FRIENDS Announces 2015 Ambassador to the Upper East Side!
Peter Duchin is America’s preeminent dance-band leader. Since his debut in 1962 at The Maisonette in the St. Regis Hotel in New York City, he and his orchestra have provided the music for many of the nation’s most notable public and private events.
FRIENDS Introduces New Technology to Rediscover Old Buildings
SMARTPHONES MAKE SMART FRIENDS!! On May 9th, over 125 Yorkville enthusiasts joined us for an awesome adventure, using an interactive web application to explore the history of our neighborhood. Players raced around Yorkville accomplishing photo challenges to identify architectural details, replicate historic photos, and imitate ornamental building features. They made stops at local haunts like Glaser’s Bakery, Schaller & Weber, and Heidelberg Restaurant. They were prompted to write a sidewalk poem about their love for Yorkville.
Breaking News: The Frick Abandons Contested Renovation Expansion Plan
Facing a groundswell of opposition to a proposed renovation that would have eliminated a gated garden to make way for a six-story addition, the museum – long admired for its intimate scale – has decided to abandon those plans and start over from scratch.
ADVOCACY UPDATE: Zoning for Quality & Affordability Begins the Public Review Process
You will remember that the Department of City Planning held a scoping hearing on the proposed Zoning for Quality and Affordability Text Amendment earlier this spring.
ADVOCACY UPDATE: Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit
Nearly a year to the date of the denial of the hardship application, on May 21, 2015, the Federal court dismissed the owner’s lawsuit for “failure to state a cause of action for a substantive due process violation.” However, we still await a decision from the State Supreme Court and have no real indication of when that might come.
Exporting Preservation: NYC to Tbilisi
This year, New York City is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Landmarks Law and all the benefits it has provided to our city. Our law, and the advocacy community that supports it, has served as a model for municipalities around the country, and indeed around the world.
Think You Know the Upper East Side? Prove It at our Yorkville Urban History Hunt!
In partnership with the Go Game, FRIENDS is offering a high-tech urban adventure, sending teams on a mission to discover the remnants of Yorkville’s history!
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 Upper East Side, is hosting a Jane’s Walk through the neighborhood on Saturday.
Saving Place: Fifty Years of NYC Landmarks
Join FRIENDS next Tuesday for a private tour of Saving Place: 50 Years of New York City Landmarks at the Museum of the City of New York. The tour is free for FRIENDS members. Reserve your space here.
ADVOCACY UPDATE: FRIENDS testifies before City Planning on Zoning Text Amendment
As any good preservationist would, I will start with a bit of history. In 1985, our founding president, Halina Rosenthal, wrote to our members: