Bowery Alliance of Neighbors
The Bowery Alliance of Neighbors is a grassroots organization working to protect residents, small businesses, the neighborhood and the historic character of the Bowery.
According to the Landmarks Preservation Commission:
"The 135 Bowery House is ... among the relatively rare surviving and intact Manhattan town houses of the Federal style and period and is one of only a handful still extant on the
Lower East Side and along the Bowery." The 2 -story wood-frame, brick-faced Federal style row house was constructed circa 1818 as the primary residence of John A Hardenbrook, a soap and candle manufacturer who maintained a shop in the still-extant building next door.
Despite a tremendous outpouring from community groups, cultural institutions,
residents and business leaders, on September 22 the City Council voted to strip
135 Bowery of its designation as a NYC landmark.
Still reeling from the senseless destruction of 35 Cooper Square, the Council's
decision is a stunning, cynical deathblow to our city's oldest thoroughfare.
Councilmember Rosie Mendez was the sole vote favoring the landmark status. Bravo, Rosie!
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_439/citycouncilchin.html
http://www.thelodownny.com/leslog/2011/09/44715.html#more-44715
NewYorkTimes Staving off change to the grit of the Bowery (link at top of this webpage)
One of the few times in the citys history that a landmarked building has been stripped of its
designation, the effort was led by City Councilmember Margaret Chin, the buildings owner,
First American Internation Bank, and the lobbyist firm, LoCicero and Tan, Inc.
Ironically, this comes just weeks before the Bowery expects to be designated to the
National Register of Historic Places. Located on the most well-preserved stretch of the Bowery,
across the street from the iconic Stanford White designed Bowery Savings Bank, and near five
other Federal era structures, 135 Bowery is one of the our oldest structures.
Perhaps because she herself submitted testimony favoring the landmarking at last years hearing, Councilmember Chin did not really address the merits of the Landmarks Preservation Commissions designation, nor the fact that the NYC Dept of Buildings deemed it a sound structure.
She chose instead to position the issue as a Sophies choice in which affordable office space and jobs could be created only if the building is sacrificed for the construction of a tower.
The underlying assumption here is that this is the only possible location for an office tower.
Ms. Chin has voiced concern for small businesses, so she should recognize that demolishing
135 Bowery would only embolden developers and accelerate the already rapid displacement of the
Bowerys jewelry, lighting, and restaurant supply stores. Councilmember Diana Reyna has
rightly pointed out that there is a preferential push for new businesses rather than help for existing
small businesses. Until very recently, 135 Bowery housed one of those struggling small
businesses, Spectrum Lighting.
Because Ms. Chin speaks of the post 9/11 struggles and knows that tourism is a driving
force in our recovery, she should recognize the aesthetic, historical, and architectural value
in preserving this nearly 200-year-old structure. Since the Bowery is the convergence point for
Chinatown, Little Italy, Noho, East Village, and the Lower East Side; maintaining its historic
character and resources should be obvious to all.
We encourage Councilmember Chin to work for a larger vision that would better serve the entire community. We ask her to work with First American International Bank and preservationists to find another way to preserve 135 Bowery. Her interest in establishing a Bowery Historic District
would be ill-served if she allows its most well-preserved block to be destroyed by yet another jarring
eyesore of glass and steel.
Given bank CEO Patrick Yau's prominent position as steering committee chair of the Chinatown B.I.D., the bank should also be working with the community to find a just solution.
Because Margaret has heretofore been a strong, helpful ally in the Bowery preservation effort,
we trust that she will actively work to find a solution that achieves the goals of all concerned.
We expect as much from our Council Member given the clear and overwhelming outpouring of
support to save the building by her local constituents!
Having recently lost 35 Cooper Square, the Bowery must not lose yet another of its historic
resources just as it prepares to be named to the National Register of Historic Places.
Photograpy by Stan Ries
Manhattans oldest thoroughfare, containing the citys oldest brick structure,
the Bowery is one of the few NYC streets that has national and international name recognition.
Tap dance, minstrelsy, the term Jim Crow, Yiddish theater, vaudeville, the vaudeville hook,
American musical theater, our first two great songwriters (Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin),
Mae West, Beat literature, Abstract Expressionism, and punk rock all have a seminal
connection to the Bowery.
Surely, as one of its oldest and most architecturally evocative structures,
135 Bowery deserves to retain its status as a NYC landmark.
#135 Bowery ca. early 1890sat right side of image. Bldg at left is first Bowery Savings Bank just before famous Stanford White designed structure replaced it. [Courtesy: NY Public Library]
Co-sponsors of the May 25th memorial rally included:
Historic Districts Council, Greenwich Society for Historic Preservation, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, East Village Community Coalition, Bowery Poetry Club, Bob Holman & Hettie Jones (poets), City Lore, Cooper Square Committee, East 5th Street Block Association, Friends of NoHo Architecture, Good Old Lower East Side, Lower East Side History Project, Joyce Mendelsohn (historian), Merchants House Museum, 6th & 7th Street Block Association.
Media Links:
The Local East Village / NYTimesblog: "Looking Back - 35 Cooper Square"
The Bowery Boogie coverage of the memorial event......
Near Say New York (featuring Andrew Berman, GVSHP )
Photos from the Memorial Event for #35 Cooper Square
Photo by: StephenRex Brown
Simeon Bankoff (Historic Districts Council) , David Mulkins (BAN) , Bob Holman (Bowery Poetry Club)
Photo by: GVSHP
Victor Papaof Two Bridges Neighborhood Council speaks....
Photo GVSHP
Hettie Jones, Michele Campo , Chris Mansfield and Sally Young
Richard Moses of Lower East SidePreservation Initiativespeaks.....
Photo GVSHP
City Council Member Rosie Mendez &Andrew Berman GVSHP
Photo GVSHP
Honey Millmann in period mourning for #35 Cooper Square
Photo StephenRex Brown
#35 Cooper Square Demolished
Photo EV GREIVE
Pete Hamill speaks at candlelight vigil to Save 35 Cooper Square February 22, 2011
Press Coverage - Pete Hamill at 35 Cooper Square candlelight vigil:
The Villager: Pete Hamil decries vandalism of old Cooper Sq house
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_409/hamilldecries.html#
Bowery Boogie:
http://www.boweryboogie.com/2011/02/recap-candlelight-vigil-for-35-cooper-square/
The Village Voice:
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/02/angry_villagers.php
http://gammablog.com/2011/02/23/candlelight-vigil-35-cooper-square/
EastVillage.theLocal.nytimes.com:
http://eastvillage.thelocal.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/dozens-gather-at-vigil-for-35-cooper/
The Gog Log A Photo Log of Wandering Around NYC:
http://thegoglog.blogspot.com/2011/02/candlelight-vigil-for-35-cooper-square.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_w-oxwQPR8
Link to major NYTIMES 2-19-11 article on 35 Cooper Square :
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/19/nyregion/19metjournal.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Link to major NYTIMES article on 35 Cooper Square :
Preservationists Focus on a Little Brick House, p. A-20, NYTIMES, 2-19-11.
Writea letter to Landmarks Preservation Commissionurging
the immediate landmarking of35 Cooper Square
Click here for easy-to-use sample letter
Click Here to Sign the Petition: Landmark #35 Cooper Square
Photo: Bowery Boogie
Jan 28 Press Conference/Rally tells city to Save 35 Cooper Square!
Despitethe cold, the Bowery Alliance of Neighbos, Historic Districts Council,11 other
community groups, Assemblymember Deborah Glick,Senator Tom Duane, a rep from
Senator Squadron, poet Hettie Jones, historian Joyce Mendelsohn& area
residentscame together tourge landmark designationfor the endangered
35 Cooper Square, the oldestbuilding on the Square.
This event was organized because despite a joint appeal from BAN, HDC,
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Presrvation, Lower East Side Preservation Initiative,and Council Member Rosie Mendez, Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Tierney refused to grant us evenhold a public hearing on the issue.
Participants: Historic Districts Council, Greenwich VillageSociety for Historic Preservation,
Lower East Side Preservation Initiative, Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, City Lore,
Two Bridges Neighborhood Council, East 5th Street Block Assoc., Friends of Noho,
Cooper Square Committee,East Village Community Coalition,6th & 7th Street Block Assoc.,
Bowery Poetry Club, Lower East Side History Project, Historian Joyce Mendelsohn, Poet Hettie Jones.
Special thanksto Historic Districts Council and Stuart Zamsky.
PRESS COVERAGE
NY TimesBowery BoogieEV GrieveDNA infoNYU Local
Photo: DNA info
Photo: EV Grieve
Photo: Honey Millmann
Photo: Suzanne Rozdeba
Photo: Suzanne Rozdeba
Photo: Michele B. F. Campo
Photo: Scouting NY
Photo: DNAinfo
Photo: EV Grieve
Photo: Bowery Boogie
Photo: MicheleB. F. Campo
Photo: Honey Millmann
Photo: Scouting NY
Photo: Bowery Boogie
Photo: DNAinfo
Photo: DNAinfo
Photo of Patricia Melvin's Painting: EV Grieve
Photo: Suzanne Rozdeba
Photo: Scouting NY
Photo: Honey Millmann
Photo of Cooper Square circa 1860's by : EV Grieve
Photo: The Villager
The Petition:
We, the undersigned, urge the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate 35 Cooper Square as a NYC landmark. It is one of the oldest Federal-style houses left on the Bowery, and the oldest building on Cooper Square. In addition to its architectural significance, its important historical and cultural associations range from a direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant to the building's much later habitation by Diane DiPrima, the most influential woman of the Beat Generation. This much-beloved little building has been both a significant participant and a surviving witness to New York City history for almost 200 years! Under the stipulations of the Landmarks Law, it qualifies on architectural, historical, and cultural criteria for designation as a NYC individual landmark. Losingthis house would be a significant loss to the history of theEast Village for both cultural and historical reasons.
Click Here for Petition Web Page
Photo: The Villager
The Petition:
We, the undersigned, urge the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate 35 Cooper Square as a NYC landmark. It is one of the oldest Federal-style houses left on the Bowery, and the oldest building on Cooper Square. In addition to its architectural significance, its important historical and cultural associations range from a direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant to the building's much later habitation by Diane DiPrima, the most influential woman of the Beat Generation. This much-beloved little building has been both a significant participant and a surviving witness to New York City history for almost 200 years! Under the stipulations of the Landmarks Law, it qualifies on architectural, historical, and cultural criteria for designation as a NYC individual landmark. Losingthis house would be a significant loss to the history of theEast Village for both cultural and historical reasons.
Click Here for Petition Web Page
EVENTS
Bowery Stereocard circa 1901
