Earlier this year, the Historic Districts Council, New Amsterdam Market, Community Board 1, and Save Our Seaport requested the Landmarks Preservation Commission expand the boundaries of the South Street Seaport Historic District to match those of the National Register district and include the WPA-era New Market Building. You can help make this happen with a letter of support to the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

This building has been at the center of neighborhood and city-wide concern as the area is redeveloped. Redevelopment must be done within a framework that protects the historic buildings that give the South Street Seaport its soul.

In 1936, with the collapse of the dilapidated market structure at Pier 18, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia saw his chance to continue to clean up the Fulton Fish Market, both literally and figuratively. The New Market Building opened in 1939 with sanitation provisions unmatched by other market buildings and remained in use until the market’s move to Hunt’s Point in 2005. The New Market Building, just as it was a key piece to the Fulton Fish Market for 66 years, would be a major contributor to the South Street Seaport Historic District if designated. Leaving this fine example of WPA Moderne municipal architecture (an increasingly rare form throughout the nation) unprotected means risking the loss of an important chapter in the Fulton Fish Market’s history and the loss of the character of the historic district itself.

Please join us in urging the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to designate the only contributing piece of the National Register Historic District to be left out of the city-designated South Street Seaport Historic District so that this unique corner of New York City may be fully protected. Send your support letters to Landmarks Preservation Commission Chair Robert Tierney (1 Centre Street, 9th floor, New York, NY 10007) or email at this link: http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/contact/email.shtml

 

SAMPLE LETTER:

Honorable Robert Tierney
Chairman, Landmarks Preservation Commission
1 Centre Street, 9th floor
NYC, NY 10007
or email:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/contact/email.shtml

Dear Commissioner Tierney,

I am writing to support the expansion of the boundaries of the South Street Seaport Historic District to include the WPA-era New Market Building.

Opened in 1939 with sanitation provisions unmatched by other market buildings of its time, the building remained a vibrant part of the Fulton Fish Market until the market’s move in 2005. The New Market Building, just as it was a key piece to the Fulton Fish Market for 66 years, would be a major contributor to the South Street Seaport Historic District. Leaving this fine example of WPA Moderne municipal architecture unprotected means risking the loss of an important chapter in the Fulton Fish Market’s history and the loss of the character of the historic district itself.

Please designate the only contributing piece of the National Register Historic District to be left out of the city-designated South Street Seaport Historic District.

Sincerely,

____________________