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....June 15, 3:03 PM |
| OUR DUBIOUS HONOR: THE EYES OF THE WORLD LOOK AT BORO’S AGING WORLD’S FAIR RELIC
By JAMES J. PARZIALE The structure is iconic to our borough, a staple in New York City lore. It was an intricate component to the historic World’s Fair in the 1964. Its image is stamped on thousands of postcards each year.
It even made a cameo in the blockbuster movie “Men in Black,” serving as a getaway spaceship for an alien. As far-fetched as that scenario sounds, it may be more mind-boggling to think that the New York State Pavilion is now on a watch list that harbors decrepit structures from before the time Jesus Christ walked the Earth. On June 6, the World Monuments Fund released its list of The 100 Most Endangered Sites for 2008, putting the 43-year-old relic on a list of structures that are in peril. The fact that it is the youngest one in the United States on the list – which in years past has featured international structures like China’s Great Wall, Spain’s Aqueduct and the Taj Mahal, to name a few – adds to the feeble shape of the three towers and Tent of Tomorrow that used to facilitate concerts, a roller skating rink and a restaurant, and of course, the World’s Fair. The Pavilion hasn’t been productively used since the last 1970s, and after decades of neglect, can no longer be ignored. How Bad Is It? The Pavilion, though not designed for long-term use for after the World’s Fair, is still standing – albeit barely. The structure is replete with cracks in the exterior walls, covered with rust, and rests on a deteriorating wooden underpinning that causes the entire structure to shift with time. The stairs in the towers have been rendered useless after being bombarded by decades of bird feces. Graffiti can be found on various parts of the Tent of Tomorrow and there have been sightings of homeless living in various unwatched nooks and crevices. The New York City Parks Department owns the Pavilion, and Liam Kavanagh, the First Deputy Commissioner of Parks, has taken his share of heat over the years. Seeing the Pavilion on the WMF’s Top 100 didn’t do anything to put out the brush fire. “I can’t say we’re pleased to be on that list,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been working on since the start of the Bloomberg administration to make it usable.” Kavanagh said the City is trying to formulate a plan to refurbish the Pavilion, and in July will launch a new structural budget study that will get the ball rolling. It is the critical first step in a process that could take years, he said, but the broad study must be conducted. It will focus on and assess the structure, what type of maintenance and repairs could be done, including subsurface assessments to see how stable the structure is. He stressed that the City is dedicated to “going forward productively” with the Pavilion and expressed glee that the University of Pennsylvania has taken on a project to restore the Texaco map of New York State in the tent. Though he’s pleased that these are the baby steps, he is “a little dissatisfied” that the Pavilion is on the list, but said “if it attracts attention to finding a good use it will have a beneficial effect.” Michelle Berenfeld, who directs the World Monuments Fund Watch program, said that the Pavilion is unique because it is part of a slew of modern architectural structures that may soon be in peril. “What’s interesting is that people go by there and wonder that there was a World’s Fair there and there’s nothing there now,” she said. “There was something there. You can’t save everything, but it’s enough of a testament to a certain time in New York, which makes it interesting to save it.” Though the WMF could help support whatever plan eventually goes into effect, Kavanagh said he couldn’t put a number on how much any type of project would cost. “I wouldn’t fathom a guess,” he said. “It’s a unique structure. You can’t apply traditional architectural concepts.” Getting On The List To get on WMF’s Top 100, a site must first be sponsored by an organization or individual. Frankie Campione, the Principal of CREATE Architecture Planning and Design, and former Queens Tribune editor David Oats, have both been long-time advocates for the Pavilion’s restoration. They cosponsored the Pavilion this time around to get it on the list. “I’m sure that it seems surprising to have a site like that, especially one that you pass on your way to the airport all the time, as a site on the list with things that are 10,000 years old,” Berenfeld said. “We have growing number of sites on the list that are designed in the modern era that are not protected because they are younger than a lot of monuments.” Oats is President of the Flushing Meadows Park World’s Fair Association and has long called for the Pavilion to be given back to the State, which originally funded the project for $12 million. He said that now that the Pavilion is on the Top 100, the negative attention may turn into a positive. |
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