8 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 27, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM Historians are asking for help to preserve a building in Astoria that was home to a famous pianist. 5/25/17 5/25/17 5/25/17 5/25/17 SPRING INTO SAVINGS! Encore Premium Photo by Angela Matua/QNS VARILUX PROGRESSIVE LENSES $169 (No-Line Bifocals) w/metal frame.Select frames with clear plastic no-line lenses +/- 4 sph, 2 cyl. Not valid with any other offers, sales, vision plan packages. Must present prior to purchase. Offer valid at location only. Some restrictions apply see store for details. Offer ends 5/25/17 QC LIC to developers: Keep ‘The Lot’ An undeveloped lot in Long Island City used by residents for events like movie screenings and concerts is slated to become an 18-story, 123-unit rental complex. Known by locals as Th e Lot, the space at 43-12 Hunter St. acted as a quasi-park in an area that is severely lacking green space. Neighboring restaurant M. Wells used it to host Th e Lot Fest, an event that provided access to free books for children, and Socrates Sculpture Park hosted a rotating gallery of artwork. Smorgasburg Queens was also hosted there in 2015. Amadeo Plaza, founder and president of Court Square Civic Association, said the dearth of green space in the area makes Th e Lot a vital area for Long Island City residents. His organization created an online petition addressed to local elected offi cials on April 21 to ask them to not only fi ght for the preservation of Th e Lot but also to create other spaces like it. Plaza said the group had no idea that Rockrose Development, which has owned the site in 2006, had offi cially announced that development would fi nally take place. Rockrose Development has not addressed the Court Square Civic Association and did not respond to a request for comment from Th e Courier. As of April 22, fence slats were installed around the area to keep it out of view. Angela Matua A ‘Day Without Bread’ in LIC Tom Cat Bakery workers who have been thrust to the center of discussions regarding recent immigration policies held a walk out on April 21 to protest an impending mass fi ring of more than a dozen workers aft er a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) audit last month. Employees, along with nonprofi t Brandworkers, organized a “Day Without Bread” in Long Island City to “protest the Trump administration’s inhumane immigration policies,” according to a statement. Early on April 21, employees and supporters gathered outside Tom Cat Bakery at 43-05 10th St. Four supporters were arrested aft er chaining themselves to delivery trucks overnight to kick off the event, according to Brandworkers. Aft er a DHS audit in March, Tom Cat Bakery told 31 workers they had 10 days to produce valid I-9 forms or would face termination with no severance pay. Employees held a rally in front of the building and worked with their union to hammer out an extension, which expires on April 21. Now, those who cannot produce updated I-9 forms will get up to six months of unpaid leave and will be able to return to work aft er they rectify the situation. It is not clear if the remaining Tom Cat Bakery workers will be able to provide valid I-9 forms before the six-month deadline. Angela Matua Historians look to save Astoria pianist’s former home BY ANGELA MATUA [email protected] @AngelaMatua A building in Astoria that was once home to renowned pianist Ferdinand Quentin Dulcken is slated for demolition, but local historians are fi ghting to have it preserved. The Dulcken house, located at 31-07 31st Ave., was built in 1876. According to permits fi led with the Department of Buildings, owner Georgo Hrisikopoulos wants to turn it into a six-story, 10-unit apartment with an eating and drinking establishment on the fi rst fl oor. Richard Melnick, a member of the Greater Astoria Historical Society (GAHS), attended a Community Board 1 meeting in April and urged the advisory to help them save the building. Th e GAHS submitted an application to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to have the building landmarked, but were told that the building was not eligible for preservation because of alterations to the exterior. “New York City retains its greatest legacy of the creative capital of the world. It owes this in no small measure to the Steinways and to Professor Dulcken,” he said. “Ferdinand Dulcken was a protégé of Felix Mendelssohn, a very famous composer in his time. Th e Greater Astoria Historical Society would be willing to chair an eff ort but we need everyone’s help. We can’t do it alone.” According to an application that the GAHS sent to the LPC, Dulcken’s mother Louise was a child prodigy who spoke German, English, French and Italian. She was the fi rst female pianist to perform with the London Philharmonic and Queen Victoria asked her for keyboard lessons. Dulcken was born in 1837 and was one of six children of Th eobald and Louise Dulcken. He moved to New York in 1876 and worked at Steinway Hall in Manhattan, a retail and performance space opened by Steinway & Sons, where he taught piano lessons to famous musicians. Dulcken, who was a professor at Warsaw University for fi ve years, also worked with the Steinway family in Astoria to manage artists and establish a concert arts program, Melnick said. In 1884, he married Mary Totten and they moved into the French Second Empire Mansion, where mementos such as a framed note from author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow were allegedly common to fi nd. He died in 1901 and the home was sold in 1931. Th ough the group has not received any offi cial support from local elected offi cials or the Community Board, they have long argued that historic buildings in Long Island City and Astoria are not getting the attention they deserve. Th e Steinway Mansion, a building that Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg used as a summer home and where established his piano building company Steinway & Sons just a few blocks away, is now surrounded by commercial buildings. In Long Island City, the group fought for the preservation of the Elks Lodge, which was built in 1908 and acted as “one of the most powerful political institutions in Queens for the next half century,” according to GAHS. Th e LPC ruled that the property at 21-42 44th Dr. did not merit landmark status because of its “comparative lack of historic and architectural signifi cance relative to other landmarked clubhouses.” Melnick said the group hopes the building can be turned into a tourist destination, performance space and learning center. GAHS will formally announce the establishment of a committee to help preserve the house, like they did with Th e Friends of Steinway Mansion. If anyone is interested in joining the committee or has any questions about the house or eff orts to save it, you can contact the GAHS at astorialic@ gmail.com or call 718-278-0700.
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