Mulry Angle

Public Comment Closes Tues, March 11

Last Thursday, the MTA held its public comment session for its Mulry Square plan. Attendance paled in comparison to the previous Monday’s hearing for St. Vincent’s/Rubin held at PS 41. More than 500 people attended St. Vincent’s. About 20 people were present at the Mulry hearing held at the New School’s Tishman Auditorium.

(On June 28, 1920, about 3,000 people including Archbishop Hayes were present at the dedication of Mulry Square. Music was provided by the Police Glee Club and the Fire Department Band.)

Three plans are on the boards for the site. One above ground, two below.

Toby Bergman, chairperson, parks and recreation committee, Community Board No. 2, was one of the handful of persons registered to speak. He recalled being in the auditorium 38 yrs ago when labor leader Victor Gotbaum, came and spoke out against Vietnam War.

He went on to address the plans’ failure to provide open space. He reminded us that the space was once actually a square that honored Thomas Mulry—before 7th Avenue cut through. He stated that Mulry even in its current state serves as an entrance to a different space, demarcating an entrance to the Village. He continued to say that building a fan plant is the farthest away from open space, “even Duane Reed is more open space than a fan plant.”

Questions also arose from a neighbor at 227 Waverly as to how the MTA acquire the property. No public hearing records have been found addressing when that took place.

The period for public testimony closes Tuesday, March 11.

The latest proposal is online at the MTA site. You can comment directly on these proposals through the MTA website by using the MTA email system or by mailing your comments to: Douglas Sussman, Director, Community Affairs, 347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

Letter to St. Vincent's from James M. Mulry

Dear Saint Vincent's,

Please consider the memory of a great historical philanthropist and humanitarian when conducting your required expansion. 

My family desires that the legacy of Thomas Maurice Mulry is preserved. Mulry Square is the final preservation of this great man. Every five years, our family returns from all over the world in rememberance of the Catholic legacy.

Destroying the rememberance of Thomas Maurice Mulry affects the honor of the socially reponsible entities he developed including the Immigrants Aid Society, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, and the Immigrants Savings Bank. My family requests that some effort is made by Saint Vincent's Hospital to be considerate. We are behind the great work of Saint Vincent's Hospital, but desire to protect the name of Thomas Maurice Mulry.

Perhaps, some kind of compromise could be worked out. I'm certain that representatives from the Mulry family are more than willing to meet with the planning managers of Saint Vincent's to discuss this important issue. After all, Saint Vincent de Paul is also part of the Mulry benevolence.

Sincerely,

James M. Mulry

450-unit Residential Development Funding State-of-Art St. Vinny's

Listen to our podcast of the meeting

The good news:
•    St. Vincent’s has hired a reputable architectural firm for its new hospital.
•    All construction will be LEED, green, state-of-art.
•    FX Fowle expects to restore townhouse/stoop living to 11th & 12th Streets in the footprint of the to-be former St. Vincent’s campus.
•    Rudin’s rezoning of the former campus to residential will put the property back on the tax rolls again. Currently, the city sees zero taxes from the property.
•    St. Vincent’s is willing to work with the MTA on its Mulry Square ventilation plans.

The bad news:
•    The hospital will tower up to 21 stories. Almost 100 ft higher than 175 West 12th St.
•    The residential development features a 21-story “bookend” building at 7th Avenue between 11th & 12th Streets. Almost 100 ft higher than 175 West 12th St.
•    The residential development comprises 450 units and is being designed to attract families.
•    The meeting endured 2 ½ hours before anyone mentioned the impact the residential dwelling would have on the school system.

Read the NY Sun's story.

(Photo: Bill Rudin explains how the redevelopment will fund St. Vincent's.)

Steve Martin is a Hopper collector.

Steve Martin is a major Hopper collector. Might he care that the site of Nighthawks is in jeopardy? We can hope. The actor recently narrated the documentary film that accompanies the exhibition Edward Hopper on its national tour. Produced by the National Gallery of Art, the 30-minute film premiered to television audiences on New York's WNET Channel 13 on Sunday, August 19 at 10:30 p.m.

Photo: Scene from the 1981 movie "Pennies from Heaven" features Steve Martin (in the fedora) and Bernadette Peters (with her trademark hair). Nighthawks has been used for a number of movies and campaigns.    

The Exemplary Thomas Mulry

Did you know? As reported by the Villager, Thomas Maurice Mulry, who died in 1916, lived at 10 Perry St. The intersection where W. 11th and Perry Sts. also converge, was named after him in 1920. Mulry was a prominent Catholic layman, president of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, a Tammany board member and president of the Emigrant Savings Bank who was honored by President Theodore Roosevelt. He helped fund the Fresh Air Fund and the Boys’ Club among his many good works.

Download 104021588.pdf for Thomas Mulry obituary from NYTimes, March 12, 1916.

Grace Paley 1923-2007

Grace Paley was named New York State’s first official state author in 1986, but she was really poet laureate of the front stoop, a writer who turned the voices of the neighborhood into lasting art. She took seriously the concerns of home, sidewalk, city and the world, and stood up for social justice and peace, sometimes landing in jail for her protests.

Links
Readings to Go: Grace Paley
Grace Paley - a scene from Milestones

NBC Producer Dies in NYC Building Fall

Eric R. Wishnie, a former Emmy-winning television producer who worked with Tom Brokaw at NBC News died Monday after falling from his apartment building (on Sixth Avenue newar 10th Street), police said.

Police initially reported that the producer, Eric R. Wishnie, was hit by a vehicle that fled the scene, but later they said they had located a witness who saw him as he fell from an adjacent building. The medical examiner's office said it had scheduled an autopsy. Read more