The New York Landmarks Conservancy has announced the winners of the 2021 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards.
Save Harlem Now! will be honored with the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Organization Award, and 244 Lenox Avenue in Harlem will receive a Lucy G. Moses Preservation Project Award at the Virtual Ceremony on May 6th at 6:00 pm.
The Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards are the Conservancy’s highest honors for excellence in preservation. The Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and building owners for their extraordinary contributions to the City. The Conservancy is grateful for the support of the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, which makes the Awards possible.
“It’s wonderful to see this year’s winners of the Lucys, knowing that this great work was conducted during these most challenging times,” said Peg Breen, President of The New York Landmarks Conservancy. “The projects demonstrate that preservation has provided jobs and helped the City throughout these difficult months.”
Save Harlem Now! to be Honored with
Lucy G. Moses Preservation Organization Award
Save Harlem Now! will receive the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Organization Award for its success in protecting and preserving Harlem’s irreplaceable built heritage.
The group has achieved significant victories, including the first historic district designation in Harlem in over 20 years.
The remarkable architecture and cultural history of Harlem are known around the world, yet for many years there was no single preservation advocacy group that could speak for this community.
Longtime Harlem residents and advocates co-founded Save Harlem Now! in 2015 to coalesce the voices fighting for the preservation and focus advocacy efforts.
Save Harlem Now! quickly submitted a proposal to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for several new designations.
They also worked to engage residents, elected officials, and other preservation and civic groups. The Central Harlem West 130th—132nd Streets Historic District was approved in 2018.
When the owner of one building at the edge of the District successfully lobbied to have it excluded at a City Council Subcommittee vote, the advocates redoubled their efforts.
The building was put back into the District at the final, full Council affirmation. Another Harlem historic district, Dorrance Brooks Square, is having an LPC hearing this year.
Save Harlem Now! also worked toward restoration of the Harlem Fire Watchtower in Mount Morris Park, which received a Lucy Moses Award last year.
Ongoing neglect had led to such severe deterioration that the City Parks Department had to remove the tower.
Many in the community feared that this beloved landmark would be lost forever, but Save Harlem Now! was undeterred.
Their local advocacy was essential in pressuring the City to renovate and reinstall the Watchtower.
244 Lenox Avenue to Receive Lucy G. Moses Preservation Project Award
244 Lenox Avenue, a Harlem row house that has gone from being an eyesore to beauty, will receive a 2021 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Project Award.
It’s a great example of how preservation and affordable housing work together.
The building in the Mount Morris Park Historic District was designed by J.E. Terhune and completed in 1884. Originally it was a residence; a commercial space was added in 1929; and in the 1940s it was converted into an SRO.
Eventually, the building was abandoned and fell into disrepair. The City took ownership in 2011; it was then conveyed to MLG 904 Development, a non-profit developer, for use as affordable housing.
PM Architecture PC worked closely with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to restore the deteriorated front and rear façades to their historical condition.
At the front, this included replacing metal double-hung windows with striking new wood windows ranging from one-over-one to 35-over-one.
The damaged brownstone was resurfaced. A handsome new stained and paneled wood door replaced an illegal door at the parlor floor.
The deteriorated slate shingle mansard roof was replaced with new slates. Robust new metal dormers, cornice and trim at the bay window, are all painted a glorious green.
At the rear façade, bricks were cleaned and repointed, and all windows replaced. The project also resolved a series of violations from previous owners.
The interior was renovated for new affordable apartments, which are occupied. This project has rediscovered the beauty of 244 Lenox Avenue. Now it celebrates Harlem’s rowhouse history.
New York Landmarks Conservancy
The 2021 Lucy G. Moses Preservation Awards project recipients also include 560 Second Street; Battery Maritime Building—Casa Cipriani; Building 127 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard; Central Presbyterian Church; Endale Arch, Prospect Park; Enid A. Haupt Conservatory; The Lotos Club; Moynihan Train Hall; Nine Orchard; Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Sava, and Robert and Anne Dickey House.
Andrew S. Dolkart, author, researcher, teacher, and co-founder of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, will receive the 2021 Preservation Leadership Award.
Frederick A. Bland, FAIA, AICP, architect and Vice-Chair, New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, will receive the Public Leadership in Preservation Award.
The New York Landmarks Conservancy, a private non-profit organization, has led the effort to preserve and protect New York City’s architectural legacy for nearly 50 years.
Since its founding, the Conservancy has loaned and granted more than $54 million, which has leveraged more than $1 billion in 1,850 restoration projects throughout New York, revitalizing communities, providing economic stimulus and supporting local jobs.
The Conservancy has also offered countless hours of pro bono technical advice to building owners, both nonprofit organizations and individuals.
The Conservancy’s work has saved more than a thousand buildings across the City and State, protecting New York’s distinctive architectural heritage for residents and visitors alike today, and for future generations.
For more information, please visit www.nylandmarks.org.
Photo Credit: PM Architecture PC for 244 Lenox Avenue in Manhattan
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