Support Letter for Reservoir Listing

Below is a suggested letter of support for adding the Ridgewood Reservoir to the State and National Register of Historic Places. It has been over 8 years since the community began its uphill battle to protect this unique and important area. We are very close to accomplishing that goal, but could use a bit more help:

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February 9, 2017

Commissioner Rose Harvey
NY State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Rose.Harvey@parks.ny.gov
Peebles Island State Park
P.O. Box 189
Waterford, NY 12188-0189

Commissioner Harvey:

We wholeheartedly support the listing of the Ridgewood Reservoir on the State and National Register of Historic Places. This landmark in engineering history is the most important example of 19th century urban infrastructure in the City of New York, and it certainly merits recognition.

Built between 1856 and 1858, the Ridgewood Reservoir is the last remaining piece of the water supply system of the City of Brooklyn. It was an engineering marvel at the time, and today it is an important feature of Highland Park. The reservoir offers insight into the environmental history of Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County, and as such is invaluable.

Since being decommissioned in 1989, the three reservoir basins have evolved into distinct ecological environments, from woodlands to wetlands. This evolution is unique in the city and affords an unequaled opportunity to study nature.

The Ridgewood Reservoir merits recognition as a landmark in urban history, engineering history, and environmental history, and we urge you to list this site on the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register.


Sincerely,


cc: Ruth Pierpont, Director, Division for Historic Preservation; Ruth.Pierpont@parks.ny.gov
NYC H2O; info@nych2o.org

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We suggest that support letters include cc’s to:

Queens Borough Parks Commissioner Dotty Lewandowski; dorothy.lewandowski@parks.nyc.gov
Liam Kavanagh, Deputy Parks Commissioner; liam.kavanagh@parks.nyc.gov
Steve Zahn, Acting Director NY State DEC Region 2; steve.zahn@dec.ny.gov
Ken Scarlatelli, Natural Resource Manager for NY State DEC Region 2; kenneth.scarlatelli@dec.ny.gov
Salema Davis, CB5 Brooklyn Parks Committee Chairwoman; Salemafabu@yahoo.com

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