Save Historic Bowne House From City Clawback!

Please cut & paste & send the following message to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg TODAY: jmanley@cityhall.nyc.gov with copies to: bownehouse1661@gmail.com, liu@council.nyc.ny.us, tosborne@queensbp.org, padavan@senate.state.ny.us, mengg@assembly.state.ny.us, anthony.lemma@mail.house.gov

The Subject Line should read: Restore Bowne House $ to NYC Budget. And please be sure to add your name & address at the bottom of the letter as the Mayor's Office will disregard your message without this information. Thanks!

Now, here's the letter:

Ms. Jennifer Manley
Community Liasion, Mayor's Office
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Ms. Manley,

Please let Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg know that we want the city to immediately restore the $628,000 promised to the Bowne House restoration project for the Fiscal Year '09 city budget. This cherished NY Museum is the birthplace of Religious Freedom in America, and needs repairs and other work without delay.

To allow the proposed cut to stand would cause irreparable harm to this incomparable symbol of Religious Freedom in America and compromise NYC's collection of historic houses which are vital to our collective heritage, continued scholarship and NYC tourism.

The Federal Government recently recognized, in Secretary Salazar's announcement that the Ellis Island Restoration project will be receiving $26 MILLION in Federal STIMULUS MONEY (in addition to the MILLIONS it is receiving from the city), historic restoration projects CREATE JOBS and STIMULATE ECONOMIES as these precious historic sites beckon travelers and tourists from all around the world. We sincerely hope the City of NY shares in Secretary Salazar's wisdom in this regard, and fully restores the $628,000, that was promised to the Bowne House Restoration project, to the Fiscal Year '09 city budget.

Architects have testified that the Bowne House roof can not survive another winter. Currently, a tarp is all that is protecting the house from ruins. So there can be no doubt that Bowne House needs the money the city promised it, NOW.

We have every faith that if this matter were brought to the direct attention of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, he would not allow the birthplace of Religious Freedom in America to remain vulnerable to further decay. And so we trust that the Mayor will fully restore the subject $628,000 to the city budget before the matter is voted upon in the city council.

Thank you for your kind attention to this matter. We look forward to hearing a positive response from the Mayor's office at his earliest convenience.

Respectfully submitted,

(Please add your name & address here)