Description: “We are an extremely stable community. If you want a quiet, clean environment and nature around you, you can’t beat Sunnyside.” To name all the organizations and communal activities Dorothy Morehead has been a part of over the course of the last decades would take up much of the day. Most notably, Dorothy is a real estate agent serving Sunnyside Gardens and has been active in the preservation and beautification of the historic district since she moved to the neighborhood more than 40 years ago. “We are an extremely stable community,” Dorothy says. “If you want a quiet, clean [environment] and nature around you, you can’t beat Sunnyside. It’s wonderful here.”I spoke to Dorothy in the living room of her picturesque two-story brick house on 46th Street, which faces one of the large green center courts Sunnyside Gardens is known for. Designed after the English Garden concept, Sunnyside Gardens is known among architects and urban developers around the world. It was built between the years 1924 and 1930 for families with low and medium incomes who wanted to live close to city. After a long, contentious debate, the community was landmarked in 2007. Dorothy regrets that some residents don’t appreciate Sunnyside Gardens for what it is. Before landmarking took effect, some homeowners covered their yards with driveways and parking lots, put up chain-link fences and built extravagant annexes that clashed with the buildings’ original, down-to-earth style. The landmark opposition maintains that the strict stipulations for window and roof replacement, for example, make homeownership impossible for people with low incomes. In the podcast Dorothy talks about her various achievements within the community and her opinion in regards to Sunnyside Garden’s landmarking.
Summary/Description : “We are an extremely stable community. If you want a quiet, clean environment and nature around you, you can’t beat Sunnyside.” To name all the organizations and communal activities Dorothy Morehead has been a part of over the course of the last decades would take up much of the day. Most notably, Dorothy is a real estate agent serving Sunnyside Gardens and has been active in the preservation and beautification of the historic district since she moved to the neighborhood more than 40 years ago. “We are an extremely stable community,” Dorothy says. “If you want a quiet, clean [environment] and nature around you, you can’t beat Sunnyside. It’s wonderful here.”I spoke to Dorothy in the living room of her picturesque two-story brick house on 46th Street, which faces one of the large green center courts Sunnyside Gardens is known for. Designed after the English Garden concept, Sunnyside Gardens is known among architects and urban developers around the world. It was built between the years 1924 and 1930 for families with low and medium incomes who wanted to live close to city. After a long, contentious debate, the community was landmarked in 2007. Dorothy regrets that some residents don’t appreciate Sunnyside Gardens for what it is. Before landmarking took effect, some homeowners covered their yards with driveways and parking lots, put up chain-link fences and built extravagant annexes that clashed with the buildings’ original, down-to-earth style. The landmark opposition maintains that the strict stipulations for window and roof replacement, for example, make homeownership impossible for people with low incomes. In the podcast Dorothy talks about her various achievements within the community and her opinion in regards to Sunnyside Garden’s landmarking.
Rights : These audio recordings, photos and articles are the property of Sabine Heinlein. Uses of edited excerpts from her interviews are protected under a Creative Commons public domain license, but her full, unedited audio is open to researchers by request. Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for access. For reproductions of the unedited recordings, please contact Sabine Heinlein at (sabineheinlein@gmail.com).
Coverage : Sunnyside, NY Sunnyside (New York, N.Y.) Queens (New York, N.Y.)
Rights Notice These audio recordings, photos and articles are the property of Sabine Heinlein. Uses of edited excerpts from her interviews are protected under a Creative Commons public domain license, but her full, unedited audio is open to researchers by request. Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for access. For reproductions of the unedited recordings, please contact Sabine Heinlein at (sabineheinlein@gmail.com).
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