Historic Preservation Funds Available

Rego-Forest Preservation Council received an e-mail from the NY Landmarks Conservancy, and we consider this a must-read for property owners in need of funding for their historic properties, and for community preservation advocates:

As you may know, the New York Landmarks Conservancy is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and reusing architecturally and historically important buildings in New York City. Much of the Conservancy’s work takes place in low and moderate income neighborhoods, demonstrating over and over again the positive effect of historic preservation on community development and revitalization. Through its Neighborhood Preservation Programs, the Conservancy has provided millions of dollars in grants and low-interest loans, as well as countless hours of project management and technical assistance, to owners of all types of buildings.

There are funds available in our Neighborhood Preservation Programs to help finance exterior (and interior structural) capital work and related costs on older buildings. The properties need not be designated landmark buildings in all cases, as the funding programs have different guidelines. All of the programs are accompanied by project management assistance to foster landmark quality work and facilitate public approval processes. The Neighborhood Preservation Programs are:

1. Historic Properties Fund – A revolving loan fund for any type of property or owner. Low interest, collateralized loans for preservation work on buildings that are officially landmarks, within historic districts, or eligible for listing in the State or National Register of Historic Places. (Conservancy staff can help you to obtain this determination from the State Historic Preservation Office; it involves little further public regulation or compliance cost.) Loans range from $20,000 to approximately $300,000 per project.

2. City Ventures Fund – A grant program for nonprofit owners/developers of properties that serve lower income people. Although there is a priority for projects that provide affordable and special needs housing, properties that provide services to lower income people, such as employment training, socials services, and other educational purposes, are also eligible for funding. Capital grants of up to $30,000 are available for preservation work on older buildings that generally do not have any landmark status but have good architectural quality and integrity; consulting grants of up to $10,000 are available for professional services.

3. Emergency Preservation Grants – Capitalized by The New York Community Trust, a grant program for nonprofit owners of historic properties for emergency repair work. Grants of up to $25,000 are available for immediate work that addresses public safety, water penetration, or other issues that threaten the preservation of the property.

In addition to the Neighborhood Preservation Programs, the Conservancy also provides city and statewide matching grants specifically for houses of worship (Sacred Sites Fund). Visit our website at http://www.nylandmarks.org/ for more information about our programs. Please call me or any of the people listed below to see if your project may be eligible for one of our programs.

Thank you,

- Karen Ansis
Fund Manager, New York Landmarks Conservancy
karenansis@nylandmarks.org

One Whitehall Street, 21st Floor
New York, New York 10004
http://www.nylandmarks.org/
Tel: (212) 995-5260 Tel
Fax: (212) 995-5268 Fax

Program Coordinators:

Ashley Hahn: ashleyhahn@nylandmarks.org
Jim Mahoney: jamesmahoney@nylandmarks.org

Fundraiser To Save RKO Keith's Flushing Theatre, Fri, March 19 at 8 PM

This is a preservation cause that calls for citywide and nationwide support! Please attend the comedy fundraiser to save the historic RKO Keith's Flushing Theatre, an endangered highly significant gem designed by America's foremost theater architect, Thomas Lamb in Flushing. This theater holds a special place in the hearts of many, but has been victimized for over 2 decades.

Fundraiser Details

- Friday, March 19th at 8 PM at Fuzzy's Wolfrose, 239-21 Braddock Avenue, Bellerose, NY. Please hurry, since tickets are selling out fast!
- Besides an evening of comedy, it will also feature a silent auction, music & dancing!
- If you cannot attend, you can still donate.

For the most up to date campaign information, history, photos, and contact information, please visit and bookmark:

1. http://www.savethekeiths.com/

2. Facebook Group for Friends of RKO Keith's Flushing Theatre: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=1450792045#!/group.php?gid=60984938277
(Join the 2,860 members...& growing!)

3. Petition: http://new.petitiononline.com/rkokeith/petition.html

Please attend and contribute to a noble movement in the history of our diverse borough and city, and help spread the word to your colleagues and friends. With creativity and dedication, nothing is impossible to achieve. Power to the people! If you would like to volunteer or have questions, please contact Chair Ed Tracey: ejtracey3@gmail.com

You're Invited: Newtown & Its Newtown Pippin Apple, Feb 21, 2010

All are invited to a slideshow and presentations by 4 historical organizations on Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 12:30 PM at the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown, Queens Blvd & 54th Ave, Elmhurst. Newtown Township stretched from the East River to the Flushing River, and once included Maspeth, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Middle Village, Glendale, Ridgewood, Forest Hills, Rego Park, Woodside, Jackson Heights and Corona. Rego-Forest Preservation Council proudly endorses...


OLD NEWTOWN AND ITS NEWTOWN PIPPIN APPLES


* Learn about the history of old Newtown
* Re-Discover its famous 1700s export, Newtown Pippin Apples.
* Become a supporter of the efforts to bring back the long vanished apple trees to this area.

According to the Newtown Historical Society, the First Presbyterian Church of Newtown was the site of a planting in 2002, which brought the apple back to its area of origin for the first time since the early 19th century (http://www.greenforqueens.org/). The presentation will explain the history of the apple in Queens and the new replanting project that has been underway for the past year. The 2009 City Council resolution calling for recognition of the Newtown Pippin as the official apple of the City of New York will also be discussed and samples of the apples will be available for tasting.

Presenters:

President Christina Wilkinson, Newtown Historical Society, http://www.newtownhistorical.org/
Co-Founder Erik Baard, Newtown Pippin Project, http://www.newtownpippin.org/
Vice President Bob Singleton, Greater Astoria Historical Society, http://www.astorialic.org/
Historian Marjorie Melikian, First Presbyterian Church of Newtown, http://www.fpcn.org/

Agenda:

Church service, 10:45 AM - 12:00 PM, Sanctuary
Refreshments, 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM, Gym
Slideshow & Lecture, 12:30 PM, Sanctuary

For more information, please call the Newtown Historical Society at (718) 366-3715, e-mail newtownhistory@gmail.com or call the Newtown Pippin Project at (917) 697-9221.

First Presbyterian Church of Newtown photo by Chair Michael Perlman, Rego-Forest Preservation Council

Remsen Cemetery: A Forest Hills/Rego Park Landmark!

Kudos to Historian Ron Marzlock, contributing writer to the Queens Chronicle and the Rego-Forest Preservation Council blog for covering an earliest extant landmark of the Forest Hills/Rego Park vicinity, known as Remsen Cemetery, which extensively predates Forest Hills and Rego Park, and is an undiscovered enclave for some. It is located at Alderton St & Trotting Course Lane, adjoining 69-43 Trotting Course Lane. Remsen Cemetery was officially designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission on May 26, 1981, after perserverance by Historian Jeff Gottlieb and local advocates, and the designation report is as follows: http://www.remsenpark.com/RemsenParkLandmarkReport.pdf  It is one of 2 official local landmarks, considering the other is the Ridgewood Savings Bank, designated on May 30, 2000 (which will be a future blog posting).

This is the Remsen Cemetery photoset by Chair Michael Perlman of Rego-Forest Preservation Council: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/sets/72157622952179919/

Remsen Cemetery and Alderton St, 1950

Now onto Ron Marzlock's historic research, published in his I Have Often Walked column in the Queens Chronicle on Feb 11, 2010.....

With the rapid growth of Queens County in the 1920s, old farms that had been in families for generations were falling one by one. Growing crops was no longer profitable with the sudden rise in real property taxes, and farmers were forced to sell their land.


Many Queens County families had opted to be buried on their own private land. As the years went on public disregard and disinterest allowed many of those cemeteries to be bought up by developers.

But the Queens Borough President’s Office recognized that history was vanishing before our eyes and commissioned the borough’s chief engineer, a Mr. Powell, to study the private cemeteries. He found in 1932 that there were still 22 private family graveyards in Queens. The oldest legible tombstone was dated to 1718. The beep’s office published a book based on the survey.

As Queens entered the second part of the 20th century preservationists discovered that one of the sites spared by developers was Remsen Cemetery, located in a 2.5-acre triangle bounded by Alderton Street, Trotting Course Lane and Metropolitan Avenue. It’s still there today.

In the 1932 survey the propertywas called Hopedale. Due to changes in postal zones it is technically located today in Rego Park, not Forest Hills as it sometimes is referred to.

It’s no secret that during the American Revolution Queens County was “Tory,” backing the British. But the cemetery’s namesake, Colonel Jeromus Remsen, was a true American patriot and hero at the Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn.

Thanks to the Remsen Park Coalition, the cemetery was assigned to the Department of Parks and Recreation in 2003. In 2008 the department agreed to buy the abutting land, owned by The American Legion, for $50,000 to help complete the plan to make the Remsen site a park.
 

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/

Vanishing City: Alarming, But In Your Backyard!

Hats off to the production team of Vanishing City, a film which highlights dominant neighborhood controversies citywide, "told through the eyes of tenants, city planners, business owners, scholars, and politicians. We are facing alarming issues, which will only intensify if we don't develop a voice in our city's future:

1. Overdevelopment
2. Loss of our historic resources, which give our neighborhoods a culture & aesthetic beauty
3. The growing elimination of the middle class
4. Eminent domain abuse
5. Loss of small businesses

ALARMING?!?!

What made our city distinctive and unique for decades is disappearing, but it is still not too late for you to have a voice. To learn more about their mission, visit http://www.vanishingny.org/  and see the trailer. If you agree with the premise of the film, you can make a tax deductible donation. Their e-mail is vanishingny@gmail.com

Ridgewood Theatre Facade Earns Individual Landmark Status on 1/12/10 & The Broader Picture

The Individually Landmarked 1916 Ridgewood Theatre!

The broader picture by Michael Perlman, Chairman of Friends of The Ridgewood Theatre, in affiliation with Rego-Forest Preservation Council....

After attending the Landmarks Preservation Commission 1/12/10 Public Meeting, I am elated to report that the historic Ridgewood Theatre was unanimously voted by commissioners as an Individual Landmark! A nearly 2-year effort under Friends of The Ridgewood Theatre as Chairman (since March 2008), in affiliation with various preservation and cultural groups, members of Cinema Treasures, elected officials, and a mass audience, truly paid off! I extend my thanks to the broad coalition of supporters, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission for doing the right thing on behalf of the people.

The LPC Commissioners vote on the Ridgewood Theatre facade
in the public hearing room

The Ridgewood Theatre landmarking cause can be perceived as a case study, from the theater's sudden closure to the hearing and public meeting, through the theater's future. It represents a new and intriguing 21st century chapter in the theater's extensive, varied, and distinctive history dating back to 1916, considering that it was deemed the "longest continuosuly operating first-run theater countrywide" upon its closure." It emphasizes the ideal of progress for an "ultimate public institution," and exemplifies how the public can work cohesively and effectively with each other, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Landmarks Preservation Commission's Chair Robert Tierney expresses his pride in a "Queens" site!

Hopefully, the Ridgewood Theatre's Individual Landmark status will set off a chain reaction of more Individual Landmarks and Historic Districts in Queens, stemming from our advocacy and the LPC's calendaring of properties for a public hearing (most democratic when it results from the consensus of the majority of citywide citizens). Many dormant preservationists emerged from the woodwork, and established bonds. In the coming months, many more Queens properties will be proposed for landmarking.

Ridgewood Theatre's Ornate Lobby

Although the Ridgewood Theatre facade is now safeguarded as an Individual Landmark, it is also highly significant for Interior Landmark status to be extended to Architect Thomas Lamb's mostly intact theater lobby. Lisi DeBourbon of the Landmarks Preservation Commission said the LPC cannot consider that at this time, since interior spaces must be customarily open to the public upon review. However, Friends of The Ridgewood Theatre in affiliation with Rego-Forest Preservation Council, hopes the owners will respect and restore the mostly intact theater lobby, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission will consider extending designation in the near future. We must also make sure that the Ridgewood Theatre remains in a good state of preservation in the long-term. It is essential to continue to be proactive, and have a voice in city government.

Cameos with angelic muses in theater lobby

How You Can Further Help:

Please visit, take action, and forward these links to your friends and colleagues:

1. Join Friends of The Ridgewood Theatre MySpace Page:
www.myspace.com/ridgewoodtheatre

2. Sign & comment on Ridgewood Theatre Petition requesting Individual Landmark status (granted) and also requests Interior Landmark status (comment on Architect Thomas Lamb's theater lobby): http://www.petitiononline.com/RTheatre/petition.html

 3. Visit the Friends of The Ridgewood Theatre Flickr Photoset: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/sets/72157606443928732/

Friends of The Ridgewood Theatre hopes to further assist the owners preservation-wise and for its reopening, so patrons can take a front seat!

January 11th posting containing press release: http://regoforestpreservation.blogspot.com/2010/01/please-attendcover-jan-12th-historic.html