Get Your German On with Ronda Wist

It’s been home to many New York City mayors, boasts one of Manhattan’s most scenic parks, and retains remnants of its past as one of the city’s largest German enclaves. It’s Yorkville, and historic preservation expert Ronda Wist, President of Wist Preservation Associates and Board Member of FRIENDS of the

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412 East 85th Street,1925.

LPC Reverses Decision on Potential Landmarks!!

As we announced earlier this week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) was poised to “de-calendar” nearly 100 buildings under consideration for landmark status in one fell swoop on Tuesday, December 9th.

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Frick Collection

ADVOCACY UPDATE: Recent Frick expansion coverage from the New York Times

On Sunday Robin Pogrebin at the New York Times published an article about the Frick expansion, bringing to light a statement from the museum’s testimony before the landmarks Preservation Commission in 1973:

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Frick Collection

Recent opposition to the Frick expansion from HDC and the New York Times

Last week the Historic Districts Council released a statement opposing the proposed Frick expansion, saying among other things that “HDC finds the proposal in its current form to be a myopic solution for expansion, and one that would compromise the museum’s setting and genteel atmosphere.

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Frick expansion plan

FRIENDS Announces Opposition to the Frick Expansion

FRIENDS of the Upper East Side Historic Districts has carefully reviewed the proposal presented for expansion of the Frick Collection to our Board Members on July 17, 2014.

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Council Member Ben Kallos helps out with our Yorkville Survey!

Council Member Ben Kallos helps out with our Yorkville Survey!

Council Member Ben Kallos committed staff members and interns for a day of surveying in his district. FRIENDS has been working for the last four years to document the built fabric and cultural resources of Yorkville, and we are now nearing completion. Thanks to Council Member Kallos and his staff

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The Park Avenue Historic District Hearing Date is Tuesday

The Park Avenue Historic District Public Hearing will be held on Tuesday, February 11th. Stretching from 79th to 96th Streets, this section of Park Avenue is in keeping with the character, history, and architecture of the other designated portions of the avenue.

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Park Avenue Christian Church is in DANGER!

The Park Avenue Christian Church and Parish House at 1010 Park Avenue, designed by eminent architects Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson, is an intact, Gothic Revival-style complex constructed in 1911.

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Remember your FRIENDS this special year!

Thirty years! As illustrated by the timeline above, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts is celebrating 30 years of vigorous work preserving and promoting our irreplaceable Upper East Side neighborhoods. Over the years, FRIENDS, together with invaluable supporters like you, has led a progression of successful campaigns to

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OUR TOWN: “In Search of Yorkville’s Hidden Gems”

by Paul Biscegli If you live in Yorkville, don’t be surprised if you see Tara Kelly or one of her volunteers standing on the street, notepad in hand, staring at your building. “As soon as people know you aren’t a developer, they usually don’t mind,” Kelly said. “I tell them

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