amNewYork Digs Preservation

Although we haven't heard the old "urban jungle" metaphor applied to New York lately, preservationists continue to churn out new lists of "endangered" architectural species. The newest, Ten to Save: Endangered NYC comes from an editor at amNewYork, Rolando Pujol. It is derived in part from the New York Landmark Conservancy's Endangered Buildings Online, which was unveiled last summer July.

The driving concept behind the new list sounds by now quite familiar: "The soaring real estate market has placed significant parts of New York's urban heritage at risk. Many of those threatened buildings define neighborhoods -- churches, old corner drug stores and pubs, prominent corner buildings simply sitting on all-too-valuable land, crumbling 19th-century masterpieces just waiting for a rescue plan." What distinguishes Pujol's selection is the sprawling mixture of traditional and modern design, from the ruins of a smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island to neon pub signs on the Upper West Side to the once-awe-inspiring Graving Dock in Red Hook. Even the more modern structures are included.

The editors invite readers to submit their own photos and links.
More: - Municipal Art Society 30 Under 30: The Watch List of Future Landmarks
- Staten Island's Most Endangered Buildings. Almost a landmarked website (last updated 2001). Weirdly, many of the buildings on the "endangered" list have already been designated NYC Landmarks. Perhaps safety from the poachers doesn't guarantee survival.

Top photograph of the smallpox hospital on Roosevelt Island by Bluejake; middle photograph of the Jamaica Savings Bank in Elmhurst by Kevin Walsh/Forgotten NY