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Seasons Greetings from the Preservation League of Staten Island  Happy Holidays! December 2011 PLSI NEWS    Quick Links Our Website Products Services Call: 718-980-1551 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting                 718-980-1551         end_of_the_skype_highlighting for Informaton about Membership, Volunteering or Year- End Donations! Dear Nicholas, We at the  Preservation League of Staten Island  wish you and your family a Joyous Holiday Season and a Happy New Year ! Please remember PLSI and our Preservation Work on Staten Island when contemplating a year-end, tax-deductible donation!  Any amount helps us fight to preserve what is left of our historic environment!  Thank for your generous support!   Donate with PayPal below: PayPal Donation Important Save the SI Castle Update!  Please take a look at o...

  Hi- Stop by from Noon to 3 p.m. for the Castleton Village Stroll- between Oakland and Davis Avenue- Meet Santa at Dick's Deli at 1p.m. Also, St. Mary's Episcopal Church is having their Holiday Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. I will be there with West Brighton LDC and my Wagner College students/interns. Also, 5 p.m. Free Tree Lighting Ceremony at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Holiday Party/Refreshments $10.00 Also, Unitarian Church Holiday Fair today and Sacred Heart Church, Castleton Avenue- Holiday Fair, Sunday, Dec 4th FYI: Save the SI Castle Meeting this Wednesday, December 7th at Christ Church- 7 p.m. Hope to see you there!   Angela D'Aiuto

S.R. Smith Infirmary (Staten Island Castle, endangered) It is fitting and appropriate that the ever-popular architectural style of the late nineteenth century hearkened back to the Middle Ages in Europe.  Mass production was taking hold in America and the artisan craftsmanship was slowly fading throughout the built environment.  Two British Writers and Artists helped bring about this popular architectural style:  John Ruskin and William Morris admired the individuality and the detailed styles of the Medieval artists of Europe. H.H. Richarsdon In America, Staten Island resident Henry Hobson Richardson took the lead in establishing this warm, rich old world style of architecture in many of the public buildings he designed, and in so doing, created a truly new American Style of Architecture.  Red Brick, Turreted Towers, Gothic Arches and Stained Glass Windows were just some of the components that graced the Romanesque Revival. ...

‎ " We are an impoverished society. It is a poor society indeed that can’t pay for these amenities; that has no money for anything except expressways to rush  people out of our dull and deteriorating cities. " -  Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic for the New York Times "Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldn’t afford to keep it clean. We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed." - "Farewell to Penn Station," the New York Times editorial, October 30, 1963

The idea for writing these essays about the iconography of Staten Island came to me while viewing I.N. Phelps Stokes' illustrious and voluminous  Iconography of Manhattan Island.   Phelps-Stokes was living at a time of rapid, progressive change in America, not seen since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The natural and built environment was irrevocably changed at unprecedented speeds within New York City during his lifetime.   Mr & Mrs I.N. Phelps Stokes painted by J.S. Sargent, 1897 This may have prompted him to document the iconic and historic structures that had been lost to the wrecking ball, and were in danger of succumbing to demolition.  His brother, Anson Phelps Stokes had a beautiful Mansion surrounded by specimen trees on Staten Island in New Brighton overlooking the harbor. This Gilded Age Mansion, sadly has been dismantled. Anson Phelps-Stokes Mansion, New Brighton, 1928 A sense of place and the ...

Please call  Councilwoman Rose to express your concern to shore of the Castle….Please call her office                  718-556-7370         Also, Community Affairs- Mayor’s Office- Make your complaint here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/ html/mailcau.html Contact Bill Di Blasio’s office, the  public advocate’s office requesting an investigation into both the procedures of Landmarks and Buildings Departments.  Please share your concerns regarding these issues we are pursuing….. Spending public dollars to demo instead of shoring up is not in the public interest. The lack of transparency by the part of HPD and Buildings is unacceptable, as they have yet to reveal the June 2011 report The fact that Dept of Buildings has made contradictory  statements referring to the disclosure of the report is unacceptable. The fact that Dept of Buildings is now   We are seeking engin...

March-Rally starting at the Villa- Bard Avenue/Castleton Avenue to the SI Castle at Webster Avenue/Castleton Avenue .  Be there to save another Historic Site before it is too late!!  Saturday , November 19th at 10:30 a.m. This would be a pro-active attempt to save at least something and get more attention! Landmarks and countless officials have failed us for generations, it is a systemic problem we are facing, with the pending loss of these historic buildings. We hope we can count on each of you to rally your friends, family and co-workers to attend. Anyone unable to make the walk, can gather at the Castle.  CB 1 is meeting Thursday evening to discuss the SI Castle, so we will have updates soon. Councilwoman Debi Rose is trying to meet with Buildings and HPD on Wednesday also.

Action Alert: Stop Demolition of Old Staten Island Hospital Author: Nicholas  Edit 6 NOV In an alarming turn of events, representatives from the New York City Department of Housing, Preservation and Development and the Department of Buildings will make a presentation regarding  the demolition of the old Staten Island Hospital  at 101 Castleton Ave., New Brighton.   It is important that your voice be heard in support of preserving this historic building.  Please attend the Community Board Meeting this Wednesday, November 9,  7PM at All Saints Episcopal Church, 2329 Victory Blvd., Willowbrook. Peservation League members will be in attendance.

Inappropriate cleaning and coating treatments are a major cause of damage to historic masonry buildings. While either or both treatments may be appropriate in some cases, they can be very destructive to historic masonry if they are not selected carefully. Historic masonry, as considered here, includes stone, brick, architectural terra cotta, cast stone, concrete and concrete block. It is frequently cleaned because cleaning is equated with improvement. Cleaning may sometimes be followed by the application of a water-repellent coating. However, unless these procedures are carried out under the guidance and supervision of an architectural conservator, they may result in irrevocable damage to the historic resource. The purpose of this Brief is to provide information on the variety of cleaning methods and materials that are available for use on the exterior of historic masonry buildings, and to provide guidance in selecting the most appropriate method or combination of methods. Th...