preservation

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This Dance Series Is About to Give New Meaning to Flexing On the Beach

Image courtesy of Beach Sessions.

Image courtesy of Beach Sessions.

Like the rest of Bushwick, Black & White Project Space is making a weekend escape to Rockaway Beach. On Aug. 1, the studio (part of Black & White Gallery) will launch a contemporary dance series on the sand at Beach 81st Street. During Beach Sessions, four local choreographers will make use of a 360-degree stage and channel the surrounding seascape into dance.

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Dis-Astor Averted! John Jacob’s Row House Is Set to Be Landmarked

(Photo: Courtesy of Friends of the Lower East Side)

(Photo: Courtesy of Friends of the Lower East Side)

An unassuming Grand Street row house built in 1833 was designated a landmark Tuesday, following a five-month push from neighborhood preservation activists.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to landmark the three-and-a-half story building at 339 Grand Street. According to the Commission, the row house is one of a row of five constructed by John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant who was the richest man in the United States at the time of his death in 1848. Astor Place was named in his honor.
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Despite Hail Mary Toss, There’ll Be No Digging For Bodies at Doomed Church

Nice one, guys. (Photo: Daniel Maurer)

Nice one, guys. (Photo: Daniel Maurer)

Scaffolding has gone up in front of Mary Help of Christians Church and demolition work has commenced at the rectory next door, but hey… at least the contractor’s logo is in keeping with the spirit of the place?

The small group of ex-parishioners who still pray the rosary in front of the 96-year-old church on East 12th Street are really going to have to hope for a miracle now: Bedford + Bowery has discovered that a few days ago, the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected calls for an archaeological study to be conducted, making it all the more likely that Doug Steiner, who bought the property for $41 million back in November, will demolish it and replace it with an 80/20 mix of market-rate and affordable housing.
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