Harpo Marx's Son Asks Borough President Scott Stringer to Intervene & Save Historic Marx Brothers Place in Carnegie Hill

In the wake of the tainted Community Board 8 vote on whether to support the 93rd Street Beautification Association's Request to extend the historic district so as to include the priceless collection of historic structures just east of the current district boundary line, Harpo Marx's son Bill has written a letter to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer asking him to intervene on behalf of the campaign to preserve & designate historic Marx Brothers Place in Carnegie Hill.

Please join Bill in this effort today by simply clicking on this link & sending the message to the Borough President: http://the-marx-brothers-place-report.blogspot.com/2010/08/vacate-cb8-vote-on-marx-brothers-place.html. Thanks!

We also thought you might like to read the letter that Bill Marx sent to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. So, here it is:

Dear Mr. Scott Stringer,

My name is Bill Marx, and Harpo Marx is my father. I live in Rancho Mirage, California, not far from the home he built in 1956 that has recently been deemed a Historic Site by the City Council. I did not have anything to do with the recommendation of such an act, but I did support the concept of it having a necessary historical purpose for the total Palm Springs area. So, as well, I have no real personal burning, self-serving reason or concerns for the preservation of Marx Brothers Place other than it would be, of course, a well deserved tribute to them and is such an important slice of America's and in particular Manhattan's history that I truly believe should live on in the minds and hearts of all people who cherish America's Theater history; the film industry's history and Broadway Theater history and those who contribute to its ongoing success. I went to Juilliard School of music when it was across from Columbia University, so I have always had a special place in my heart for what I consider to be the greatest city on earth. For the many fans and tourists that visit the historical places of Bach or Stravinsky or Albert Einstein or any person who has brought positive influence to so many, the preservation of the area where the Marx Brothers were all born and grew up would be also similiar in its magnetic purpose to the public interest. No matter what the outcome, the Marx Brothers will always remain popular, so it's more about seeing to it that fascinating bits and pieces of New York are preserved historically, thus making it the unique city that continues to be the hub of culture the world over.
On behalf of Harpo's family, thank you for your time in addressing this issue, and we hope that you will help to see that Marx Brothers Place can remain as one of the many beacons that continue to light up all of Manhattan for all mankind.
Respectfully, Bill Marx

Parshall Ethics Scandal Crosses Pond

NYC Community Board 8's (CB8's) Landmarks Committee co-chair Jane Parshall's ethics scandal - the conflict of interest over Marx Brothers Place which she confessed to on the public record and then cast aside like a fallen eyelash - is no longer a domestic issue.

The unctous details of Parshall's public transgression have blown across the pond scum and landed safely on the shores of The Marx Brothers Council of Britain.

You can read Britain's Matthew Coniam's entire post by simply clicking on the following link and scrolling down the left hand margin to the Parshall CB8 ethics scandal:

http://marxcouncil.blogspot.com/

CB8 Landmarks Co-Chair Jane Parshall's Ethics Breach Taints Vote on Historic Marx Brothers Place in Carnegie Hill

Will NYC Community Board 8 do the right thing & toss the tainted full board vote on historic Marx Brothers Place?

After CB8 Landmarks Committee co-chair Jane Parshall publicly confessed to a conflict of interest - which ethically barred her from participating in the matter of historic Marx Brothers Place - this public servant - appointed by NYC Council Member Dan Garodnick - thumbed her nose at the public she serves and aggressively inserted herself into the matter anyway thereby poisoning the full board vote.

Now it's up to NYC - whether Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer; Public Advocate Bill de Blasio or CB8 itself - to make sure the Community Board 8 vote compromised by Parshall is immediately vacated and that historic Marx Brothers Place finally gets the process it is due.

Read more by clicking on this link:

http://the-marx-brothers-place-report.blogspot.com/2010/08/nyc-cb8-landmarks-chair-jane-parshall.html

CB8 Landmarks Co-Chair Jane Parshall Confesses to Conflict of Interest - then 48 Hours Later Thumbs Nose at Ethics & Wages War on Marx Brothers Place

On Monday, July 19, 2010, Community Board 8's (CB8's) Landmarks Committee Co-Chair Jane Parshall - a Public Servant appointed to the Board by NYC CM Dan Garodnick - announced publicly that because she has a conflict of interest regarding historic Marx Brothers Place she would have to recuse herself from the vote on this beloved NYC block.

With Parshall out of the mix, the 93rd Street Beautification Association's Request (RFE) - to extend the Carnegie Hill Historic District one block east - sailed through CB8's Landmarks Committee 7-0 (with Parshall's 1 abstention) following several heartfelt apologies from Committee Members for not having designated this important historic block years earlier.

Mysteriously however, within a mere 48 hours, CB8 Parshall's confessed conflict of interest had somehow evaporated into thin air: And without the slightest hint of qualm, CB8's Parshall dove right into the thick of things on Wednesday, July 21 in a very obvious attempt to derail the vote on historic Marx Brothers Place.

This was the very same vote that just 2 days prior had prompted Parshall - a Public Servant appointed to the Community Board by NYC CM Dan Garodnick - to publicly confess to a conflict of interest which ethically barred her from participation.

In what most generously might be called one of the most dramatic lapses of memory on public record CB8's Landmarks Committee Co-Chair Jane Parshall inexplicably cast aside her recorded conflict of interest and aggressively inserted herself into the matter of the Marx Brothers Place vote scheduled for a Full CB8 Board Meeting on Wednesday, July 21, 2010.

Parshall's outlandish antics and overt attempts to subvert the vote - while completely ignoring her own confessed ethics conflict - stunned the public and sent shock waves through the room. Parshall's failure to follow procedure was so egregious that it finally led CB8 Landmarks Committee Member and Co-Chair of the Defenders of the Historic Upper East Side Teri Slater to publicly read Parshall the Riot Act. A stickler for process, Slater's public tongue-lashing of Parshall, however, came after the fateful Marx Brothers Place vote - which Parshall had successfully poisoned - had already been tallied and officially recorded.

There can be no question that the July 21, 2010 full CB8 Board vote on historic Marx Brothers Place was tainted by fraud and abuse of process. So the 93rd Street Beautification Association has no choice but to call upon Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer - who oversees the workings of Community Board 8 - to do the right thing and demand that the July 21, 2010 vote on historic Marx Brothers Place be immediately vacated due to fraud.

This historic block has earned its place on the calender of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). Marx Brothers Place should not be denied a public hearing at the LPC because of the egregious irregularities perpetrated by CB8's Landmarks Committee Co-Chair Jane Parshall.

Please click on the following link now & let Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer know that the tainted vote on historic Marx Brothers Place must be immediately vacated: http://the-marx-brothers-place-report.blogspot.com/2010/08/vacate-cb8-vote-on-marx-brothers-place.html

Thanks for your continued support of historic Marx Brothers Place in NYC!

NYC Must Vacate CB8 Vote on Marx Brothers Place

Please help save historic Marx Brothers Place by just cutting & pasting the message below & sending it to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer - bp@manhattanbp.org with a copy to the 93rd Street Beautification Association - 93rdst.beautification@gmail.com. Many thanks for your continued support of Marx Brothers Place!

Now here's the letter for the Borough President:

Subject Line: Please Vacate CB8 Vote on Marx Brothers Place

Dear Borough President Scott Stringer,

We know from previous correspondence, that landmarking historic Marx Brothers Place has your full support. We also know that as Manhattan Borough President you have a strong and abiding interest in the public business of Community Board 8.

Therefore, in the interests of fairness and good public policy, we hereby respectfully request that you demand the July 21, 2010 CB8 Full Board vote on Marx Brothers Place be immediately vacated as the facts surrounding that particular CB8 vote require.

Sincerely,

NAME & ADDRESS ARE REQUIRED

Thanks to NYC CM Dan Garodnick the Wrecking Ball Swings Even Closer to Marx Brothers Place

John Warren's popular New York History blog has just posted the latest 93rd Street Beautification Association commentary on the threat of demolition hovering over historic Marx Brothers Place in NYC.

Please click on the link below and read the full story about how our own NYC Council Member Dan Garodnick torpedoed the Marx Brothers Place preservation campaign following a 7-0 victory (with one abstention) before NYC Community Board 8's Landmarks Committee.

Thanks for your continued support of historic Marx Brothers Place in NYC!

Now here's the link to the Marx Brothers Place story posted to John Warren's New York History blog: http://www.newyorkhistoryblog.com/2010/08/commentary-demolition-of-marx-brothers.html