A letter to Christine Quinn

Councilmember Quinn:




Forgive my intrusion into your schedule, but if I may take a few minutes of your time today, I wish to ask you if you would assist us in a matter that is currently before the NYC Zoning Council.



As you may be aware, the owners of the historical Hotel Pennsylvania have filed with the city paperwork to have the current site of the hotel rezoned. The Hotel is located within a C6-6 zoning a C6-4.5 and within the Penn Center Sub district of the Special Midtown District. Vornado wants to rezone the spot to allow the construction of Single Tenant Office Scenario and/or a Multi-Tenant Office Scenario. (A copy can be found here http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/env_review/15_penn/draft_scope.pdf) Either of these scenarios would require the demolition of the Hotel Pennsylvania.



Numerous RFE have been submitted to the LPC, with the majority backing of CB5, the HDC, and Assemblyman Gottfried. So far all have been denied for consideration. To sum it up Ms. Quinn, this hotel should have been preserved years ago after the original Pennsylvania Station was demolished back in the mid 1960's. I ask that you please lend your support to aid us and help by letting your fellow city council members know, that we the citizens care about our neighborhood, and the Hotel. We do not want to see the Hotel Pennsylvania destroyed, in fact we would be overjoyed if was refurbished back to its original glory. There has been talk about how this construction would create new jobs for the city, but Ms. Quinn we know that in the current economic situation, the jobs that would be create would only be temporary. The "office tower" would sit mostly empty of tenants, and would put all the current employees of the Hotel Penn out of work. Any business that would move into this office tower would only be relocating from other areas of NYC and thus would not be creating any positive work flow for NYC.



Ms. Quinn we don't need another office building in NYC, we have plenty. Help us by preserving the things in Manhattan that matter.











I thank you for your time, and hope to hear from you soon.



Sincerely,







Gregory Jones
Save The Hotel Pennsylvania Foundation
gregory.jones@savehotelpenn.org
http://www.savehotelpenn.org/

Hotel Pennsylvania - New York City

Hotel Pennsylvania - New York City
Originally uploaded by Oliver Nade

Great shot of the hotel on a rainy NYC night.

A letter to Tom Duane

Senator Duane:




Forgive my brief intrusion into your schedule, but if I may take a few minutes of your time today, I wish to ask you if you would lend your political support to a matter that is currently before the NYC Zoning Council.



As you may be aware, the owners of the historical Hotel Pennsylvania have filed with the city paperwork to have the current site of the hotel rezoned. Located partly within a C6-6 zoning district and partly within a C6-4.5 and is also partially located within the Penn Center Sub district of the Special Midtown District.



Vornado wants to rezone the spot to allow the construction of Single Tenant Office Scenario and/or a Multi-Tenant Office Scenario. Either of these scenarios would require the demolition of the Hotel Pennsylvania.



Numerous RFE have been submitted to the LPC, with the majority backing of CB5, as well as the HDC, and Assemblyman Gottfried. So far all have been denied for consideration. To sum it up Senator, this hotel should have been preserved years ago when the original Pennsylvania Station was demolished back in the mid 1960's. I ask that you please lend your support to aid us and help by letting the city council know that we the citizens do care about our neighborhood, and the Hotel.



Senator I thank you for your time, and hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,



Gregory Jones
Save The Hotel Pennsylvania Foundation
gregory.jones@savehotelpenn.org
http://www.savehotelpenn.org/

The City Review

A wonderful article written back in November of 2007, by Carter Horsley

http://www.thecityreview.com/hotelpenn.html

Penn Station Model

A scale model of Penn Station was created back in 2004. I am going to contact the museum that had the model on display to find out where it currently is. The model also has a scale Hotel Penn on the side. I am not sure of the detail put on the Hotel Penn part, I think it was put there to show the scale of Penn Station.

OFFICE TOWER DOOMS HOTEL PENNSYLVANIA.

Just in case everyone forgot why we are here check out this link, from the NY Daily News.

Jack Albin Hotel Pennsylvania Dance Orchestra-Swee

Jack Albin Hotel Pennsylvania Dance Orchestra-Sweet And Hot
Uploaded by kspm0220s. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Election Year

Well the primaries are over, and we now know who will be running for office against the incumbent politicians. Running against Christine Quinn will be Yetta Kurland and Maria Passannante Derr. We will be closely watching both of these candidates. As you know Ms Quinn represents the districts that the Hotel Pennsylvania resides in. This is a crucial position to hold, and a key to the Hotel Pennsylvania getting the recognition that it deserves. If you want to assist us in contacting these candidates, Maria Passannante can be reached via her website http://www.voteformaria.com/contact and Yetta Kurland at http://yettakurland.com/contact.

If you contact these candidates please send us a copy so we can publish it.

Three French victims of a mysterious hotel fire

Back in late August we reported that a room in the Hotel Pennsylvania was set on fire. I came accross this article today which points out an interesting view. It has been translated from its original French language.

http://tinyurl.com/lpmzgh

CB5 Resolution, November 2007

Two years ago we went through the grueling process of rying to get the Hotel Pennsylvania land-marked, below is the resolution from the local community board (CB5), back from November 2007.


Hotel Pennsylvania designation.

WHEREAS, On Tuesday October 2, 2007, concerned members of the public appeared before Community Board Five at our Landmarks Committee meeting seeking support in the effort to designate as an individual landmark the building at 401 Seventh Avenue, located between West 32nd and West 33rd Streets, known as the Hotel Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, A subcommittee was formed in order to research and evaluate the history and worthiness of the building, and the potential to designate this as a historic landmark, so that this could be reported back to the committee at our meeting on Tuesday October 30, 2007; and

WHEREAS, In 1917, the prominent architectural firm of McKim Mead & White was commissioned to design and construct a hotel to accommodate the passengers of the Pennsylvania Railroad; and

WHEREAS, The firm of McKim Mead & White is credited as the creator of such renowned architecture as the Washington Square Arch (1889), the second Madison Square Garden, at Madison Square (1890), the Cable Building at 611 Broadway (1892), the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University (1893), the Bowery Savings Bank’s first headquarters (1893), the New York Herald Building (1894), the University Club (1899), the Pierpont Morgan Library (1903), the Manhattan Municipal Building (1909-1915), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1911), the James A. Farley Building – New York City’s General Post Office, (1912-1914) and New York’s Pennsylvania Station, constructed between 1904 through 1910; and

WHEREAS, Despite being known for its Beaux Arts architecture at the turn of the 20th century, the firm remained active into the 1960's, long after the founders had passed away, one of their last works being the design of the prominent National Museum of American History in Washington DC, which opened in 1964; and

WHEREAS, The chief designer of the hotel is the architect William Symmes Richardson, who also helped design the Pennsylvania Station, as well as the National City Bank Building in New York, the Girard Trust Company Building in Philadelphia and the Bank of Montreal, Canada. Mr. Richardson had joined the firm of McKim Mead & White in 1906, and remained a working architect until about 1925; and

WHEREAS, The renowned hotelier Ellsworth Statler – who was later named by the American Hotel Association as “Hotel Man of the Century” – was contracted to manage this property. When The Statler Hotel Pennsylvania opened its doors in 1919, it was considered to be the largest hotel in the world. The original hotel had 2,200 bathrooms, 3,537 beds and the world’s first “high rise” elevators. Statler remained involved with the hotel for many years and eventually purchased this altogether in 1949; and

WHEREAS, Through the 1930's and 1940's the hotel’s Café Rouge was considered to be one of the most popular nightclubs in New York. Among the big bands that performed here were Duke Ellington, Count Basie, the Dorsey Brothers, and most notably the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The hotel’s phone number, Pennsylvania 6-5000, is immortalized in their hit tune, and is New York’s longest continually used telephone number. It remains the same to this day; and

WHEREAS, After 1954, when the Statler Company merged into Hilton Hotel Corporation, the property has had several owners, and several names. Statler’s name remained on the hotel until 1983, when this was renamed The New York Penta Hotel. The original historic name Hotel Pennsylvania reappeared in the 1990's; and

WHEREAS, There has been restorative work performed to the hotel in the mid 1980's and at the early part of this century; and

WHEREAS, Hotel Pennsylvania is bounded on the west by Seventh Avenue and on the north and south by West 33rd Street and West 32nd Street respectively. The building was erected on a site measuring 200’ X 400’. There are 22 floors from street level to roof, including three levels in the penthouse. On the ground floor there are lobby entrances from West 32nd Street and West 33rd Streets to the lobby, and a ballroom entrance on West 33rd Street; and

WHEREAS, The base of the building is constructed of Indiana Limestone with Milford Pink Granite at the grade levels. Much of this has been painted over. The rusticated stone façade is punctuated by a series of pilasters, the predominant number of these having scrolled capitals. At the Seventh Avenue entrance to the hotel, there are six massive stone columns capped by an ornate stone balustrade; and

WHEREAS, In between the windows of the first two floors there are several Rosso Levanto Marble decorative spandrels, many of the third floor windows appear to be original, with ornamental metal framing, six paned over six, in matching pairs. Windows from the fourth floor and above are predominantly one over one, there is stone dentil course between floors three and four; and

WHEREAS, Above the fourth floor there is a pronounced setback in the overall structure. Rising from the limestone base, the majority of the building is constructed of tan colored brick. At West 32nd Street, the building forms four individual towers partially conjoined at the building’s center. These were constructed to maximize the exposure to sunlight and airflow. At West 33rd Street the two central towers are fully conjoined; and

WHEREAS, The façades above the 17th Floor are heavily ornamented in stone and terra cotta, including fluted pilasters and a massive ornamental limestone cornice. The penthouse structures above appear to be habitable space at the Seventh Avenue side of the building, and for mechanical usage at the east; and

WHEREAS, As it is today, boasting 1,700 hotel rooms and approximately 500,000 square feet, Hotel Pennsylvania is New York’s fourth largest hotel; and

WHEREAS, In 1998 Vornado Realty Trust entered into an agreement to increase its interest in the Hotel Pennsylvania from 40% to 80, and then in 1999, by acquiring Planet Hollywood International’s 20% interest in the hotel, Vornado owned this outright, and in connection with the 1999 transaction, Vornado also terminated the licensing agreement with Planet Hollywood for an Official All-Star Hotel; and

WHEREAS, Demolition plans have been announced for the hotel and a 2,500,000 square foot office tower will be built by 2011 on its site, a building of this size would have significantly more square footage than The Empire State Building, although this may not be as tall; and

WHEREAS, Upon evaluation of the information pertaining to the architecture and rich cultural history of the hotel, during Community Board Five’s October 30th Landmarks Committee meeting, the subcommittee voiced opinions both in favor and against designation; and

WHEREAS, After hearing opinions both in favor and against designation, the committee voted to recommend in favor; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That Community Board Five strongly RECOMMENDS DESIGNATION as an individual landmark, the building at 401 Seventh Avenue, known as the Hotel Pennsylvania.

The above resolution passed by a vote of 21 in favor; 8 opposed; 1 abstention, 2 present not entitled to vote.

You think "This will never happen", but then it does...

How many time did you just walk by a building and think to yourself, well nothing about it at all? Then one day you walk by and find, the building is gone! What happened? When did it get knocked down? Why? Well today's AM New York has an article on what the MTA has done to the east side of New York City.

http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/mta-projects-start-to-dislocate-resients-businesses-1.1420673

Next time you walk by a building remember nothing lasts forever. NYC is forever changing, how soon before there is nothing left?

Here is a reference to an older NY Newsday article about endangered NY. Funny how history repeats itself.

http://www.newsday.com/long-island/endangered-new-york-10-more-to-save-1.878437

Letter to Christine Quinn

Well, we sent the letter to Christine Quinn, now we see what happens. (Chances are that nothing will happen, being that it is an election year all polititions are fearing for thier jobs right now.)