State Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell will be recognized tonight for his work in trying to obtain historic district status for Morningside Heights.
In 1996, O’Donnell was one of the founding members of the Morningside Heights Historic District Committee, which is giving the award. As an elected official representing Morningside Heights and part of the Upper West Side, he has supported the efforts of the group in advocating for historic status for the neighborhood.
“Without him making this a priority of his work as an Assembly member, the committee wouldn’t be here today,” MHHDC President Laura Friedman said. The MHHDC’s first awardee, O’Donnell “has the vision and sensibility of a preservationist,” Friedman said.
According to O’Donnell, the committee lost its focus after MHHDC founder Carolyn Kent, whom Friedman described as “the driving force of the movement,” died several years ago.
“A lot of the people involved in the original effort moved on to different landmarking issues, not necessarily specifically on the historic district,” he said.
“Danny stepped into the void,” Friedman said. “He used the good graces of his office to make sure that the issue not only stayed alive but moved forward.”
As an Assembly member, O’Donnell has regularly called for a historic district, working to get places in the neighborhood on the historic register.
But the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, which designates historic districts, hasn’t yet moved to fully preserve Morningside Heights, though LPC spokesperson Elisabeth de Bourbon said last week that the district remains “under active review by the Commission.”
O’Donnell said he isn’t satisfied. “I think if you look at what Morningside Heights has, and look at what they’ve designated in the past … it’s absolutely grossly negligent for them to fail to move on this,” O’Donnell said. “There’s no excuse.”
He stressed the distinct style of the neighborhood’s architecture, including buildings “by some of the leading architects of their time.”
But MHHDC members have something else to celebrate at the ceremony tonight: Last week, Morningside Heights was recognized by the Historic Districts Council, a city-wide nonprofit preservation organization, as one of the 2012 “Six to Celebrate” neighborhoods most deserving of preservation—a distinction Friedman called “thrilling.”
“We are very honored to have been chosen by the HDC,” Friedman said. “They’ll really move the process forward in a meaningful way.”
Meanwhile, a proposal by the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to build an apartment building on the north end of its grounds worries MHHDC activists, including O’Donnell.
“I’m very concerned about that,” O’Donnell said. “I encourage the Cathedral to engage the community in all stages of design, and not just come to the community and say this is what we want to do.”
Friedman said the proposed development saddens her.
“St. John the Divine is one of New York City’s jewels, and to see it being chopped up and sort of tinkered with in such a fashion … is really a tragedy in a lot of ways,” Friedman said.
“We’ll vigorously try to have input into this process,” including at a public forum on Feb. 21, she said.
Looking forward, O’Donnell said, “I think the community and elected officials have to put pressure on the mayor and the Landmarks Commission. Nobody who’s running for mayor … will get my support without supporting this long-overdue designation.”
“It’s not going to be an easy ride to get a district up here,” Friedman said. However, “ultimately, I do believe we will have this district just because it’s natural,” she said.
The event honoring O’Donnell will be held at 6 p.m. tonight at 603 W. 111th Street, Apt. 3E (between Broadway and Riverside Drive), at the apartment of Janet Cohen.
“It’s the last political event I’m attending before I get married,” O’Donnell said, on his way to the barbershop for his wedding haircut. O’Donnell will marry his partner of three decades on Sunday.
COMMENTS
Comments will be moderated in accordance with our comment policy