August 24, 2010
Honorable Robert Tierney, Chairman
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
1 Centre Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Dear Chairman Tierney:
The Lower East Side Preservation Initiative – LESPI – is writing to strongly support designation of 135 Bowery as a New York City Individual Landmark. We applaud LPC’s calendaring of this property, as well as your recent efforts to save the remaining Federal style buildings in lower Manhattan.
135 Bowery is a striking and relatively intact example of the Federal style architecture that dominated the city during its post Revolutionary War period, when New York was on the verge of the intensive growth that would bring it to prominent status on the world stage. The rare surviving examples of this architecture – including 135 Bowery – serve to remind and educate today’s and future New Yorkers of the small scale and simple yet elegant architecture that once dominated Manhattan. These buildings deserve protection from demolition and insensitive alteration.
LESPI is an organization dedicated to preserving the architectural, historical and cultural heritage of Manhattan’s East Village / Lower East Side. With historic resources falling prey to demolition and defacement on an almost daily basis, we believe that the LPC must act now to save the historically intact areas of these locally and nationally important neighborhoods for current and future generations.
We urge the LPC to vote to give 135 Bowery full landmark protection as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Richard Moses
Steering Committee Member
LESPI Steering Committee:
Britton Baine
Katy McNabb
Richard Moses
Carolyn Ratcliffe
Philip Van Aver
