In 2004, the Historic Districts Council supported the Gramercy Park Block Association’s nomination of the National Arts Club to the National Trust’s endangered-places program. The surviving correspondence connects the neighborhood campaign with a broader preservation network.

The Block Association’s June 2015 newsletter identified the Block Association as a co-sponsor of HDC’s Grassroots Preservation Party. The notice described an occasion to recognize contributors to preservation in New York.

2015

Supporting Jack Taylor’s landmark campaign

In its August 18, 2015 newsletter, the Block Association also reported supporting preservationist Jack Taylor’s efforts to landmark nearby buildings. The identified properties were 136 East 16th Street, 129 East 17th Street and 141 East 17th Street, within Community Board 6.

The newsletter linked an illustrated architectural-history brochure. These records establish the Block Association’s support for the campaign and identify the buildings. This was a related local advocacy effort, not a project attributed to HDC by the source.

In March 2017, the Block Association described itself as an HDC neighborhood partner. A photograph showed Arlene Harrison with Executive Director Simeon Bankoff at the Six to Celebrate launch party in Calvary Church’s parish hall. The relationship joined public programs, local institutions and advocacy for historic neighborhoods.

136 East 16th Street, illustrated in the historic-building brochure circulated with the Block Association’s preservation coverage.
136 East 16th Street, illustrated in the historic-building brochure circulated with the Block Association’s preservation coverage.
129 East 17th Street, illustrated in the historic-building brochure circulated with the Block Association’s preservation coverage.
129 East 17th Street, illustrated in the historic-building brochure circulated with the Block Association’s preservation coverage.
141 East 17th Street, illustrated in the historic-building brochure circulated with the Block Association’s preservation coverage; the brochure relates its connection to the origins of Time magazine.
141 East 17th Street, illustrated in the historic-building brochure circulated with the Block Association’s preservation coverage; the brochure relates its connection to the origins of Time magazine.

The neighborhood archive

Sources

Sources include the Block Association’s August 18, 2015 newsletter and the architectural-history brochure.