Friends of the Upper East Side
Historic Districts

Save the Date!

Seventh Annual Ambassador to the
Upper East Side
Award Dinner
honoring

DAVID W. LEVINSON

Monday, September 20th

Mr. Levinson serves as Chairman & CEO of L&L Holding Company, LLC, a privately owned real estate investment and development company. Approximately 3 million square feet of the L&L portfolio is either a designated landmark or located within a historic district. Named one of the 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate by the New York Observer, Mr. Levinson served twelve years on the Board of Trustees of the Allen Stevenson School, is a current Board Member of FRIENDS, and a long-time resident of the Upper East Side.

For tickets and further information, please contact us at 212-535-2526 or info@friends-ues.org. We hope to see you there!

Photo: 200 Fifth Avenue, an award-winning L & L Holding project.

FRIENDS will be giving testimony on the following LPC Agenda items on Tuesday, June 22, 2010.

768-770 Fifth Avenue – Individual and Interior Landmark – NO ACTION
A French Renaissance style hotel (the Plaza) designed by Henry J. Hardenberg and built in 1905-07, with an addition designed by Warren and Wetmore and built in 1921. Application is to alter stairs and replace railings.

211 East 61st Street – Treadwell Farms Historic District – LAID OVER
A rowhouse built in 1875, and altered in the English Regency style, between 1940 and 1966. Application is to alter the primary façade.

21 East 66th Street – Upper East Side Historic District – LAID OVER
A neo-Gothic style apartment building designed by Fred F. French Company and built in 1921. Application is to construct a rooftop addition.

1 East 70th Street – Henry Clay & Adelaide Childs Frick House- Individual Landmark-Upper East Side Historic District – APPROVED
A French Louis XVI style mansion designed by Carrere & Hastings, built in 1913-14 and altered by John Russell Pope in 1931-35. Application is to enclose a loggia.

1056 Fifth Avenue – Carnegie Hill Historic District – APPROVED IN PART
A modern style apartment building designed by George F. Pelham and built in 1948. Application is to enclose a terrace.

Public hearings are held in the Conference Room at the Municipal Building, 1 Centre Street, 9th Floor, Borough of Manhattan. Any person requiring reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the hearing or attend the meeting should call or write to the Landmarks Commission no later than five business days before the hearing or meeting. Hearing times are announced on the LPC website, the Friday prior to a hearing.

There was a fabulous turnout last night at the Historic District Council’s Grassroots Preservation Awards and Party.  The event took place in the stunning garden at  St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery.  FRIENDS was honored for our extensive work to have the Upper East Side Historic District expanded.  This 10 year effort to protect portions of Lexington Avenue, one of New York City’s “last great main streets”, culminated with a victorious designation by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on March 23, 2010. 

Fellow awardees included: Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, The Alice and Agate Courts Historic District, The Coalition to Save West-Park Presbyterian Church, Council Member Rosie Mendez, Nicholas Hirshon-a reporter with the New York Daily News, John Antonides- the proud owner of one the few remaining Dutch farmhouses in Brooklyn, and Joyce Mendelsohn, a preservation leader in youth education.  Congratulations to all and thanks to HDC for a wonderful evening in the garden.

They say when you do something well, you make it look easy. Although it seems an obvious designation today, the original Upper East Side Historic District was incredibly hard fought. In Landmarks45, a blog celebrating the 45th anniversary of the landmarks law, Tony Wood reminds us of this, and thus encourages future efforts. “As today’s preservationists contemplate equally daunting preservation challenges, they should keep in mind this lesson from the Upper East Side. Today’s preservation impossibility will appear to future generations as a preservation inevitability.”

And so the Upper East Side Historic District Extension along Lexington Avenue will also be a lesson. One day it will be taken for granted, though we could never forget all the hard work our FRIENDS (members, neighbors, politicians, business owners) have done. The question is, what will be our next seemingly formidable task?

To read the rest of “The Upper East Side Historic District: The Impossible Becomes the Inevitable,” click here: http://www.landmarks45.org/archives/117.

On Saturday May 15th, FRIENDS hosted a walking tour in Yorkville that explored public and private space.  We lucked out with a beautiful sunny morning and a great crowd.  Armed with historic photographs and floorplans, architect and designer Katherine Schiavone led the way as the group heard the history of John Jay and Carl Shurz Parks, and gazed at the beautiful facades of  Cherokee Apartments, City and Suburban Homes, and Gracie Mansion.  If you missed this fabulous walk, we hope to offer many more opportunities to explore the neighborhood this fall!