Rough weather did not keep our supporters at bay for our annual Bard Birthday Breakfast Benefit, the Archive Project’s most successful benefit to date! Over 100 stalwart preservationists fought the wind and the rain to celebrate what would have been Albert Bard’s 144^th birthday. Speaker Roberta Brandes Gratz, former Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, writer, urban critic, and preservationist, read from her new book The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs. She discussed the book’s inspiration and creation, which relied heavily on her career in preservation and her personal interviews with Jane Jacobs. In her closing remarks, Gratz noted that the ramifications of New York’s transformation under Moses and Jacobs remain with us. Gratz concluded with the theory that it is impossible to reconcile these two urbanists, and that one must choose between their viewpoints. Thanks again to all those who made this Bard Breakfast such a success and for helping us meet the incredibly generous $15,000 challenge grant from the Robert A. and Elizabeth R. Jeffe Foundation.

Location:
Manhattan Penthouse
80 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
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