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Halina Rosenthal

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Biography

Born Halina Kolowicz in Warsaw, Poland in 1918, Halina spent most of her childhood in Cannes at a Catholic convent. After the Second World War, she met her husband, Tony Rosenthal, in a sculpture class he was teaching at an Army school in St. Jean-de-Luz near Biarritz, France1.

In 1973 she moved to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. There she began her neighborhood advocacy work, founding the 73rd Street Block Association for the purpose of planting trees2.

In 1981, after the Upper East Side Historic District was designated by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, Rosenthal helped form the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts3 - a not-for-profit preservationist group "dedicated to preserving the architectural legacy, livability, and sense of place of the Upper East Sidehttp://www.friends-ues.org/about-2/) Accessed: July 6, 2009" href="#footnote4_npuoizl">4."

Rosenthal took it upon herself to inform property owners about the Landmarks Law and its application on the Upper East Side. During the 1980s and early 1990s she became a go-to source for developers and preservationists alike on issues concerning zoning and preservation in the Upper East Side historic districts5.

She received the Doris C. Freedman Award in 1991, given annually to an individual or organization whose “contribution to the people of the City of New York...greatly enriches the public environment6." That same year she was also honored with the Historic Districts Council's Landmarks Lion Award in recognition of her efforts for preservation. She was described by Anthony C. Wood, then chairman of the Historic Districts Council, as "the consummate activist7."

She died March 31, 19918.

 

Key Events Places and Dates

1981 - The Landmarks Preservation Commission designates the Upper East Side Historic District.

1982 - Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts is founded.

1985 - Successfully campaigned to reduce the allowable building height on over 200 side streets from 12 to 6 stories.

Offices Held

  • President of the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts (1982-1991)

Creation of the Upper East Side Historic District

Halina Rosenthal was part of the citizens committee for the designation of an Upper East Side Historic District. The committee advocated for the preservation of a large historic district. By doing this, they hoped to preserve the special character of the neighborhood, something that might have been lost if only individual landmarks were designated9. Small, older buildings were seen as "sitting ducks" for redevelopment10, so the citizens committee was bent on a designation that would encompass (and thus protect) the entire area.

In the late 1970s the real estate community opposed the creation of a historic district on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Also in opposition was the East Side Association, who argued that there had already been enough zoning to protect buildings11. Rosenthal fought for the landmarking by lobbying and organizing the area residents. Her persistent advocacy led to community support. In 1979, the area's community board gave its "narrow" endorsement to the idea of a historic district. The vote was six to three with five absent12.

Creating an Upper East Side Historic District was called "a major event in the city's land use13." Rosenthal played a great role in the actual designation process as well, organizing people to attend and testify before the Board of Estimate.

Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District

Following the historic district designation, the Municipal Art Society, which played a leadership role in designation of the district, launched an organization called the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. MAS recognized that a group was needed to protect the district as applicants began to come forward to get permits for new buildings and alterations to existing structures. Halina Rosenthal became the organization's first president.

Among her successes as president of Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts was a campaign in 1985 to downzone the 200-plus side street blocks throughout the Upper East Side from an R8 to an R8B classification. This reduced the allowable building height on a typical side street site from 12 to 6 stories14.

In 1989, Rosenthal was among those who urged the Charter Revision Commission not to alter existing regulations for New York City's Landmarks Law15. She believed any additions or alterations to the Landmarks Law would make future designation "near impossible" and that "social considerations are a Trojan horse that would surely cripple that law16."

She also worked to defeat plans for the expansion of the Whitney and the Guggenheim museums, and opposed a proposal to place newsstands on Fifth Avenue17.

In 1991 Rosenthal supported the effort to expand the Carnegie Hill Historic District18. It was finally expanded in 1993.

  • 1. Grace Glueck. "Halina Rosenthal, 73, a Leader In Efforts to Save Landmarks, Dies," The New York Times, April 1, 1991
  • 2. Ibid.
  • 3. Ibid.
  • 4. About The Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts (http://www.friends-ues.org/about-2/) Accessed: July 6, 2009
  • 5. Thomas L. Waite. "Postings: The Last Apartments?; Plan B For Madison," The New York Times, January 15, 1989
  • 6. Grace Glueck. "Halina Rosenthal, 73, a Leader In Efforts to Save Landmarks, Dies," The New York Times, April 1, 1991
  • 7. "Postings: Preservation Award; Council Lionizing a 'Hellion'," The New York Times, March 10, 1991
  • 8. Grace Glueck. "Halina Rosenthal, 73, a Leader In Efforts to Save Landmarks, Dies," The New York Times, April 1, 1991
  • 9. Jane B. Trichter. "Designation? Certainly, How Much? The Debate," The New York Times, May 4, 1980;
  • 10. Ibid.
  • 11. Paul Goldberger. "Preservation Victory," New York Times, May 21, 1981
  • 12. Carter B. Horsley. "Community Panel Narrowly Backs Upper East Side Historic District," The New York Times, September 16, 1979
  • 13. Paul Goldberger. "Preservation Victory," New York Times, May 21, 1981
  • 14. Christopher Gray. "Streetscapes: The Czech Gymnastic Association Clubhouse; A 2-Story Survivor Amid Upper East Side High-Rises," The New York Times, August 13, 1989
  • 15. Alan Finder. "Charter Panel Hears Support for Landmarks Law," The New York Times, July 19, 1989
  • 16. Ibid.
  • 17. Grace Glueck. "Halina Rosenthal, 73, a Leader In Efforts to Save Landmarks, Dies," The New York Times, April 1, 1991
  • 18. Iver Peterson. "A Bigger Carnegie Hill Historic District?" The New York Times, March 3, 1991
Bibliography and Resources: 
About Town: Preserving Law -- and Our City