Construction permits pulled at Underground Railroad site

Chelsea Now reports today on the Lamartine Gibbons Home in "Construction permits pulled at Underground Railroad site":

The efforts of a group of preservationists to halt construction work at a Chelsea rowhouse that was a stop on the Underground Railroad recently led the city to revoke the developer’s permits to build a penthouse addition....

Last week, the city Department of Buildings revoked the developer’s construction permit “related to the job to vertically and horizontally enlarge the building,” said DOB spokesperson Carly Sullivan. The plan includes the addition of a fifth floor and penthouse to the 1847 building, with much of the construction already completed despite the fact that it had already been deemed illegal.

In May, the DOB levied a stop-work order on the property, even though ongoing construction work had inexplicably been allowed to continue after the developer’s plans failed a DOB audit in 2008.

For the full article, click here.

According to defenders of the building history, "Although the building permit has been revoked, the architect is apparently still fighting and the owner still has wiggle room to amend the permit before the building is landmarked in the fall."

Mapping the African American Past

Jacob Morris pointed out a great website hosted by Columbia called MAAP— Mapping the African American Past. Here is part of their entry for Abolitionist Place in Downtown Brooklyn:

In the 1800s the harbor nearby was one of the busiest in the world. Hundreds of ships loaded with cotton or tobacco from the South came and went. The ships also carried stowaways bent on stealing their own freedom. Other runaways were brought here by conductors of the Underground Railroad, such as the famed Harriet Tubman. They all found shelter in the neighborhood’s churches and safe houses. In addition, they were given food and clothing collected by local women’s organizations.

There are many interesting tools on the site! It is especially useful for teachers since it includes lesson plans.

NY Times: Discussing an Underground Railroad museum

The New York Times continues its coverage of the Underground Railroad home on West 29th Street in Manhattan. They published "Retracing the Elusive Footsteps of a Secretive History" on 2/24, and today they published a Letter to the Editor. Here's an excerpt:

In considering the Underground Railroad, people often look at the intake states, such as Ohio and Pennsylvania. However, New York’s role was not only vital but has been often overlooked in the city’s history.

New York was a jumping-off hub. Once escapees reached New York, they could often make a single jump to Canada, on boats going up the Hudson River, or even occasionally on trains.

A museum of abolitionism and the Underground Railroad here would be a welcome tool in teaching tolerance, and a way of illustrating that some New Yorkers reached across barriers of intolerance to help others, at great risk.

For the full letter, click here. Our previous coverage can be found here.