Letters to the Editor
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‘Island May Yet Receive Kahn Memorial to Roosevelt’
I was a student of Louis Kahn’s at Yale in 1954 [New York, “Island May Yet Receive Kahn Memorial to Roosevelt,”July 20, 2007]. Now, 53 years later, I am on the task force, appointed by Ambassador William Vanden Heuvel, whose singular objective is to build the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial/Four Freedoms Park designed by this preeminent architect. I would like to clarify a few issues raised by this article. The article failed to mention that the 2.8-acre Memorial is part of a larger 13-acre parcel of land collectively called Southpoint.
The Trust for Public Land is developing a beautiful community garden on the 10 acres directly north of the Memorial site.
Councilwoman Jessica Lappin has been a strong advocate for this park and has secured more than $4.5 million dollars in city funding for its development.
The survey of residents referred to in the article was in fact a very small sampling: only 38 people registered their opinion.
The FDR Memorial Park will not usurp this community garden, but will enhance it greatly. The formal clarity of the Kahn design will complement the Wild Garden scheme to the north.
This park will certainly become the city’s next open-space landmark, and will put Roosevelt back where he belongs: on the tip of the island that was dedicated to him and renamed in his honor in 1973.
James Polshek
Fellow
The American Institute of Architects
New York, N.Y.
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