Monday, March 12, 2007

Still complaining in Sunnyside

Though Sunnyside is now calendared, foes of landmarking have not given up their quest to put the kibosh on designation:

TIFF CLOUDS SUNNYSIDE

Photo from AMNY.com

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"At several public meetings on the proposed landmark status, tempers have flared. Immigrant families, opponents say, need more space in their homes, but would be blocked from building additions by landmark rules.

"We think this is about cleansing the neighborhood of immigrants," said resident Warren Lehrer."

MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!
MICKLEJOHN AND THE CLUBHOUSE!!!

Anonymous said...

It's funny how Warren Lehrer arm twisted his radio talk show brother Brian to air a segment on SSG .

It's all up to LPC now. You opponents can scream as loud and often as you all want, but it's their call!

Meikeljohn & Co. is pulling the usal "race card" from that crooked deck to imply anti-immigrant agendas on the part of preservationists!

It's a rather perverse sort of a twisted xenophobia.

There are some very weak arguments on your part Ms. Meiklejohn. Loud doesn't make for logical!

Anonymous said...

Interesting, so Landmarking is about cleansing the neigbhorhood.

Does this mean that the paper officially accuses the communities that are designated landmarks as racist?

Does this mean the newspaper has officially come out that the law should be overturned?

And my favorite, are any communities that are landmarked going to challenge this, or being the Manhattan crowd, just let Queens twist slowly in the wind with no support?

If you let this go unconstested, folks, this will play into the hands of those that say the law is racist, and worse, the Manhattan preservation clique is as much to blame as our politicians and press at keeping Queens underfoot.

Anonymous said...

I was badly misquoted in the New York Post. It reminded me why I don't read that paper. Not much space or care for detail, nuance or accuracy. I do NOT believe that the attempt to landmark Sunnyside Gardens is about cleansing the neighborhood of immigrants. From now on, if I speak to reporters I never heard of, I will ask them to please show me any quotes they attribute to me before going to press, otherwise I won't speak to them. No matter what side of this landmarking or any issue you're on, I recommend you consider doing this as well. I am not afraid to speak out against this effort to landmark Sunnyside Gardens. I have done so publicly and openly. I do not hide behind "anonymous." At the meeting held by Sunnyside Gardeners opposed to landmarking this past Saturdary, much was said. People stood up, said their names, and TODAY some of them were visited by the Department of Buildings for things that have been a part of their homes for as many as nine years, called in by "anonymous" neighbors. There is a lot to say about this lovely, neighborly campaign to impose one aesthetic on many people who have a different opinion about what is historic about Sunnyside Gardens. But I disavow the quote attributed to me in the NY Post.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Warren, if you are so public, what are you afraid of?

Ever been to a community that is landmarked?

Ever talk to people that live in such a district?

Why not?

Anonymous said...

Yes I have been to and spoken to quite a few people in landmarked buildings and neighborhoods who think its been terrible. For the sake of having an informed discussion about the realities of living under LPC, I would like to see a panel of 3 people who currently live in a landmarked district who've had terrible experiences, and 3 people who think it's great, and let Sunnyside Gardeners decide for themselves. Also, I am not against landmarking neighborhoods per se. But I do not think, given the protections we already have under the Special Preservation District, and the fact that the architectural facades are not what's historically significant about Sunnyside Gardens, that landmarking SG makes sense. Reforming the Special District regulations, educating more of the the community about the history and the restrictions, and working together for a zoning overlay on the areas surrounding Sunnyside Gardens makes the most sense to me.

Anonymous said...

Lehrer, do what you wish. You can always find three people that think the earth is flat, three people that think the moon landings were staged, and three people that swear by crop circles.

Let us make things simple:

1. Write down your anti-landmarking rants.

2. Contact HDC to meet with a community that is already landmarked.

3. Sit down with the leadership of that community and discuss your concerns.

4. Take along a reporter, Mickeljohn, Onorato.

5. Let us know your experience. We don't expect you to change your mind, but your tortured logic in the face of facts should be interesting for the world to see.

Now, you have been encouraged to do this more than a few times. You haven't done this.

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

FACTS PRESENTED BY THOSE WHO LIVE IN A LANDMARK DISTRICT MAY CONTRADICT YOUR FANTASIES?