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Members of Save Our Seaport, a grassroots group formed in the spring to devise a rescue plan for the South Street Seaport museum in Lower Manhattan, had a meeting July 15 with officials from the Museum of the City of New York to discuss a possible partnership, according to an article Wednesday at downtownexpress.com by Aline Reynolds.
The Seaport Museum is virtually closed and is no longer accepting new members and the only open exhibition space is aboard the Peking cargo ship and the Ambrose lightship Thursdays through Sundays, the article noted.
Meeting with the City Museum was "an excellent step forward," according to David Sheldon, one of the group's founders, the article said:. "It was a wonderfully productive initial meeting. The museum was receptive to all the information we provided, and both sides are open to future meetings."
"We had no firm proposal - just ideas, such as putting the ships back to work," said 'Save Our Seaport' member Sandy Eames, who has volunteered on the museum's ships for more than 10 years, the article said, adding that Eames said the group "is particularly interested in seeing the city's Department of Cultural Affairs' plans to restore the Wavertree sailing ship."
"One of the key problems in the past is the programs on our ships have not been effectively marketed," said Eames, the article continued.
"Forming an alliance with the City Museum is a tactful move only if the Seaport Museum's current leaders - President and Chief Executive Officer Mary Pelzer and Chairman Frank Sciame - are replaced, according to 'Save Our Seaport' member Peter Stanford, the museum's founder and former president. The group, Stanford said, is contemplating forming an independent organization that would assist in the museum's operations and demand government-run commissions and hearings," the article said.
The article said that "Seth Pinsky, president of the Economic Development Corporation, said the city has been 'actively engaged with the Board of the South Street Seaport Museum, working with them to try to get their financial house in order.' Pinsky continued, "It's a very challenging situation. We're talking both to them as well as to potential outside entities that might be able to assist them." The city, he said, hopes to have more information to share with the public "in the coming weeks."
The Seaport Museum is virtually closed and is no longer accepting new members and the only open exhibition space is aboard the Peking cargo ship and the Ambrose lightship Thursdays through Sundays, the article noted.
Meeting with the City Museum was "an excellent step forward," according to David Sheldon, one of the group's founders, the article said:. "It was a wonderfully productive initial meeting. The museum was receptive to all the information we provided, and both sides are open to future meetings."
"We had no firm proposal - just ideas, such as putting the ships back to work," said 'Save Our Seaport' member Sandy Eames, who has volunteered on the museum's ships for more than 10 years, the article said, adding that Eames said the group "is particularly interested in seeing the city's Department of Cultural Affairs' plans to restore the Wavertree sailing ship."
"One of the key problems in the past is the programs on our ships have not been effectively marketed," said Eames, the article continued.
"Forming an alliance with the City Museum is a tactful move only if the Seaport Museum's current leaders - President and Chief Executive Officer Mary Pelzer and Chairman Frank Sciame - are replaced, according to 'Save Our Seaport' member Peter Stanford, the museum's founder and former president. The group, Stanford said, is contemplating forming an independent organization that would assist in the museum's operations and demand government-run commissions and hearings," the article said.
The article said that "Seth Pinsky, president of the Economic Development Corporation, said the city has been 'actively engaged with the Board of the South Street Seaport Museum, working with them to try to get their financial house in order.' Pinsky continued, "It's a very challenging situation. We're talking both to them as well as to potential outside entities that might be able to assist them." The city, he said, hopes to have more information to share with the public "in the coming weeks."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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