Highs and lows this week

Such good news this week about St. Brigid's.




Meanwhile, this is what's left of the Tower of Toys as of Friday afternoon around 4.

"A handful of its buildings may seem grimly picturesque, but for the most part this is unappealing New York"

That's Simon Jenkins writing in today's Guardian UK.

It's a reaction to the National Trust for Historic Preservation naming the LES in its 2008 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

Here's an excerpt from his column:

A new facet of globalisation is well-meaning organisations roaming the planet listing things as threatened or on the brink of extinction. They may be a beetle, a rainforest, a Buddhist temple or, it so appears, the spirits of a city's past. Two years ago the Indiana Joneses of Unesco fought their way up the Thames to be appalled by the Tower of London. They found its setting blighted - as if overnight - by ugly office blocks, qualifying it for the "world heritage in danger" schedule. Liverpool waterfront received a similar finger-wagging.

The Tower of London is one thing, the Lower East Side another. I have been a "poverty tourist" in many awful places and felt the mix of guilt, shame and astonishment at such human resilience. But it never occurred to me to want to "save" the street camps of Calcutta, the shanties of Bogota or the inhabited concrete ruins of modern Baghdad.

The Lower East Side is not in this league, but the principle is similar. A handful of its buildings may seem grimly picturesque, but for the most part this is unappealing New York, an environment of drab tenements, public housing and vacant lots, where only the lifestyle of the fleeing minorities infuses the streets with some visual interest. The concept of "endangered" here applies to an idea, that of a cultural and social fabric, and one that is inevitably transient.

Yet the appeal of that fabric to local residents and to New Yorkers in general is undeniable. This may be a New York churning with "comers and goers", but both residents and those new to the area seem to agree on one thing: they want something of its character preserved. Conservation has matured from saving buildings to seeing them as a proxy for communities, cultures and a sense of physical identity. It is reflected in the British yearning to "save rural communities" by subsiding houses and preventing sales to newcomers, the so-called "yokel in a smock" syndrome.

Dumpster of the Day

10th Steet between Avenue A and First Avenue.

I had this dream in which I woke up and every corner in the city was now a condo, bank and Duane Reade

Then I woke up for real and.....AHHHHHHHHHH!

The Brooklyn Bridge really overdid it last night during its 125th birthday

Can't even call this a hangover. Still, what a blowout!

I'm really tired of suggestive advertising

What exactly does "come to your happy place" mean?



Now this is just too much!

Hmm, feel like seeing a movie at my neighborhood theater -- what shall I see?

"Just because a building is old does not mean that it is historically significant"

That's Mitchell L. Moss, professor of urban policy and planning at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service, in an op-ed in today's Post titled Death by 'Preservation.'

It's a reaction to the National Trust for Historic Preservation naming the LES in its 2008 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

An excerpt from Moss' op-ed:

New York City's Landmark Preservation Commission is focusing on the need to save important buildings in the area rather than to create a massive historic district that would limit new housing and development. Just because a building is old does not mean that it is historically significant. Landmark designation shouldn't be abused to achieve other political and social goals.

The Lower East Side is flourishing; the New Museum just opened on the Bowery and is the catalyst for the transformation of what was once the city's Skid Row. The Yiddish that once was spoken on Grand Street has been replaced by Cantonese and Mandarin.

If New York City is to accommodate the population growth projected over the next quarter century, neighborhood change is inevitable. This is not a city that stands still. It is always evolving.

We should be wary of strangers from Washington bringing their recipes for preservation; let New York be New York.

Days of Heaven? 7th Heaven? Little bit of heaven? Heaven sent?

Pennies from heaven? I think $20 million deserves better than "Pennies." Still, at least they didn't play up the "American Idol" winner any bigger on Page 1.

Here's the St. Brigid's piece from the Daily News.

And check out some of the reader comments:

Mrelvispelvis May 22, 2008 8:18:35 AM take that 20 Mil...divide it by 6K and think about how many PEOPLE you could feed for a year? far better idea than saving a building that is a sanctuary for child molesters and rapists !

sbtfaith@aol.com May 22, 2008 7:35:44 AM This is a miracle in the East Village and the school being saved is equally important. This church is stunningly beautiful and historically significant and for it to be torn down for some mirrored sky piercing condo or hotel that reflect history destroyed and a community no longer welcome. It would be terrible to have a Red Square with Lenin on top which looks like an NYU dorm with balconies replace the church or the old ps 64 building. The Red Square is co-owend by Mike Rosen and I had no idea he might have 20 mill to donate but I do believe him when he states he didn't donate it. I don't know who in the East Village has 20 million to spare. Mike Rosen lives in the Crista Dora and I am told that this building is the symbol of gentrification, the first and that it owes the community a community facility because of it's history as a building for the people. Ed Torres authentically sums up this miracle and it is a win for the East Village which looks more and more like a bad xerox

maribel May 22, 2008 7:01:43 AM church have a lot of values,but 20 million can be use for africa, haiti where the poor are dieying no food, that's what the bible said take care of the poor,children,widows

potobac May 21, 2008 10:30:27 PM How is one a scrooge when he regrets money being wasted on a building instead of being spent on people who need it? There are more than enough half-empty Catholic churches in the neighborhood where all parishioners of St. Brigid's could be comfortably taken care of without throwing away the money. A mass or whatever service would have just as much value at the other church and save the money for something useful.

"They tore it down. They tore it down. They tore it down."

Indeed. That's what a man remarked (over and over) this morning as he walked by the rubble that used to be the Tower of Toys in the community garden at 6th Street and Avenue B.

As you can see, there's not much left.





Wishful thinking.



The dumpster is full.

At least someone looks to be saving some of the toys from Eddie's creation.

Meanwhile, one-plus block to the east, as icons fall...

[Updated, 11:06 a.m.: Perhaps you'd like to go visit the Toyota Children’s Learning Garden at 603 East 11th Street, via Curbed.]