May 14, 2011 | by Elizabeth Rohn Jeffe, Vice-Chair
Article from the Spring 2011 Newsletter

NYPAP’s mission to save the stories of New York’s varied preservation struggles is ongoing, and we need your help. If you are aware of any current or completed preservation campaigns whose papers, photographs, or other materials do not have a designated archival home, please let us know. Victorious or not, preservation stories need to be saved for their inherent value and as templates for future action. Much can be learned from dashed hopes as well as from realized ones.

By way of example, two stories currently in the news might well provide meaningful archival records. One is the effort to save Forest Hills Stadium in Queens from demolition and subsequent new development. Another is the debate over the LPC’s possible protective designation of 790 more buildings on the Upper West Side within seven existing historic districts, a consideration that has generated heated resistance from the Real Estate Board of New York. If you are involved in these issues, or if you know of some other preservation battle that is underway, please let us know.

Because small and/or local preservation efforts do not always receive significant press coverage and may not be widely known even within preservation circles, it is especially critical that NYPAP be aware of possible archival resources through the help of interested individuals. We stand ready to help you identify preservation archives and find a proper home for them. Please remember that NYPAP’s work doesn’t just occur naturally in the course of events – we need as many eyes and ears as possible in the field to keep us alerted! Email mcoody@nypap.org or call 212-988-8379 with any leads.