Petition: LANDMARK Queens Clock Tower, Bank of The Manhattan Company!

The iconic Clock Tower of Queens may be demolished, but must earn NYC Individual Landmark status. It takes moments to sign the petition & inform your friends: www.change.org/p/help-us-landmark-the-long-island-city-clock-tower  Calendaring, a public hearing, & designation by the Landmarks Preservation Commission must occur ASAP, so please emphasize that in the petition's comments section. The clock is ticking! 

 Photo by Clemens Kois

In addition to Landmark status, we believe this iconic building merits restoration and creative reuse, as Queens Plaza undergoes redevelopment. The building was sold twice in 2014, & the commercial tenants received notification to vacate.  Thankfully, local residents and architects Michael Hall & Matthew Chrislip of +Partners are spearheading a noble preservation campaign: http://pluspartners.org/licclocktower

Photo by Michael Perlman

Statement from Rego-Forest Preservation Council to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

The Bank of The Manhattan Company, also known as the Clock Tower, is one of Queens' most iconic and deserving landmarks at 29-27 41st Avenue (Queens Plaza North), designed in a Neo-Gothic meets Art Deco style. On October 25, 1925, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle published, "A 4-way clock tower will rise from the 11th floor and will be a landmark easily seen from all points of Queens, as well as from Manhattan." In 1928, The NY Times reported that the Queens Chamber of Commerce recognized the Bank of The Manhattan Company tower with a first prize award for its architectural and civic value. Upon the building's completion in 1927, it was noted as a skyscraper in Queens, being that it was the tallest, and was deemed a symbol of growth and integrity. That same year, an ad by The Electime Company regarded it as “A Tower of Truth.”

This early skyscraper is a unique and striking landmark, with its castle-like parapet, crests, gargoyles, intriguing variation of limestone and brick, illuminated electron clock, and cartouches inscribed with “BM,” which relate to the bank’s name and commitment. Architect Morrell Smith, who was the Bank of The Manhattan Company’s principal architect for various projects, was a visionary. 

Without official landmark status by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, what is popularly referred to as the clock tower will stop ticking forever, and a historic site will be demolished. May this triumphant building stand proudly for future generations. With a new Chairperson of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, Meenakshi Srinivasan, the time has come for transparency at the public’s request, and an increase in the pace of Individual Landmark and Historic District designations in Queens.

Historic Documentation

Queensborough, 1927, Courtesy of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Lithograph courtesy of Michael Perlman's collection

Queensborough, 1928, Courtesy of the Queens Chamber of Commerce 

Queensborough, 1927, Courtesy of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Queensborough, 1927, Courtesy of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Queensborough, 1927, Courtesy of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Queensborough, 1927, Courtesy of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Queensborough, 1938, Courtesy of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

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/