Queens Tribune "Best of Queens 2010" - Historic Picks By Rego-Forest Preservation Council

The Best of Queens 2010 edition of the Queens Tribune was published for the week of Aug 26th - Sept 1st. It is a tradition that its readers anticipate, and have the privilege of playing a role. It is an annual magazine, and in culmination on your bookcase, it will speak measures about Queens when viewed in a decade. In fact, it already has, being that it features numerous sites that are an integral part of our borough; some of which has a varied and distinctive history of their own, awaiting discovery and re-discovery. We thank the Queens Tribune for their diligent work!

The cover presents the iconic Unisphere of the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows Park with soaring fountains; an attention-grabber that reads Queens all over it! The preface begins with words of inspiration, To Be The Best, at the foot of a recent work of art, the Willow Lake Preserve gate. It then reads "Queens is known for many things - its people, its foods, its schools, its attitude, and so much more. One of the highlights is the parks, which are more plentiful in our borough than anywhere else. But in asking the readers of the Queens Tribune what is the Best of Queens, you may be surprised by the answers. From the music groups to the mom and pop shops, there is something to love in every hidden corner of this great borough. So turn the page and see what your neighbors and friends have deemed the Best of Queens. You may even find yourself."

Since this is a preservation blog, we will touch upon the historic sites that deliver character, which won a place in the Queens Tribune's annual edition. Whether large or small, these physical characteristics grant our neighborhoods a sense of place, so we can take pride in calling it our own, while our neighbors can share in our pride. And here they are.....

Best of Queens Places 2010

Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, 1 Tennis Place, Forest Hills
"Its architectural significance is important to the community, and has the potential to revive our local economy. It is not a shell of the past, but a tremendous historical sight we need to share with future generations. It's an international icon that Queens is blessed to have. It's endangered, but extensively endorsed for landmarking. It is a potential 21st century family destination if sold, funded, restored, and reused." - Michael Perlman, Rego-Forest Preservation Council, Chair

Please Help Our Landmark Letter Campaign:
http://regoforestpreservation.blogspot.com/2010/07/save-forest-hills-tennis-stadium.html
Photos & memorabilia: http://bit.ly/cGFb77

The historic home to tennis, music, architectural firsts or "Wimbledon of the New World." Classics live on forever. Don't let it live on only in history texts. Landmarking, restoration, & mixed-use creative revitalization, so future generations will thank you. Aerial photo by Hamilton-Maxwell Inc, 1929

Bob Dylan at home of Summer Music Festivals, August 28, 1965. Let him have a reason to sing his classic hit, "SAVED!"

Bank of America, 99-01 Queens Blvd, Forest Hills (Metropolitan Industrial Bank, 1952)
"By famed architect Philip Birnbaum. Award-winning "International Style" facade and interior. Revolutionary - first bank to use all industrial materials, and redefined banking." - Michael Perlman

Photos & memorabilia: http://bit.ly/9cDfGY

Award-winning mid-century modern masterpiece by Architect Philip Birnbaum. When a bank was a bank!

Queensborough magazine: Recipient of 1952 Bronze Building Award during Queens Chamber of Commerce's annual building competitions, based upon its excellence in design and civic value. These competitions would encourage owners and architects to exercise their minds. This signifies how some modernistic sites can have class.

Jorissen's Millstones, Long Island City
"Endangered in cases on a construction site in Queens Plaza, LIC. Remnant of first tidal mill in Western Queens." - Michael Perlman

Photos & blog posting:
http://regoforestpreservation.blogspot.com/2010/07/jorissen-millstones-endangered-request.html


Best of Queens Food 2010

Eddie's Sweet Shop, 105-29 Metropolitan Ave, Forest Hills

"One of the last virtually intact, classic ice cream parlors citywide. One of the earliest mom & pop businesses in Queens extant." - Michael Perlman

"Premium ice cream, quality service." - Brian M. Bast, Oakdale

"Homemade ice cream with fresh made whipped cream. They keep it in a big bowl in the fridge. Plus the decor is from the 40s, I think. And they have a cute gift shop." - Elizabeth Marco, Queens

Photos: http://bit.ly/9YRXpp

All routes to Eddie's Sweet Shop, your classic soda fountain! Building by Seelig & Finkelstein, 1925

Eddie's Sweet Shop interior, known as Witt's Ice Cream in the 1940s. The decor dates to 1925 according to the Dept of Buildings, but some claim 1909. It was presumably a bakery cafe in the 1920s. The most intact example of an ice cream parlor citywide! Note its marble and wood counter, cast-iron stools, vintage fridge, ornate stenciled built-ins, clock. honeycomb mosaic floor, tin ceiling, chandeliers, original phone booth...and dates since your great-grandparents' time. Please NEVER shutter!

Best of Queens Senses 2010

Weeping Willow Trees, Flushing
"There are several near the Jewel Ave exit ramp near the L.I.E. It reminds me of my childhood in Louisiana." - Susan Margolis, Forest Hills

Best of Queens People 2010

Property Owners Who Preserve Young To Mature Trees, Evident on select Queens properties
"Trees convey life, beauty, and sustain our environment." - Michael Perlman

Kudos to MacDonald Park & Forest Hills Jewish Center for preserving their trees. Our own backyard is the "Garden of Eden." No concrete lawns here!

Jorissen Millstones Endangered: Request For Rightful Preservation & Landmarking!

Rego-Forest Preservation Council expands its horizons beyond the immediate vicinity of Rego Park and Forest Hills, and acknowledges the broad picture of what shaped historic Queens, and how Queens' early history impacts and enhances our quality of lives in modern day Queens. We proudly join our neighbors in solidarity, calling on the rightful preservation of the Jorrisen Millstones, which remains at risk in Queens Plaza, Long Island City. Action by the citizens, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and all responsible city agencies and elected officials is requested.....

The following press release is courtesy of the Greater Astoria Historical Society. Information is from James Riker’s Annals of Newtown (1852) and personal recollections of the Payntar Family. The Payntar Family, and some professional organizations including Rego-Forest Preservation Council, HDC, as well as the Queens Borough historian, have gone on record supporting GAHS efforts to preserve the millstones.

Jorrisen’s Mill, built between 1643 and 1654, was the first tidal mill in western Queens. It was powered by ditch, called Berger’s Sluice, which ran just east of Northern Boulevard between 40 Road and 48^th Street. The backbreaking work of grinding wheat and sifting flour was generally done by African–American labor.

We have a fairly clear record of ownership: Parcell, Bragaw, Polhemus, and Ryerson to the Payntar family which bought the mill in 1831. The mill and mill pond remained to 1861, when the Long Island Railroad drove tracks through the area obliterating the location. The Payntar family rescued the millstones and placed them in front of their home on Jackson Avenue some 300 feet north of Queens Plaza.

About the time when the home was torn down in 1913, the stones were transferred to the plaza in front of the Long Island Savings Bank at 41^st Avenue and Queens Plaza North. A postcard from about 1925 shows tall light fixtures with circular bases that seem to resemble the stones.

When the Queens Plaza subway station was built (about 1930) the stones were again temporarily moved, this time to a nearby flower bed. A photo in a booklet published by the Long Island Savings Bank in the 1940s shows the millstones embedded in a traffic island where they remained until late last year. The booklet shows them, at that time, to be in pristine condition.

The historical society has inspected the millstones for over 25 years and has noticed exposure to vandalism, the rigors of the elements, which is a marked deterioration in the last decade. Their centers eroded (someone dumped asphalt in them.) One was cracked. As early as 2001, we went on record with the New York Times expressing our concerns.

As part of the multimillion dollar renovation of Queens Plaza by the NY City Planning and the NYS Economic Development Corporation, the millstones are to be moved to the center of the plaza and mounted to pedestals with four pins drilled through them. Their centers are to be filled with gout. In that location they will be exposed to the vibrations of one of the most congested traffic hubs in New York (elevated, subway, and vehicular).  Their planned siting, next to a bike lane, is not safe. Deserted at night, they be will exposed to vandalism. They will be subject to road salt and weathering.

An application for designation to NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, who called them ‘decorative sidewalks,’ was rejected. They are sitting in crates with large signs designating them as ‘Historic Objects Under Study.’

Custom holds them to be the oldest surviving European artifacts in Queens! Some claim they arrived on a West Indian merchantman. The design on their face is late (perhaps early 19^th century.) The millstones are either replacements, or originals with their faces rescored.  Even if not original, they are still remnants of a 17^th century mill.

The Greater Astoria Historical Society is seeking support to temporarily house them in our museum, to retain experts to study them to determine their origin and age, and to place them on exhibit for the community until an appropriate permanent local interior space is found. The historical society, with the professional expertise to house the artifacts in a secure location, would make them available twice as many hours as an alternative proposal, a branch of the cash-strapped Queens Borough Public Library.

Please sign & comment on the petition to preserve the Jorissen Millstones, and inform your friends and family to do the same:  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/licmillstones/

For more information, contact the Greater Astoria Historical Society at (718) 278-0700 and http://www.astorialic.org

Please Help Save The Jorissen Millstones, Gems of National Significance!

Rego-Forest Preservation Council proudly endorses the Jorissen Millstones Preservation Cause. The following is courtesy of Guest Writer & Preservationist Terence Bolger (licmillstones@yahoo.com):

Colonial-era millstones have been in a sidewalk in Queens Plaza North, Long Island City for decades, but are endangered and need your help! They are known as the Jorissen millstones, which are a part of not only LIC history, but of Queens, NYC, NYS, and even National history. They are from one of the oldest mills in the area (possibly the oldest in Queens) - and the mills actually were the first economic engine of the state. As Bob Singleton of the Greater Astoria Historical Society points out, the barrels depicted on the NYS flag are flour barrels representing mill production. This was one of the earliest types of commerce to bring wealth to the colony.

Now as a reconstruction project takes shape, the Jorissen millstones are being stored on the construction site. In this photo, the millstone that was set in the eastern end of the median above, is said to be stored in a crate. We would like to have them temporarily moved (for their own safety and for the public good) to an exhibit space graciously offered by the Greater Astoria Historical Society. Some community leaders have expressed concern that we are trying to take the stones away from the community permanently. They are city property, and would be returned to Queens Plaza as soon as their pedestals are ready. We only wish to borrow them for study by experts, and for exhibit to the public for the approximately 2 years the construction is expected to last. No other institution is interested in doing so. Please see our dedicated blog to learn more and to sign the petition: http://licmillstones.wordpress.com/

Also of great importance is to have the Jorissen Millstones designated as official NYC Landmarks, as they merit preservation for future generations through the Landmarks Law.

Please sign the following Petition to Protect The Jorissen Millstones, and inform as many friends and colleagues as possible. Time is of the essence!

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/licmillstones/