The developers of the Domino Sugar Factory site are allowing the public to go down to the waterfront this Sunday. Although I am virulently against their proposed plans for the factory (I’m speaking for myself here, not for NAG), I really urge people to go.
I got to visit last year on a walkthrough to discuss their plans for the open space portion of the development, and it was pretty mindblowing, to be down there, walking around up close by the buildings I’d previously only seen from above on the bridge. Your whole sense of scale shifts. It’s exciting to be that close to the river. But it was also really sad.
Being there with the factory buildings still extant was so powerful, and gave such a sense of history. I know people whose grandfathers worked in that factory. I know union organizers who rabbleroused there. The story of Domino Sugar and the Havemeyer family is such an important one in New York City–it connects to trade history, industrial history, art history, and more. I really fail to understand why we preserve lofts in Soho because artists once lived there, but we don’t appreciate the meaning and importance of this factory. I’m glad we got part of the factory landmarked, but it breaks my heart every time I think about 8 or 9 glass towers going up there, with manicured lawns and everything bright and shiny, erasing history in favor of a developer’s imposed vision of our neighborhood.
Anyway. I do recommend going, and hey, while you are there, feel free to voice your opinion of what should be done with the site to those who are running the show.