Showing posts with label millstones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label millstones. Show all posts

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Millstones damaged yet again

From DNA Info:

One of the historic millstones on display in Dutch Kills Green had to be repaired by the Parks Department this week, after a piece of the stone fell off for the second time in the last few years.

The stones, believed to be relics from a nearby tide mill, have been on display in the Queens Plaza park since shortly after it opened in 2012 — despite calls from a local historian who worries the artifacts will be damaged in the busy outdoor spot.

One of the round stones was repaired Tuesday by Parks Department workers after a chunk of it that broke off previously came loose again, according to spokeswoman Meghan Lalor. Workers who made the repairs used a stronger adhesive to reattach the piece this time, she added.

This isn't the first time the stones have been marred — according to the Daily News, a chunk of one stone originally fell in 2012. Someone then tagged one of the stones with graffiti in 2013, as DNAinfo reported at the time.

The stones were repaired and cleaned in both instances, though local historian Bob Singleton of the Greater Astoria Historical Society believes the incidents are proof that the busy Queens Plaza park is the wrong spot for the artifacts. Their location makes them vulnerable to vandalism, pollution and the elements, he said.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Queens Plaza millstones vandalized; electeds don't give a damn


From DNA Info:

One of the historic millstones on display in Queens Plaza was vandalized recently — renewing a local historian's call to have the pair of artifacts moved from the site.

The two stones, which are located in a park in Queens Plaza called Dutch Kills Green, are estimated to be at least 200 hundreds years old and possibly a relic from a mill that once operated nearby, according to Bob Singleton of the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

Singleton said he was notified by a community member of the vandalism last week. A photo he snapped of the vandalized millstone shows it was tagged with the word "Patria," in its center, and someone wrote the word "choky" numerous times in what appears to be marker.

The Parks Department removed the graffiti Friday morning, a spokesman said, "using methods recommended by our art and antiquities conservators." The department has notified the NYPD and planned to file a police report of the incident.

But Singleton says the vandalism is further proof that the millstones should be moved from the park to an indoor space where they can be preserved — something he's been pushing for years.


Look folks, this is typical. The City at this point knows that Queens Plaza is a bad place for the millstones. Yet they can't bring themselves to admit that. They can be placed indoors in an accessible location. But this being Queens, the electeds won't push for that, and will kowtow to the EDC.

It's quite embarrassing.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

As predicted, millstones get damaged at Queens Plaza


From the Daily News:

The western Queens hustle and bustle has taken a chunk out of a relic of old industrial New York City.

Local preservationists were alarmed when they recently noticed a centuries-old millstone — currently displayed in a small pedestrian greenspace near Queens Plaza — had been seriously damaged.

The circular stone is part of a pair in Dutch Kills that date back to as early as the mid-1600s. They were used in water-powered gristmills that converted grains into flour.

“They are not going to last much longer while exposed to the elements,” Bob Singleton, executive director of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, told the Daily News on Wednesday.

A group of concerned stakeholders keep a “continuous watch” on the millstones, and quickly noticed the damage to one of them, Singleton said. The millstone had a previous crack in that spot.

His organization is reigniting its years-long push to have them relocated to somewhere indoors, Singleton said.

“You don’t need the precious artifacts to be exposed to uncertainties of urban life,” he said.

The proper location for the two millstones was debated in 2010 while the pedestrian plaza was being erected by the city Economic Development Corp. The two circular relics were excavated from their encasing in a city sidewalk.

“Parks retrieved the section of the millstone that came off and we’re storing it until we can make repairs,” agency spokeswoman Tara Kiernan said in a statement. “There were no signs of vandalism and we suspect the piece might have been part of a former repair. We do not have any plans to move the millstones indoors.”


Further proof that this city is run by a bunch of idiots.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Millstones to get marked


From the Queens Chronicle:

The public will soon know the historical significance of the two Colonial-era stones embedded in Queens Plaza, with the installation of plaques, said a Parks Department spokesman.

The 250-foot-wide triangular plaza at the base of the Queensboro Bridge at the junction of Northern and Queens boulevards is filled with flowers, grass, walking paths, benches and the two historical landmarks — the millstones. The busy Queens Plaza gets substantial foot traffic from the surrounding businesses, and employees from large employers such as JetBlue and the city’s Department of Heath located in the vicinity frequent the outdoor space.

“I’ve never noticed them,” one woman from the DOH said last Friday afternoon while sitting in the plaza.

The Economic Development Corp. was in charge of putting the stones in their new home, but the city’s Parks Department is taking the lead on signage. Plaques that describe the historical importance of the millstones will be submitted to the Public Design Committee this fall, a Parks Department spokesman said, with the hopes that they will be in the plaza by the end of the year.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

How NYC treats Queens history

Well, those historic millstones are now installed in a new park at Queens Plaza. You may not have heard, but that's not a surprise. The photo below shows the placement of the millstones.

Of course, a hoped-for restoration of the artifacts didn't happen. If these were in Manhattan, millions of dollars would have been spent on study, care, restoration and celebration with grants being provided to museums and cultural institutions for said purposes. Since they are on the other side of the Queensboro Bridge, they were tossed without much thought into a library that most people don't even know exists, and now they are on top of concrete and metal pedestals left open to vandalism and getting crashed into by cars. When DSNY decides to clear the streets during the next snowstorm by dumping the snow in this plaza, I shudder to think what will become of the millstones. One of them is definitely subject to rock salt, being buried in a mound of snow, and rammed into by plows in its current location next to the road.

The stone above has a chunk of concrete hanging off the right side of it.

The other one has asphalt spackled into the middle of it.

[The Newtown Pentacle's photos show the decay in much more detail than mine do.]

Can't wait for the inevitable lawsuits that will result from people tripping off the path into the plant bed about 2 feet below.

Across the street, a clue to this building's history appears. The missing letters said "Corn Exchange Bank Trust Co."

Amidst all this urban grit that's supposed to be "cool", there is nothing that explains what the millstones are, or their role in the area's history. One of the park supporters' biggest criticisms of the once-sidewalk-embedded millstones were that "thousands of people walked by the millstones every day without knowing what they were." Nothing has changed.

"...hopefully, the site will include a sign or a stone explaining their history." - Gerald Walsh, President, Dutch Kills Civic Association, 2010

Fat chance, pal. As the previously linked-to Pentacle article from April 2012 states: "The Long Island City Millstones are back as well, although due to a lack of signage indicating their historical meaning or context, they appear to be just another accoutrement."

As an aside, if you like broken concrete that collects trash, plants that look like weeds (which are supposed to represent a faux wetland but were more likely selected to mask the unplanted weeds that will spring up) and bikers straying from their dedicated lanes and speeding at you in the middle of a cacophony, then this place is great. If not, then this was a total waste of $59M of taxpayer money.

Friday, June 17, 2011

What about those millstones?

From the Queens Gazette:

The Dutch Kills millstones are to be installed in the traffic islands. [Dan] Colangione said the EDC has retained a historical resources consultant and, in collaboration with the city Parks Department, is producing a plaque that describes the millstones. The stones are currently at the branch of the Queens Borough Public Library on 21st Street and 38th Avenue while their final display is determined. Colangione said the idea of cutting dowels into the stones was abandoned after several protests that the process could immediately damage them or leave them vulnerable to later damage. Instead, they will be fixed to their pedestals by grouting. (That time and weathering might deteriorate the grouting was brought up at the meeting and determined to be an inevitable problem of maintenance.) Only old-fashioned hand tools are used on the stones, the EDC spokesman said, with no power tools being allowed.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Millstones' origin being studied

From the Daily News:

A pair of millstones long embedded in a Long Island City sidewalk may soon grind their way into primetime.

An Astoria historian is in talks with the PBS show "History Detectives" to reveal the origins of the artifacts, whose removal from Queens Plaza last year sparked spats about their future.

"How can people ultimately decide their fate if we don't have all the information in front of us?" asked Bob Singleton of the Greater Astoria Historical Society.

An associate producer for the show - in which experts research historic objects - said she wants to work with Singleton but is waiting for more details on the 10-inch-thick millstones.

Once part of a 1657 grist mill in Dutch Kills, the millstones are believed to have been cemented into the sidewalk in the 1920s. They were disinterred last year during construction on Queens Plaza.

Debates soon raged between civic leaders who want the stones on outdoor view and others who believe they belong in a museum, protected from the elements.

The objects are now on display at the Queens Library's 21st St. branch in Long Isalnd City, where they are slated to stay until spring 2012. The city then plans to re-embed them into the sidewalk or put them on a pedestal nearby.

At the heart of the argument is whether the aging millstones can withstand harsh weather - or if putting them indoors would limit public access too much.

Singleton hopes the PBS show could determine whether the millstones were made in the Catskills, as master miller Ted Hazen told the Daily News.


That's an interesting way to display historical objects. I'm sure City Planning and EDC will do an even more stellar job when they are dumped in the middle of Queens Plaza.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Millstones being moved to library

From: "Elias, Minna"
To: Recipient list suppressed
Cc: "loren@carolynmaloney.com" ; "Peyre, Brice" ; "Babor, Edward"
Sent: Wed, September 22, 2010 2:55:25 PM
Subject: RE: Millstones Re-Location

I am told an MOU is being executed with Queens Library shortly, and that the millstones will be moved to the library in the next month or so. The millstones will be on display at the library where they will be seen by tens of thousands of visitors. I’m told the cost of moving them is de minimis – the city has the manpower, the fork lift and the truck to transport them, so the extra cost is gas. The Queens library is assuming any costs associated with displaying the millstones in a safe and appropriate way. We are aware that there was some support for moving them to the Greater Astoria Historical Society, and while it is a fine organization with strong community support, there was more support for moving it to the library which has many more visitors. I know the issue of the millstones was considered by Community Board 2, where the Queens Plaza project is being built, and that their input was considered. (and I am aware that Dutch Kills is not in Community Board 2, although the Queens Plaza project is). We look forward to the next stage, when the millstones will be returned to the community where they can be admired by passersby in the neighborhood in which the mills originally operated. It was reiterated to me by representatives of both EDC and City Planning that a new plan will be made for displaying the millstones without drilling them. I hope this is responsive to your concerns.
______________________________________

1) Whoa, I thought the city's position was that the stones were "too fragile" to be moved? What happened to that?
2) Have you heard anyone say they wanted them in a library located between 2 sets of housing projects? All I remember is one side saying they shouldn't be moved from Dutch Kills/Queens Plaza, and the other side saying they should be put in a museum/historical society. Where the hell did this plan come from?
3) What is really going on here? Why did it take so long to get a response to the e-mail below? Why were there no follow up meetings, as promised, after the one held in June?
______________________________________

From: Barbara Lorinz
To: minna.elias@mail.house.gov, brice.peyre@mail.house.gov, sarah.belleas@mail.house.gov, loren@carolynmaloney.com, jvanbramer@council.nyc.gov, jkenton@council.nyc.gov, ajacobs@council.nyc.gov, troberts@council.nyc.gov, ballekd@assembly.state.ny.us
Subject: Millstones Re-Location
Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:21:52 -0400

Good Evening Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Councilman Van Bramer & Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan,

Our Dutch Kills Community is hearing rumors that the Millstones will be re-located to the library. Why was our community not involved in this decision?? Why a secret?? This is outrageous.. This is disrespect to all of us in our Dutch Kills Community. We need to know who made this decision without consulting us.

The Best Place to re-locate Our Millstones is the Greater Astoria Historical Society.. The Millstones will be protected & secure & we will be able to visit the Historical Society many hours during the day & evening hours & is more convenient for people to visit & read all about our History, not just the Millstones.. We cannot believe or understand why the library would be a better place to keep our Millstones, rather than The Greater Astoria Historical Society.. Queens Plaza renovation is Federal, State & City $$$... What funds will be used for this move?? We need to discuss this matter before any re-location takes place. Please call me ... about this rumor...

Thank You,

Barbara Lorinz/Pres/Dutch Kills Advocacy League


How artifacts are protected in Manhattan:


There are a lot of folks who should be ashamed of themselves -- including Terri Osborne, "Director of Queens Tourism". Ha. Good one.

Friday, April 30, 2010

EDC caught lying about millstones; pols still MIA

From the LIC Millstones Blog:

In a Queens Chronicle article of April 15th, 2010- EDC spokeswoman Libby Langsdorf stated that the Millstones are actually too fragile to be moved. Which is apparently not true, as the photos above show. Compare with those of the millstones in other posts, and you can clearly see that SOMEONE was embarrassed enough by the photos of them published at this blog to actually move them. Who was the “archeological resources consultant” that supervised this?

quoting from the Queens Chronicle article -

Project managers said they intend to consider the stones during construction work. “The city and EDC are fully aware of the historical significance of the Colonial-era millstones at Queens Plaza,” said Libby Langsdorf, spokeswoman at EDC. “They are secured at the site, where there is little activity at this time.”

At this time, the EDC believes that due to the excessive weight of and fragility of the stones, it might be safer to avoid moving them.

“We are in the process of engaging an archeological resources consultant to help us develop a longer term plan to ensure their safety,” Langsdorf said. “Eventually, the millstones are to be incorporated into the new public plaza to be constructed in the area.”

One of the Millstones is now inside of this little arrangement of scrap lumber and orange safety netting, and has been moved around 10-15 yards from the spot it enjoyed under the tree in other times. Bravo.

Best case scenario- the local politicos who read or heard that someone was making a stink about the Millstones decided to do “the least” that they could. Worst case scenario, and the likely one, is that a construction crew needed to make room for the delivery of construction materials and moved the Millstone for their own convenience.

The latter is exactly the sort of thing that the antiquarian community is concerned about.

Monday, April 19, 2010

LPC rejects millstones; EDC plans to drill holes in 17th century artifacts

From the Queens Chronicle:

Hidden under a crate and surrounded by heavy construction material, the current condition of the already worn Colonial-era millstones in Queens Plaza has preservationists outraged. They say the lack of concern for these historic artifacts that have been part of the streetscape since the 1600s is shameful.

“The manner in which these historical artifacts are being handled and stored is ludicrous,” said Mitch Waxman, an Astoria resident and contributor to the Long Island City Millstones blog, which was formed by Dutch Kills community members.

Project managers said they intend to consider the stones during construction work.

“The city and EDC are fully aware of the historical significance of the Colonial-era millstones at Queens Plaza,” said Libby Langsdorf, spokeswoman at EDC. “They are secured at the site, where there is little activity at this time.”

At this time, the EDC believes that due to the excessive weight of and fragility of the stones, it might be safer to avoid moving them.

“We are in the process of engaging an archeological resources consultant to help us develop a longer term plan to ensure their safety,” Langsdorf said. “Eventually, the millstones are to be incorporated into the new public plaza to be constructed in the area.”

However, Waxman said, the EDC’s plan is insufficient.“The eventual display calls for drilling a hole through the center of the stones and propping them up vertically in the ‘new’ Queens Plaza [and] they’ll make a great target for graffiti, and younger kids will love to climb on them,” he said.


Here was the response to an application for review from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Note these are not colonial artifacts, but a "distinctive sidewalk" (even though they will not be in the sidewalk for much longer):

April 8 2010 Letter From NYCLPC
There are a handful of folks who support the EDC's plan. Click here for video testimony. The point around 8:10 is particularly interesting with a fearless Dutch Kills civic leader declaring, "A rock is a rock."

Our colonial history rests in the hands of bureaucratic bunglers. Why wasn't an archaeologist initially consulted when making the plan for the park?

Saturday, March 20, 2010

City Planning junks Queens Plaza millstones

From LIC Millstones Blog:

So, after all the noise and argumentative tumult of a public meeting- here’s where the LIC Millstones are being stored. Rephrase that as where they’re being left.

Are due diligence and respect being paid to these historic artifacts? What else, all around our community, is being treated so roughly?


Thank you, Penny Lee!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Protecting Queens' historical artifacts

From Forgotten NY:

A small traffic triangle in front of the clock-towered Bank of Manhattan, where Northern Boulevard begins its march to the eastern end of Long Island, contains two of the oldest man-made objects in Queens embedded in its concrete.

In 1650, Dutchman Burger Jorissen constructed a grist mill that today would be on Northern Boulevard between 40th Road and 41st Avenue. The mill existed on the site for about 111 years, until 1861 when it was razed by the Long Island Rail Road. The Payntar family by that time owned the mill property (40th Avenue was called Payntar Avenue until the 1920s) and had placed millstones that had been shipped in by Jorissen around 1657 in front of their house. The Payntar house was razed in the early 1900s. When Sunnyside Yards, Queens Plaza and the Bank of Manhattan and the elevated were constructed, the millstones were fortunately preserved and embedded in the traffic plaza.

The traffic island where the millstones are embedded has been converted into a staging area for heavy construction equipment. Historians fear for the condition of the millstones, already compromised by years of wear and tear. One of the stones has been removed from the plaza and crated, while the other remains in place. A representative from the city Economic Development Corp, which is reconstructing the plaza, maintains that the stones will eventually be displayed in a 1.5 acre green space at the northeast end of Queens Plaza. But can they survive the manhandling they are receiving now?

Here's more on the millstones from the Huffington Post.

The GAHS is sponsoring a community discussion on the millstones' fate on November 18th, 2009 at 6:30 PM at the Quinn Building, 35-20 Broadway, Long Island City.

GAHS has also issued an invitation to all concerned.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Meeting to preserve the millstones

The Greater Astoria Historical Society and the community of Long Island City/Astoria, are concerned about the safety of the historic millstones located at Queens Plaza.

Hidden in plain site, the two millstones, some say, date from the 1600's and are the oldest European artifacts in Queens. The city’s recent stewardship has not been very good. Photos over time show significant wear and tear to their fabric. Recently, a multimillion-dollar renovation at the Plaza has dropped them from view and construction debris litters the site.

The New York Daily News covered the issue:

Ancient millstones grist for historians

$43M Queens Plaza face-lift hits the fast lane

Colonial-era millstones in danger at Queens Plaza construction site, preservationists peeved

We ask the city to support the community’s heritage by:

  • Making the millstones available to the community by moving them from the hazards of a construction site to an exhibit space at the Greater Astoria Historical Society (or another location within the local neighborhood) where they will be not only safe, and on display, but accessible to the public along with an exhibit outlining their history.

  • Making the millstones available to historians and scholars to conduct research (during the period while they are out of the ground), and to support efforts to make them official New York City Designated Landmarks.

  • Open the millstones’ permanent installation process by selecting a location that will not only ensure their preservation within the community with an installation that will be marked with appropriate signage.

The Greater Astoria Historical Society, which not only has assumed the mantel as a watchdog over the LIC–Astoria community’s heritage, but has taken a very active role in their preservation, is calling for all interested parties, from the city planning, civics, preservation experts, and, most importantly, the general public, to come to a meeting at the Greater Astoria Historical Society, 4th Floor, 35–20 Broadway, LIC, at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, November 18, 2009.

All opinions and suggestions are welcome. Go to www.astorialic.org for additional information and pictures. Questions? Call 718–278–0700 or email astorialic@gmail.com.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Queens history treated like trash

From the Daily News:

Originally the spinning centerpieces of a gristmill built in Dutch Kills around 1657, the stones are today among the oldest European artifacts in Queens.

In their heyday, they helped drive the economic fortunes of western Queens, but in recent decades the relics have been entombed in a shabby traffic island, with only their tops visible.

When the city Economic Development Corp. began the $52 million Queens Plaza revamp last fall, the traffic island was converted into a construction staging area.

[Richard] Melnick and other local preservationists are furious the stones were kept in close quarters with construction machinery and materials, hidden behind a temporary fence.

"Considering their historical importance, they should have been removed and put in a secure location," Melnick said.

"What if a heavy truck or a Bobcat rolled over one of them? It would snap it in half," he said.

Last week, one of the stones - still cemented in the sidewalk - was directly underneath part of the fence. The stone, which already had a crack in it before work commenced, was haphazardly covered with construction material.

Even worse, the other stone was nowhere to be seen recently, Melnick and other local preservationists said.

Its original sidewalk placement fell in the center of the staging area - a spot that appeared to have been covered with an asphalt patch when Melnick photographed the area a few weeks ago.

The blacktop patch was gone last week but the stone's whereabouts were still unknown.


This is Queens history, so expect it to be manhandled and disregarded.