In the wake of losing last year’s fight over the preservation of 184 Kent, the Preservation League of New York has put the neighborhoods of Williamsburg and Greenpoint on its annual “7 to Save” list. “The real danger is in clear-cutting the whole neighborhood, taking it all down and putting up something new,” said Ward Dennis, spokesman of the Waterfront Preservation Alliance. “These neighborhoods have 150, 200 years of history in factories, housing and houses of worship, all of which are completely unprotected.” Don’t expect the Bloomberg administration to get behind this one–it has already made it clear that high rise development along the waterfront is a major priority. And developers who’ve already paid top dollar for some of these buildings, which include the Dutch Mustard building and the Domino Sugar factory, aren’t going to be feeling a lot of sympathy of the artsy-fartsies who care about unimportant things like preserving the City’s architectural Heritage. Anyone who wants to get involved in trying to preserve these industrial pieces of our history should contact Ward Dennis at 718-599-2245 or email him at landmarks@waterfrontalliance.org.
Industry Zone on ‘Save’ List [NY Daily News]
Industrial Heritage [Waterfront Alliance]