THE HISTORIC ROW HOUSES ARE DEMOLISHED;
NOW A PILE OF RUBBLE AND BROKEN TREES.
(Photos taken July 5th, 2024)
The view of the demolition site seen from the front steps of 648 W. 158th St.
The rear view of the demolition site as seen from the alleyway. 648 W. 158th St. is not part of the new proposed building and remains standing on the left.
The rear view of the demolition site shows the now exposed wall of 634 W. 158th St.
Typical traffic on West 158th Street going past the alleyway and future building site.
The view of the demolition site seen through the keyhole of what was once 638 W. 158th St. showing the retaining wall of 779 Riverside Drive.
An unexplained hose extends above West 158th Street to the demolition site.
Attend an in-person discussion
with Manhattan Borough President MARK LEVINE & NYC Council Member SHAUN ABREU about the PLANNED DEMOLITION of HISTORIC ROW HOUSES on WEST 158th STREET & the proposed CONSTRUCTION of a 17-STORY LUXURY BUILDING
in their place.
Thursday, April 25th, 6:OO pm 431 West 125th Street
New York, NY 1OO27
PLEASE RSVP to: dubnaueu@njms.rutgers.edu or vducat@gmail.com so that you can be contacted in case the meeting is rescheduled.
It's My Park Day
Saturday
October 21, 2023
10am to 1pm in Riverside Oval
Riverside Drive at West 156th Street
Join your neighbors.
Make new friends.
Learn about plants.
Families welcome.
Clean. Mulch. Water. Plant.
Gloves and tools provided.
Refreshments served.
URRA GREETING CARDS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AT:
65 Jumel Terrace
The Morris-Jumel Mansion is located in Upper Manhattan at 65 Jumel Terrace, a short block which extends from West 160th & West 162nd Streets.
It is one block east of St. Nicholas Avenue and one block west of Edgecombe Avenue.
Please note that West 161st Street does not extend this far west, but Sylvan Terrace can be entered via a stairway on St. Nicholas Avenue that leads to the entrance.
There are 4 cards with envelopes per package.
The card depicts the much loved 1937 photograph taken by Berenice Abbott of 857 Riverside Drive, a house built by a member of the Underground Railroad and the only surviving structure of a little-known abolitionist community in Washington Heights.
built: 1851 | photographed: 1937 by BERENICE ABBOTT
The New York Public Library Digital Collections
There are 4 cards with envelopes per package.
The card depicts the much loved 1937 photograph taken by Berenice Abbott of 857 Riverside Drive, a house built by a member of the Underground Railroad and the only surviving structure of a little-known abolitionist community in Washington Heights.
built: 1851 | photographed: 1937 by BERENICE ABBOTT
The New York Public Library Digital Collections
“Harlem and the Future 2: Preserving Culture & Sustaining Historic Character in a Changing Environment” will discuss the current state of housing, neighborhood character, cultural identity, and houses of worship in a changing environment of city policies, development pressures, and displacement at the intersection of historic preservation.
Harlem One Stop and the West Harlem Community Preservation Organization, with CB9 Manhattan and community partners will host a day-long conference bringing together legislators, housing, community planning, and preservation experts to discuss available resources and tools for community empowerment and creating a sustainable and livable environment for all.
This conference targets affordable housing issues, the preservation and rehabilitation of HDFCs, co-ops and homeownership, and the importance of the creative arts as a neighborhood stabilizer and economic driver.
A breakout session on Financing Historic Preservation Properties is scheduled for those seeking answers to specific questions or guidance. To attend the break-out session, on-site sign-up is required at the first panel session. Space is limited.
Learn from experts about the potential financial resources available to property-owners to restore, rehabilitate and renovate historic buildings.
Participants will be given opportunities to discuss specific projects.
AIA credits available for conference.
Lite Breakfast and Lunch will be served.
Suggested donation $10
Seniors and Students Free. ID Required at Check-in.
Questions? email info@harlemonestop or call 212-939-9201
For more information visit www.westharlemcpo.org or www.harlemonestop.org
This day-long conference is made possible with the generous support of the West Harlem Development Corporation, Harlem Community Development Corporation, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Saving Places.
SUNDAY
FEBRUARY 26, 2023
12 NOON
THE ARCHIVES AT
ST. PHILIP'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
presents
THE ANNUAL AFRICAN AMERICAN
LECTURE SERIES
featuring author
JERRY MIKORENDA
America’s First
Freedom Rider:
Elizabeth Jennings,
Chester A. Arthur
and the Early Fight
for Civil Rights
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church
204 West 134th Street
New York, NY 10030
The Reverend Canon
Terence Alexander Lee, Rector
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2023
12 NOON
A reception will follow.
All are welcome.
Please consult church website for details about
remote participation.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Send a letter or email to
a local leader or elected official to express your concerns.
Here we provide a sample letter that you may download and personalize, or use as is, but be sure to sign your name to it.
Kindly cc us, too, at info@SaveRiverside.org
Demand New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission Expand the Audubon Park Historic District.This plan would expand the current historic district architecturally, historically, and culturally, by adding the oldest continuously-occupied wooden structure in northern Manhattan, three sets of row houses predating and anticipating rapid transit, and apartment houses representing later periods and architects than those in the currently designated area.
ARTIMUS VARIANCE APPLICATION IN INWOOD
WHAT YOU CAN DO
SEND YOUR OBJECTIONS
IN WRITING TO
THE BOARD OF STANDARDS AND APPEALS
BEFORE THEIR HEARING SCHEDULED FOR
DECEMBER 13th – 14th, 2021.
You can email your objections to submit@bsa.nyc.gov.
Your subject line should be: "Comment on BSA Item No. 2021‐41‐BZ, 22-38 Cumming St., Dec 13-14 Hearing."
Please use this template and have a look at this reference document.
The BSA will consider the specific points we provide pertaining to the application.
They will not consider broader commentary such as "the community needs more affordable housing."
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2022
12:00 pm
Dorrance Brooks Square Historic District Marker unveiling at Dorrance Brooks Square Park – St. Nicholas Avenue and West 136th Street
We invite you to follow along with
Josette Bailey at our newest page:
THE
WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE URRA
WALK WITH THE
Abolitionists of Washington Heights: 2022
A new virtual walking tour, “FERRY TO FREEDOM:
The Abolitionists of Washington Heights,” travels back to the days when this community was known for its rolling hills, grand villas and fervent anti-slavery sentiment.
An agent of the Underground Railroad (UGRR), an enterprising judge, a famed white supremacist and others come to life in a free virtual Jane’s Walk that reveals the people, places, and little-known history of uptown Manhattan.
Led by local historian Matthew Spady (author of The Neighborhood Manhattan Forgot: Audubon Park and the Families Who Shaped It) and journalist Joseph V. Amodio, the “walk” will stretch from the Hudson River (site of a sugar refinery and ferry run by a documented agent of the UGRR) to uptown’s only abolitionist church to the home at 857 Riverside Drive, the last remnant of this colony of freedom fighters still standing—and threatened today with demolition.
Along the way you’ll hear tales of other later notable residents, including New York City’s first African-American mayor, David Dinkins; popular married comedy duo Stiller & Meara; and the pioneering preservationist Reginald Pelham Bolton, whose home may also soon be bulldozed.
Sponsored by the Municipal Arts Society, Jane’s Walk NYC is an annual celebration of the life and activism of Jane Jacobs, featuring a host of virtual, socially distanced, and self-guided tours throughout the five boroughs.
This year, the festival weekend takes place May 6, 7 and 8.
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Photo credit: Yale University Art Gallery.
WHAT:
“FERRY TO FREEDOM:
The Abolitionists of Washington Heights”
newly revised virtual walking tour
WHEN:
Saturday, May 7, 2022
1:00 pm
DURATION:
About one hour
COST:
Free
TO REGISTER:
From the presidency of Save Chelsea in her former neighborhood, to the presidency of the Upper Riverside Residents Alliance/Save Riverside, native New Yorker Lesley Doyel has discovered that she’s an incurable preservationist.
Growing up during the 1950s and 1960s in the oldest house in the Chelsea Historic District, Lesley developed a deep love of history, but also witnessed the demolition of many historic structures, including the original Pennsylvania Station, in the days before the existence of the NYC Landmarks Law passed in 1965.
Upstate, Lesley is President of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society and is Co-Chair of the recently formed Historic Preservation Committee, both in Copake, NY.
Lesley is proud of her involvement in numerous preservation efforts, including the designation of Tin Pan Alley (2020), and the Hopper Gibbons House UGRR Site (2009), the later in many ways foreshadowing her current involvement in the effort to save the 1851 abolitionist house at 857 Riverside Drive.
Graduating in 1976 from NYU with a degree in art history, Lesley’s long career as a teacher actually began in Washington Heights in the Education Department of the Cloisters Museum.
Further experience as an educator included many years at Parsons School of Design as Coordinator of the Integrated Art History Curriculum, work for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Dahesh and Skyscraper Museums.
Lesley now teaches a class for kids from second to fifth grades called Hands On History at PS11 in Chelsea. In addition to exploring local neighborhood history, the class emphasizes the importance of historic preservation through landmark protections and adaptive reuse.
Since 2014, Lesley and her family have lived in the Audubon Park neighborhood of Washington Heights, N.Y.C.
Peter Nicholas (Nick) Fritsch was born in New York City.
He graduated with a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in 1979.
Nick is a representational painter, and photographer who has also been involved with video production and post-production.
For over 25 years he ran the independent world and classical music label Lyrichord Discs, at which he designed the graphics for hundreds of CD releases, advertisements, catalogs and brochures.
He is currently webmaster and board member of the Roeliff Jansen Historical Society in Copake Falls, NY.
Nora Fritsch has designed and managed the official websites for the Park Avenue Youth Theatre, Save Chelsea and the Buttonwood Foundation, and currently, the website for the organization Tin Pan Alley NYC. As a web designer she creates the look, layout, and features of the organization’s website, reflecting the organization’s brand and values. In addition to portraits, headshots and theatrical photography, Nora utilizes her photographic, video and editing skills to create content for these websites and related social media.
In 2021 she filmed and edited an hour-long documentary, Tin Pan Alley’s Black and Jewish Music Culture; From New York City to America’s Songbook, featuring noted author and historian, John T. Reddick.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jStHr3gnw8
Nora has worked as a production and administrative staff member providing technical and creative support for The Park Avenue Youth Theater.
She is a graduate of The City University of New York at Lehman College with a B.A. in Theatre.
She has a background in youth theater and has worked and volunteered as an educator for over 10 years. She was involved in the development of a local history focused curriculum called Hands On History, which is still taught at her former elementary school, PS 11 in Chelsea.
She draws from her experience as a member and later as costume assistant with CUNY’s Creative Arts Team Youth Theater (CAT), her work for the NYC City Council, and as a founding board member of the Lehman Legacy Playhouse.
We invite you to follow along with
Josette Bailey at our newest page: