Thom Bess was born in Harlem.^1. In the 1940s, his family moved to the Longwood neighborhood of the South Bronx fleeing Harlem’s decay.^2. Thom Bess served as the Chief Court Reporter for the Criminal Courts of New York City.^3. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that he became involved in preservation when he felt something should be done to protect the deteriorating homes in the Longwood neighborhood.^4. Bess was also integral to the preservation movement in Harlem in the 1990s.^5. He founded the now disbanded organization Landmarks Harlem and was integral to the preservation of cornices in the neighborhood.^6. He remained involved in historic preservation until his death in 2019.^7.

Historic Districts Council
– Treasurer; Board Member

Longwood Historic District Community Association
– Co-Founder

Landmarks Harlem
– Founder

Thom Bess thought that something should be done with the decaying but “magnificent” housing in the Longwood neighborhood of Southwest Bronx.⁸ He went to the Community Planning Board (Bronx Community Board 2) and was told that for something to be done, the community had to get behind it first. Bess and longtime friend Marilyn Smith went out into the community; ringing every door bell and calling a series of community meetings to raise awareness.⁹ The community was interested and Bess and Smith sent a formal letter to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission requesting designation in September of 1979.¹⁰ Bess “kept the pressure up” and the Longwood Historic District was established in July of 1980.¹¹ A total of eleven people spoke in favor of the designation at its hearing and there were no speakers in opposition.¹² Bess and Smith cofounded the Longwood Historic District Community Association in 1980 to collect funding through grants and to promote education on preservation within the community.¹³ Both Bess and Smith served as co-chairs of the association which disbanded in 1995.¹⁴

Bess also took part in the fight to save Grand Central Terminal when it was threatened with demolition in 1975. Bess was involved as a citizen through the Municipal Art Society and traveled to Washington, DC with the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to show support for the Supreme Court Decision that would validate New York City’s Landmark Law and save the terminal.¹⁵

In the 1990s, Bess was essential in the effort to stop the removal of historic cornices in Harlem which were deteriorating due to neglect. In addition to lobbying for funding to support their preservation he persuaded the National Trust for Historic Preservation of their merits and the “architectural and structural integrity of the cornices and buildings of Harlem” were listed at No. 4 on the 10 Most Threatened Places List issued by the trust in 1994.¹⁶ In the early 1990s, Bess was asked by Senator David Paterson to form a preservation organization in Harlem, resulting in the establishment of Landmarks Harlem which later disbanded.¹⁷ Ultimately, Bess believed in the power of designating buildings as a means to “bring pride back into that community.”¹⁸

• Oral History with Thom Bess
• New York Preservation Archive Project
• 174 East 80th Street
• New York, NY 10075
• Tel: (212) 988-8379
• Email: info@nypap.org