A Call to the Arts Community of Tribeca

The sculptor Alain Kirili (whose work can be seen throughout the Tuileries in Paris) and the artist Ariane Lopez-Huici approached Tribeca Trust about the need to rally Tribecans behind better protections for our neighborhood.  They hosted a dinner and invited many artists, many of whom were pioneers here back in the day.  Thus was born a successful manifesto calling for better protections for Tribeca’s architecture. Scroll down below to see what has been circulating by email, including a link to add your name if you are from the arts community.   There are now about 90 signatures from artists of every stripe.  The signatories have shown great moral courage and leadership. We are very grateful to them. Perhaps the community of architects here in Tribeca might follow suit…?

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Dear Fellow Artist,
We are members of the arts community of Tribeca who have lived and worked here – as painters, sculptors, photographer, actors, dancers, composers, choreographers, musicians, writers, gallerists, filmmakers, and fashion designers. Many among us were pioneers who gave new vitality to the neighborhood and transformed it into a residential community. That transformation resulted in great respect around the world for Tribeca as a cultural asset for New York City and as a great place to live and work. Yet over the past few years this cultural asset has been threatened by the fast growing erosion of its architectural heritage through over-development.

Now we seek your help to save our beautiful, historic neighborhood from destruction. The proposal is to publish a manifesto under the flag of Tribeca Trust, signed by members of the arts community of Tribeca, demanding that city agencies strengthen protections for Tribeca. If you are an artist of any discipline who lives here- or who has lived or had a studio here in the past – please join with us in the fight by publicly adding your name to ours.

The manifesto is below. It is now live on the Tribeca Trust website. If you click on the link below our names in this email, you will be taken to the website where you can add your name to ours. Names will then appear on the website in the order in which they were added. Your emails and address will not be public. Only your name and profession in the arts will appear. Should we publish the manifesto in a newspaper, we will reorder the signatures into alphabetical order.

Manifesto of the Arts Committee for the Defense of Tribeca

We, the undersigned members of the Tribeca arts community ask the Mayor, the City Council, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission to better protect the architectural and historical heritage of Tribeca. This neighborhood is all that is left of our city’s connection to the world’s largest produce market, the now-demolished Washington Market. Walking the streets of Tribeca, visitors are connected to the tumultuous history of our city’s early commercial and industrial transformation, one that was pushed forward by the area’s connection by rail and boat to small farmers the world over.

The visual integrity of this architectural and urban heritage is now being eroded by inappropriate and excessive development. We call on the city to expand the boundaries of Tribeca’s historic districts and to modify the zoning to ensure the long-term survival of one of the city’s great cultural assets.

The undersigned:

Mel Bochner – painter

Hal Bromm – gallerist

William Duggan – writer

Alain Kirili – sculptor

Ariane Lopez-Huici – photographer

Lizbeth Marano – filmmaker

Paul Pagk – painter

Laurie Spiegel – composer

Tracy Weller – actress and writer

John Willenbecher – painter

and 80 others who have signed ….

To add your name, click here: http://tribecatrust.org/interact/honorary-artists-committee-for-the-defense-of-tribeca/

Please do forward this to others in the Tribeca arts community who might consider signing the manifesto.