Posted Feb 17, 2016, 11:07 AM
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New Yorker for life
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Borough of Jersey
Posts: 51,919
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http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/18/ny...e=sectionfront
Remembering a Vile Civil War Act, on Fifth Avenue
By DAVID W. DUNLAP
FEB. 17, 2016
Quote:
...For now, however, the south half of the asylum site is vacant, nothing more than a 10,625-square-foot lot strewn with rubble, including brick fragments. Many brick fragments. So many brick fragments that you begin to wonder: Could any of these have been used to build the asylum?
....The moment has come to ask such questions because the developer Louis Ceruzzi plans to redevelop the site with a tower more than 70 stories tall that will certainly have retail space at the base and is likely to include a mix of hotel rooms and apartments above.
An opportunity is at hand to examine the site closely in the hope of finding some tangible remnant of the asylum. Even if there are no archaeological finds, there is certainly a chance to commemorate the asylum and memorialize its pillage in some form at the new building.
....To judge from his blog, Mr. Ceruzzi is fascinated by New York City history. Whether that translates to support for an archaeological dig and permanent memorial at 520 Fifth Avenue is another question. He did not respond to emails for comment.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission said through a spokeswoman that it had reviewed the site in 2008 and determined that it was “unlikely to contain intact archaeological resources.”
But 35 years of covering — and uncovering — the layers of New York City history have taught me that traces of the past are seldom eradicated entirely. And the story of the Colored Orphan Asylum seems too important to forget.
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