email from Andrew Berman and I post these because preservation for me is about buildings, communities and small businesses

Dear friend,

I have two important items to share with you:
St. Vincent's Landmarks hearing: The Landmarks Preservation Commission's continued hearing on the Rudin and St. Vincent's luxury condo and hospital development plan will be Tuesday, April 15th at 9:30 am at NYU's Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, on the 10th floor (you can arrive as early as 9 am to sign in; bring photo ID to enter). ANYONE who did not testify at the last hearing on Tuesday or have their testimony read for them can speak at this hearing. WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO TESTIFY if you have not already; if you have, please come to show support. IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE HAVE A STRONG TURNOUT AT THIS HEARING TO CONTINUE THE MOMENTUM FROM THIS TUESDAY'S HEARING.
As at the last hearing, testimony should be limited to 3 minutes and focus on the issue of the "appropriateness" of the proposed demolitions and new developments for this historic district. Bring 10 copies of your testimony to submit (or to leave if you cannot stay to testify). Go to www.gvshp.org/StVincentsLetter.htm for a form letter which can be used as sample testimony; please also go to www.gvshp.org/StVincentsLetter.htm to send a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Commission if you have not done so already.

See coverage of Tuesday's very well-attended landmarks hearing-- go to http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/hundreds-expected-to-testify-on-st-vincents-expansion/?hp and www.ny1news.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=8&aid=80010.

'Preservation Vision: NYC:' Join in this very important year-long initiative to engage those interested in preservation about their aspirations for New York City in the year 2030 and the actions needed to make those hopes a reality. As part of the first phase of the project, an on-line survey has been launched to gather feedback, ideas and opinions from New Yorkers interested in the future of historic preservation in the city -- go to www.preservationvision-nyc.org to learn more and take the survey (which closes April 15, so please respond soon!).

This project is the initiative of a group of New York City charitable funders with a long-standing interest in preservation and is managed by the non-profit organization, Minerva Partners. Preservation Vision is funded in part by generous gifts from The New York Community Trust, New York State Council on the Arts, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, The Gerry Charitable Trust, The National Trust for Historic Preservation, The 42nd Street Fund and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD! Questions regarding Preservation Vision: NYC can be sent to Kirstin Sechler at ksechler@minervapartners.org.
Sincerely,

Andrew Berman
Executive Director,
Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation

To join GVSHP or support our preservation efforts, go to www.gvshp.org/membership.htm