Preserving the Future

American society loves The New. It loves the "latest trend", the "fresh face", the "hottest" this-that-or-the-other-thing. Our society is constantly churning out bright shiny objects that quickly fade, that become, to quote that sage Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "so five minutes ago." 

But in NYC we've learned to love and preserve, not so much the old, but the forever precious. Ever since the old Penn Station was knocked down in the early 1960s, we've come to appreciate what we have as much as what we might get. And yet, in preserving things, they need to change.

Here are some perfect examples:

The Bowery, that wide remote avenue on the Lower East Side, used to be where deadbeats and drunk and peep shows and all sorts of wild stuff use to exist. Now? It's beautiful and respectable. It's been preserved and (arguably) improved – although CBGBs is long gone.

Same thing with Film Forum: this fifty-something classic movie house, an "elder statesman of New York cinema" is being saved from the fate of so many other revival houses through the efforts of its fans, including by another NYC elder statesman and well-preserved commodity, Ethan Hawke.

Finally, Madison Square: today it's best known as the location of the original Shake Shack, an absolutely incredible playground (if you have kids), and interesting art installations. It's been beautifully preserved. But did you know Madison Square Park is also where the Manhattan grid system and baseball were invented? Where the first sky scraper, the Flatiron Building, was built? Madison Square teams with NYC history and, as it changes and evolves, its history becomes all the more important -- and easier to appreciate.

And then, of course, there’s the Highline.

So while it’s easy to mourn the changes to our city, it’s also important to remember that some of its most valuable artifacts are being safeguarded for our future.