Untapped Cities Shines New Light on Historic Marx Brothers Place!

Marx Brothers Place is happily and cheerily back in the news today!

Untapped Cities has just published a brand-spanking-new article, written by Lisa Santoro, exploring the history of Marx Brothers Place and celebrating its cultural prominence in the cultural mecca of the world: NYC.

 

And when Santoro writes that the preservation campaign is "not down for the count," the native New Yorker says a mouthful! (So does LPC Commissioner Michael Devonshire when he explains in the article that preservation isn't just about buildings, but about culture and humanity.)

 

So please join us in celebrating this beloved historic block and read Lisa Santoro's article in Untapped Cities today!

 

Many thanks for your continued support for the campaign to Save Marx Brothers Place!

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Thanks for your continued interest in historic Marx Brothers Place!

 

For more information about the 93rd Street Beautification Association or Marx Brothers Place, please contact us at 93rdst.beautification@gmail.com or visit our blogs at: Save Marx Brothers Place; The Marx Brothers Place Report or 93rd Street Beautification Association.

 

You can also follow Marx Brothers Place on Twitter @93rdStreet, Facebook Save Marx Brothers Place, YouTube @ Marx Brothers Place and on MySpace @ Marx Brothers Place.

 

To make a tax-deductible contribution to the preservation campaign simply click on this link.

Somebody Let the Dogs Out on Marx Brothers Place: Watch the New Movie Short on YouTube Right Here

Advocating on behalf of historic Marx Brothers Place in NYC, the 93rd Street Beautification Association invites everybody to watch its latest preservation short (9 min) - The Doggy Movie - which has just been launched to YouTube!

Please take a moment now to watch The Doggy Movie by simply clicking on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWDMJhFTEF4!

Thanks! We really hope you all enjoy watching the little movie starring Marx Brothers Place residents Jackie the Boston Terrier (voiced by Judith Hendra) & Victor the Black Russian Terrier (voiced by Kurt Fuller): These feisty pups really know how to deliver a message!

The Doggy Movie is a real HOWL!

Watch The Marx Brothers Place Doggy Movie Trailer Here!

Please RSVP for the FREE Marx Brothers Place film screening to: 93rdst.beautification@gmail.com today!

Don't miss the World Premiere of The Dignified Denizens of Marx Brothers Place, Thursday, September 16 at the New York Public Library, 112 East 96th Street, 6-7PM in the Library Meeting Room.

In the meantime, enjoy watching this sneak peek trailer of The Doggy Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7pkmJiWAgM!

See you at the movies!

Leonard Jacobs Takes on Evil Forces Obstructing Marx Brothers Place

In his latest post about the 93rd Street Beautification Association's ongoing preservation campaign, Leonard Jacobs takes on the evil forces that have persistently obstructed the lawful landmarking of historic Marx Brothers Place in Carnegie Hill.

We appreciate Jacobs' courage, but given the length of the horns spotted poking up above the primped coiffs of these evil doers, we strongly recommend that the NY theater critic and social commentator start hanging some mighty huge cloves of garlic right next to that faithful kitchen witch of his.

Please click on the link below & read the full story on Jacobs' popular web site The Clyde Fitch Report: http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2010/09/spurned-by-cb8-and-garodnick-marx-brothers-place-goes-to-the-dogs/#comment-24105.

Thanks!

Marx Brothers Place - The Doggy Movie

Don't miss the World Premiere of the latest save Marx Brothers Place preservation campaign movie short on Thursday, September 16 at the NYPL 6-7PM.

Details can be found on the Save Marx Brothers Place blog: http://savemarxbrothersplace.blogspot.com/2010/09/sneak-peek-world-premiere-of-latest.html.

Please RSVP (name & number of people in your party) to 93rdst.beautification@gmail.com at your earliest convenience.

Hope to see you all there!

Manhattan Borough President Replies to Harpo Marx' Son's Request

As you may recall, Harpo Marx' son Bill wrote to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer asking him to intervene and vacate the invalid July 21 NYC Community Board 8 vote on Marx Brothers Place.

After hearing back from the Borough President's office, Bill Marx forwarded the BP's reply on to us: Essentially, while the BP's office expressed its ongoing interest in the 93rd Street Beautification Association's preservation efforts, the letter indicated that the BP's hands are tied when it comes to undoing a CB8 vote and that the best avenue for redress would be to ask CB8 to vacate its own vote.

So, following the BP's lead, the 93rd Street Beautification Association has asked CB8 to vacate the invalid July 21 vote.

And now we need to ask you to let CB8 know that it should do the right thing by tossing the tainted vote and restoring the 93rd Street Beautification Association's Request to CB8's calendar as soon as possible before any more historic structures on Marx Brothers Place are forever lost to the wrecking ball.

Please click on the link below & cut & paste & send the message to CB8 TODAY:

http://93rdstreetbeautificationassociation.blogspot.com/2010/09/please-vacate-invalid-vote-on-marx.html

Many thanks for your help!

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

NYC Council Member Dan Garodnick takes Aim at Marx Brothers Place Constituents & Defeats Plan to Landmark MBP

It seems NYC Council Member Dan Garodnick must be working for somebody other than his constituents these days.

Following Monday's impressive 7-0 vote (with one abstention) by which Community Board 8's (CB8) Landmarks Committee decided to support the 93rd Street Beautification Association's Request (RFE) - asking the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission to extend the Carnegie Hill Historic District one block east so as to include the historically significant structures on Marx Brothers Place - Garodnick took it upon himself on Wednesday to contact Jane Parshall, Co-Chair, CB8 Landmarks Committee, saying that he had been sitting on a letter from the LPC - since May - in which the Commission had already rejected the Marx Brothers Place RFE.

Neither Parshall nor Garodnick bothered contacting the members of CB8's Landmarks Committee before the meeting or the members of the 93rd Street Beautification Association about this letter or about their intention to brandish the Garodnick letter prior to the full board vote - on Marx Brothers Place - at Wednesday's CB8 Meeting.

Garodnick - who did not attend the CB8 Meeting in person, but instead sent a representative - provided Parshall with 3 copies of the letter - a letter he had been sitting on for nearly two months - just in the nick of time for Wednesday's CB8 Full Board Meeting. Garodnick did not provide the 93rd Street Beautification Association with a copy of the letter, nor did he provide the Association with a heads up as to his intentions to drop the letter on the Full Board just before the vote on Marx Brothers Place.

Parshall - the one and only abstention from Monday's 7-0 vote - grabbed the Garodnick letter and ran with it. Visibly excited at the prospect of throwing a wrench into the vote, Parshall began her presentation by having her Co-Chair David Liston read the Garodnick letter to the Full CB8 Board from the podium on stage. Parshall chose to lead with this, blunting any opportunity for Landmarks Committee members to first tell their fellow Board Members the reasons they had voted to support the RFE and why the full Board should too.

As one might suspect, the dramatic reveal and recitation of the Garodnick letter had a very powerful impact on members of the Full Board who have never read the 93rd Street Beautification Association's RFE and who are unfamiliar with the unique and significant history of the block. So, once Liston finished reading the Garodnick letter from the podium, it was, of course, all about the letter. Marx Brothers Place had suddenly become an unspoken memory.

And so, without even the courtesy of a heads up to his own constituents, NYC Council Member Dan Garodnick successfully defeated Marx Brothers Place in one fell swoop - and sold out his constituents in the process.

The 93rd Street Beautification Association would like to thank CB8 Board Member Teri Slater who had the temerity to read Parshall the Riot Act for her blaring breach of protocol. Slater went on record saying that Parshall should never have presented the Garodnick letter - which could only serve to prejudice the CB8 Full Board vote on Marx Brothers Place. Adding that the letter from the LPC to Garodnick was premature - as it denies CB8 the opportunity to weigh in on an RFE in its own district - Slater said the letter should have been ignored.

While many members of the CB8 Landmarks Committee agreed with Slater, the full CB8 Board had already bought the Garodnick letter that Parshall was more than happy to sell to them.

On Monday, Parshall chose to abstain from voting on the Marx Brothers Place RFE saying that she has a conflict of interest: A wiser woman would have steered clear of the matter on Wednesday as well.

It is curious: Why would CM Garodnick have waited until after there was a successful Landmarks Committe vote (7-0 is nothing to sneeze at) before he finally shared a letter - that he sat on since May - and which he now claims he suddenly felt compelled to reveal?

There's a reason your mother told you to never trust a politician.

Harpo's Son, Bill, Talks to NYC Reporter About His Dad's Beloved Little Block:

Check it out!

Harpo's son, Bill Marx, talks with a reporter about his dad's beloved little block: http://dnainfo.com/20100715/upper-east-side/groucho-marxs-upper-east-side-childhood-home-ready-for-night-at-community-board!

Bill is a huge Marx Brothers Place supporter & he's hoping that CB8's Landmarks Committee does the right thing on Monday evening & throws its full support behind the 93rd Street Beautification Association's Request to finally designate this historic little block!

Please help make Bill Marx' wish come true: Please come out to the CB8 Landmarks Committee Meeting & show your support for Marx Brothers Place - Monday, July 19th at 6:30pm in the Hexter Lounge, Hunter College School of Social Work, 129 East 79th Street.

Thanks!

Please Send Letter Supporting Marx Brothers Place to CB8 TODAY!

The 93rd Street Beautification Association needs all the help it can get in its effort to protect the historic & beloved NYC block known as Marx Brothers Place!

The Association is scheduled to present its formal Request for Evaluation (RFE) (asking the city to extend the Carnegie Hill Historic District one block east) to Community Board 8's (CB8) Landmarks Committee at 6:30pm on Monday evening, July 19th in Hexter Lounge at the Hunter College School of Social Work - 129 East 79th Street. We hope you all will join us there!

Before the Meeting, however, we need to ask YOU to send a letter of support to CB8. If you don't have the time to write something, please feel free to cut & paste send following message to the CB8 Landmarks Committee, c/o CB8 District Manager, Latha Thompson, at: thompson@cb8m.com with a copy to: 93rdst.beautification@gmail.com.

Subject line: We Support Designating 93rd St.

Message:

Dear Ms. Pearshall,

We support the 93rd Street Beautification Association's RFE to designate historic East 93rd Street between Lexington & Third Avenues in Carnegie Hill.

We strongly encourage CB8 to throw its full support behind this community effort and hope you will do everything in your power to make sure this worthy RFE is calendered for a Public Hearing at the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

NAME
ADDRESS

NYC's Community Board 8 to FINALLY Hear Request to Landmark Historic Marx Brothers Place in Carnegie Hill

Please join us on Monday, July 19 at 6:30pm in Hexter Lounge at the Hunter College School of Social Work - 129 East 79th Street NYC - when Community Board 8 will FINALLY hear the 93rd Street Beautification Association's Request to Landmark historic Marx Brothers Place in Carnegie Hill!

We would love to have you all attend and testify on behalf of MBP or simply cheer us on from the audience!

In the meantime, please take a moment to blog about, post about, talk about, facebook about, YouTube about or otherwise let the world know that historic Marx Brothers Place has a hot date with CB8!!!

For more info, details, background, etc., please check out what NY Theater Critic & Huffington Post contributor Leonard Jacobs recently wrote about Marx Brothers Place on his popular web site The Clyde Fitch Report by just clicking on this link: http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2010/07/extension-of-carnegie-hill-historic-district-arrives-on-cb8-plate/.

Thanks & we hope to see you all bright eyed & bushy tailed on Monday, July 19 at 6:30pm at 129 East 79th Street for the big date!

The Preservation Diaries - 'NYC's Landmarks: Just a House of Cards?' - Published June 11, 2010

Thank you for reading The Preservation Diaries written by author and 93rd Street Beautification Association co-chair, Susan Kathryn Hefti, and published online by NY Theater Critic and Huffington Post contributor, Leonard Jacobs, at his popular website - The Clyde Fitch Report. We really appreciate your interest in the column!

We would now like to invite you all to read the latest installment 'NYC's Landmarks: Just a House of Cards?' by just clicking on this link: http://www.clydefitchreport.com/2010/06/new-york-citys-landmarks-is-it-really-just-a-house-of-cards/.

Thank you for your continued interest in and support for our ongoing preservation campaign!

Please keep in touch!

Best wishes from historic Marx Brothers Place in NYC!

The Preservation Diaries - 'Can Los Angeles Teach Gotham About City Planning And Historic Preservation?' - Published January 6, 2010

Thank you for reading The Preservation Diaries written by author and 93rd Street Beautification Association Co-Chair, Susan Kathryn Hefti, and published online by NYC Theater Critic and Huffington Post contributor, Leonard Jacobs, at his popular web site - The Clyde Fitch Report! We really appreciate your interest in the column!

We would now like to invite you all to read the latest installment 'Can Los Angeles Teach Gotham About City Planning and Historic Preservation?' by just clicking on this link: http//www.clydefitchreport.com/2010/01/can-los-angeles-teach-gotham-about-city-planning-and-historic-preservation/.

Thank you for your continued interest in and support for our ongoing preservation campaign!

Please keep in touch!

Best wishes from historic Marx Brothers Place in NYC!

The Preservation Diaries - 'The Phantoms of Holden Caulfield's Youth' - Published January 20, 2010

Thank you for reading The Preservation Diaries written by author and 93rd Street Beautification Association Co-Chair, Susan Kathryn Hefti, and published online by NYC Theater Critic and Huffington Post contributor, Leonard Jacobs, at his popular web site - The Clyde Fitch Report! We really appreciate your interest in the column!

We would now like to invite you all to read the latest installment 'The Phantoms of Holden Caulfield's Youth' by just clicking on this link: http//www.clydefitchreport.com/2010/01/the-phantoms-of-holden-caulfields-youth/.

Thanks for your continued interest in and support for our ongoing preservation campaign!

Please keep in touch!

Best wishes from historic Marx Brothers Place in Carnegie Hill NYC!

The Preservation Diaries - 'Of Preservation and Parking Lots' - Published February 5, 2010

Thanks for reading The Preservation Diaries written by author and 93rd Street Beautification Association Co-Chair, Susan Kathryn Hefti, and published online by NYC Theater Critic and Huffington Post contributor, Leonard Jacobs, at his popular web site - The Clyde Fitch Report! We really appreciate your interest in the column!

We would now like to invite you all to read the latest installment entitled 'Of Preservation and Parking Lots' - by just clicking on this link: http//www.clydefitchreport.com/2010/02/of-preservation-and-parking-lots/.

Thanks for your continued interest in and support for our ongoing preservation campaign!

Please keep in touch!

Best wishes from historic Marx Brothers Place in Carnegie Hill NYC!