BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY December 15, 2019 6
Landmark status sought for historic Port Morris gantries
BY KYLE VUILLE
Once a part of a thriving industrial
area, the Port Morris gantries
have long been abandoned
and forgotten.
However a historic landmarks
request was recently submitted to
examine the role they played during
a time crucial period of a long
gone era.
According to director of Communications
at NYC Landmarks
Preservation Commission, Zodet
Negron, a request was made to
see if the gantries have the qualifi
cations to make the cut.
LPC sent the following statement
to the Bronx Times:
“The Landmarks Preservation
Commission received a request on
November 18 to evaluate the Port
Morris gantries for consideration
as possible individual landmarks.
The agency is in the process of
reviewing the request, which is
done in light of the standards and
requirements of the Landmarks
Law.”
Negron explained while the
public can propose a landmark
through a request for evaluation
(RFE), it is up to the LPC to identify
any considerations to be merited
as landmarks.
She went on to say once the
LPC receives the request and its
supporting materials, the agency
conducts an evaluation and once
proved worthy, additional research
is done to be determine
where the suggested landmark
meets the basic criteria for designation.
According to Negron, there is
no specifi c timeframe for the evaluation
or research done in order
to move forward and every review
is circumstantial.
The LPC classifi es landmarks
in four different categories: individual
landmarks, interior landmarks,
scenic landmarks and historic
districts.
The RFE for the gantries was
fi led under the ‘Individual Landmark’
category.
Minimal requirements for an
individual landmark are: must
be at least 30 years old and have
“a special character or special
historical or aesthetic interest or
value as part of the development,
heritage, or cultural characteristics
of the City, state, or nation.”
The gantries, located at East
135th Street date back to 1925 and
were a major component in ferry
transportation, particularly for
those who worked and lived on
Riker’s Island and North Brother
Island before the bridge to Riker’s
was built.
South Bronx United is the driving
force behind the effort to landmark
the gantries.
Mychal Johnson, a South
Bronx United member, said the
group has been advocating for
decades to make the gantries and
surrounding area a public space.
“A lot of people work in that industrial
area and they don’t even
have a place to sit down and eat
lunch,” Johnson said.
Johnson said South Bronx
United has approached several
architects to produce renderings
of how the potential public space
could be used.
Though the gantries have not
been recognized as a historic landmark
yet, the waterfront space has
been recognized by Historic District
Council and the NYC Department
of Environmental Conservation
has it designated as an open
space site, according to Johnson.
South Bronx United has a vision
for the transformation of the
gantries, but giving life to them
is dependent on the LPC at the
moment. “It’s sad that this underserved,
overburdened and economically
oppressed community
doesn’t have waterfront access,”
Johnson said. “This site should be
preserved and sustained, to be enjoyed
by the community.”
The Port Morris Gantries as they stand today. Recently a non-profi t organization, South Bronx Unite, put in a request for
evaluation to NYC Land Preservation Commission make the gantries a historic landmark. Ideas and plans for the revitalization
of the gantries are already underway. Photo courtesy of South Bronx Unite
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