and the Mid-
Manhattan into a rehabilitated and expanded building on the Mid-
Manhattan site.
The Committee to Save the NYPL calls for a halt to this plan until an
independent agency can conduct a detailed cost analysis. This
analysis should also evaluate the costs of renovating the Mid-
Manhattan building. As Michael Kimmelman wrote in the New York
Times, “A new Mid-Manhattan branch should cost a fraction of
gutting the stacks and could produce much better architecture.”
For more information or to join our email list, see www.savenypl.org
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The City Council’s Committee on Parks and Recreation will hold an oversight meeting for Flushing Meadows Corona Park on June 7th. The meeting is intended to address the condition and needs of this important park as well as recent issues of selling of large swaths of park land for private use. Plans for an expansion of the National Tennis Center, the construction of a shopping center, and a Major League Soccer stadium has rightfully angered many Queens’ residents. The Bloomberg administration who supports the stadium claims that the park is underused and in disrepair due to lack of upkeep, and therefore justifies the re-appropriation of public land for profit. Testimony will be allowed at the meeting, so come to 250 Broadway 16th floor at 1pm and show your support to protect our parklands. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Historian Alec Cumming discusses Brooklyn’s contribution to the city’s radio history, from the many Yiddish stations of the ’30s and ’40s to Radio Soleil’s work in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, followed by a guided trip over to the historic radio site at Transmitter Park. Cosponsored by Preservation Greenpoint, which works to preserve the architectural integrity and character of our neighborhood. Facebook RSVP encouraged, but not required. For more information about Transmitter Park read Matthew Coodys article: Forgotten Greenpoint: WNYC Transmitter on the East River
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If you’re receiving this, then you know that HDC is working hard throughout the city to protect and preserve the neighborhoods which make New York great. Please consider contributing and becoming part of the movement to preserve our city’s irreplaceable architecture and history. There are a lot of buildings to cover, and we can only do it with a lot of people.
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