#TroyCrazy Library Luxury Condos

From: Leona Christie <leonachri@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Feb 9, 2016 at 9:46 AM
Subject: Petition to keep the 19th century marble Troy, NY library from becoming luxury condos!
To: Leona Christie <leonachri@gmail.com>


Dear friends, colleagues, and local luminaries:

It's rare that I petition you to sign a petition, but please hear me out. Although the subject line depicts "worst case scenario," it IS what is happening to a branch library in Brooklyn Heights right now...

Troy, NY has recently been benefiting from both the influx of wonderful places to go (The Confectionary, Rare Form, The Shop, Superior Merchandise, Collar Works, to name a few...) and a boom in residential and industrial architectural restoration.

Part of what makes this small city unique is the fact that it survived various 20th-century "urban renewal" programs that demolished beautiful old 19th-century buildings. But now the current real estate boom seems to be taking a page from NYC's book, and not in the way that "Troy is the new Brooklyn" is meant to evoke.

What concerns me most are recent "behind closed-door" discussions about "leveraging" historic public buildings (in this case, the marble library with huge Tiffany windows depicting Aldus Mantius, the innovative Rennaissance printer/book-maker and inventor of italic type) to pay for library operating costs, instead of exploring all possible public and private forms of fund-raising to renovate/update/expand.

From my research into this issue, I believe this possibility of selling a publicly-owned building is a form of short-term thinking that often reveals questionable conflicts of interest between the entities involved. It is happening to the library system in Manhattan and Brooklyn right now, where library buildings are being sold cheap to real estate developers who are turning them into such entities as "luxury library-condos." (See links below for more details.)

Please sign Troy native/resident/artist/and activist Jim de Seve's petition to "keep the library the library," addressed to Paul Hicok, Director, Troy Public Library and The Trustees of the Troy Public Library, which says:

"We respectfully ask the Director and Board of Trustees of the Troy Public Library in Troy, NY to keep the library in its national register home at 100 Second Street. The 1897 marble library building is part of our collective city heritage. We urge you to explore all and any fundraising options to maintain the current structure. Thank you for your time. "

Signing the petition only takes 5 seconds; you don't need to register with the website, merely type in your name and city. You do NOT need to be a Troy resident to sign, but if you have ever visited, and you appreciate Troy's historical character for any reason, or believe in the importance of architectural preservation of public spaces, you could add a sentence, but not necessary. (And if you have already signed, thank-you, and please consider forwarding as well.)

PETITION: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/save-the-troy-public?source=s.fwd&r_by=15082006

Thanks! More links below:

Troy Public Library seeks way ahead (with photos) 2/9/2016:
http://m.timesunion.com/local/article/Troy-Public-Library-seeks-way-ahead-6814207.php

After Closed-Door Negotiations, Brooklyn Heights Library Will Likely Become Luxury Condo 12/11/2015: http://gothamist.com/2015/12/11/brooklyn_heights_library_condo.php?fb_action_ids=972537762784769&fb_action_types=og.likes

More on what's happening with NYC library buildings:
http://citizensdefendinglibraries.blogspot.com/

-Leona Christie
Associate Professor of Printmaking + Digital Media
SUNY-Albany