Results tagged “historicplaces”

Last year we visited 1520 Sedgwick Avenue's past and uncertain future. The "Birthplace of Hip Hop" was, and still is, in danger of losing its lifeblood when the landlord (BSR Management) announced they wanted to abandon the Mitchell-Lama program. Essentially buying out of the program and leaving the doors open for a rent increase. Then things got worse when BSR made it clear they would be selling the building to a real estate mogul Mark Karasick, which was set to happen next month.

In 2005, hip-hop pioneers DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel and more, lent their names and likenesses to a vintage hip-hop clothing company called Sedgwick & Cedar. The press release for the company told this story: "on August 11, 1973, DJ Kool Herc's sister Cindy Campbell decided to throw a back to school party in her building's small rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. Kool Herc introduced extended break beats, which mesmerized the jam packed crowd. Soon, he had to take the party outside and down the street to Cedar Park, drawing thousands throughout the night to see the birth of the art form." From the one building, that art form saturated the world.

The Claremont Riding Academy on West 89th St. between Columbus and Amsterdam Aves. is closing this Sunday after the weekend's riding is done. Opened in 1892, Claremont is the oldest continuously operated horse stable in the U.S. It was initially used as a livery stable, but was turned into a riding academy in the 1920s. Riding lessons are given in a small ring on the main floor, while stables occupy the basement and upper floors, which horses reach via ramps. Owner Paul Novograd said he was closing the business because pedestrian traffic was becoming too congested along Central Park's bridle trails, making it difficult to ride. Homes will be found for the roughly 45 horses that currently stable on 89th St.

Bruce Ratner’s mega-project isn’t only a catalyst for lawsuits. It’s also behind a push to create a historic district in Prospect Heights. “I think with the Atlantic Yards happening, there’s a real urgency to get it designated,” Municipal Art Society fellow Lisa Kersavage told Gothamist. “The development pressures are increasing dramatically.”

It's difficult to know quite what to say about the huge transformations on the horizon for the Far West Side. That's partly because major negotiations and plans regarding the future of Madison Square Garden, the Farley Post Office, the Javits Center, the 7-train extension, and rezoning are taking place behind closed doors. Another reason is the uneven pace at which the planning proceeds-- years of plodding speculation followed by the sudden unveiling of a proposal, and merely a few months for public review before the deal is sealed.

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: A person was hit by a train at a Penn Station subway, a barricaded perp in the Bronx and large brush fire in Staten Island
• The Village Voice has named its latest editor - Tony Ortega. Let's see how he answers questions about minority hiring!
• Who knew that the Campbell Apartment was once a signalman's office AND a closet where the transit police stored its guns?

+ Architecture Research Office's climate change-influenced entry is a finalist for the History Channel's "City of the Future" design contest (right). Flooded pockets of Manhattan are called "Inundation Zones."

Oh, super-cool! We've been hugely excited for a couple of years over the forthcoming High-Line redesign, but we totally missed covering a similar project up in Poughkeepsie. The Walkway Over the Hudson Project is poised to convert the Poughkeepsie-Highland Railroad Bridge to a pedestrian park-- can you imagine how cool it would be to have a picnic in the summer high above the river? From their site:

Kate Wood, executive director, LANDMARK WEST!