A Preview of What Will Be On the November 2019 Ballot for Murray Hill Residents

The November 5 election is very important because you will be able to vote on proposed changes to the New York City Charter. There will also be elections for Public Advocate (citywide) and a justice and judges (may vary depending on your address).

MHNA 2019 Annual Survey: Better Together!

This survey was sent to everyone on the MHNA email list. Our email list includes both members and non-members who have signed up for our emails. 174 people responded to the survey. The survey contained many free format answer fields, which allowed respondents to give unstructured answers. We thank them for their thoughtful comments.  

Save the Date for the MHNA Annual Meeting on October 3!

The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association 
Annual Meeting 
Thursday, October 3 
at 7pm 
Church of the Incarnation 
209 Madison Avenue 
(between 35th & 36th Street) 

LPC Chair Takes Walking Tour in Murray Hill to View 29 Buildings Submitted for Landmark Designation

On a sunny August morning, Sarah Carroll, the new Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and two senior members of her staff joined several members of the Preservation & Design Committee for a walking tour of Murray Hill. The purpose of the tour was to showcase 29 buildings that the P & D Committee had originally submitted to the LPC in 2016 for New York City landmark designation. 

Complete listing of the 29 buildings proposed for landmarking. 

You can help keep our Murray Hill malls beautiful!

For as little as $500 a year you can sponsor weekly cleaning, watering and weeding for our Murray Hill malls. In return, your name or your company’s name will appear in all Murray Hill publications showing your civic spirit and your pride in our neighborhood.

Please contact us today to join us in this wonderful cause! To join, contact: Victoria Spagnola, 2019 Chairwoman, Patrons of Park Avenue, 50 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016, Email: victoria.spagnola@patronsofparkavenue.org.

The MHNA fondly remembers Minor Bishop (1927-2019)—A Renaissance Man

Minor Lamphier Bishop, age 92, passed away during the early morning hours of 20 June 2019. Minor is best known by those of us who live in Murray Hill for his community service, having served the MHNA for decades with great dedication, from the 1960s until the end of his life, as a trustee and active member of the Preservation & Design Committee. He worked to preserve the historic designation of the Murray Hill district, and researched the history of its landmarks and buildings. He is best remembered for his walking tours, which he gave tirelessly. He will be deeply missed, but not forgotten.

Minor Bishop’s video and book, Sketching on Murray Hill are both available for purchase on the MHNA website.

Thanks to our Neighbors for a Great Street Festival

On Saturday, June 1 The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association held their 46th Annual Street Festival along Park Avenue between 34th and 40th Streets. The theme of the Festival this year was Come Meet Your Neighbor and our neighbors came out in droves! The weather was picture perfect for strolling along Park Avenue.

Thanks to all of the sponsors, donors, volunteers and participants who helped make the MHNA Street Festival a success.

Our long-running annual Street Festival is one of the events that makes The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association unique and we thank all of our neighbors and local businesses for participating and supporting the MHNA. If you would like to be involved in the planning for next year’s event, please reach out to Ashley Petrylak at info@murrayhillnyc.org.

Our Silent Auction Donors Helped to Make the Street Festival a Success!

The Silent Auction drew many bidders on Saturday, June 1 at The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s Street Festival. We are very grateful to our neighborhood businesses’ generous ongoing support as donors. The Silent Auction would not have been possible without the hard work of Michael-Ann Rowe, Lilli Seidman Davis and Marion Weingarten and all of the dedicated volunteers and trustees who contacted businesses for donations and assisted at the Silent Auction table on the day of the festival. Read more to see the full list.

Murray Hill Businesses Came Together for the Spring B2B Networking Event

The rainy evening on Thursday, May 30th didn’t daunt Murray Hill businesses, who gathered in the beautiful (and tented) back garden at Kalvig & Shorter Veterinary Associates for the Spring B2B networking event. These networking events always provide an opportunity for everyone to share their 'elevator pitch' and tell the others about their business, and the room was filled with lots of ideas on how to cross market business efforts.

This event would not have been possible without our generous host and co-sponsor Kalvig & Shorter Veterinary Associates. Refreshments were courtesy of Tastes Brands, The Fishionista ®, House of Wine and Liquor and Al Pastor, The Pod Hotel. We thank them!

The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association’s Business Networking Committee offers interesting and unique opportunities for businesses to network and socialize. For further information contact co-chairs Lilli Seidman Davis (lillianseidman@yahoo.com) and Michael-Ann Rowe (michaelannrowe@gmail.com). Stay tuned for our next event!

Photo by Adrienne Gurman/Buzz Generation 

Buildings Can Now Join the MHNA

To strengthen our relationship with Murray Hill building owners and managers, The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association has launched new membership categories for buildings. The new categories are Small Buildings (less than 60 units), Medium-Sized Buildings (60-200 units) and Large Buildings (more than 200 units). Co-Op and Condo Boards, Building Owners, Managing and Rental Agents are all invited to join. For details, visit the MHNA website at murrayhillnyc.org/join. See the many benefits of joining at this link.

If you have any questions, please contact Heather Dolland at info@murrayhillnyc.org. Heather is Co-Chair of Membership Development and will be happy to guide you in this process. 

Business Members Can Now Display MHNA Stickers On Their Windows

The Business Committee has designed stickers exclusively for business members that will let the neighborhood know that your business is a proud member of The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association. The stickers display the MHNA logo, and can be posted in your window.

There are two variations: SUPPORT LOCAL is for our business members and  DISCOUNT PROGRAM PARTICIPANT is for businesses that offer our members a discount on their goods or services. Any MHNA business member or Discount Program participant that would like a sticker should contact Co-Chairs, Michael-Anne Rowe at michaelannrowe@gmail.com or Lilli Seidman at lillianseidman@yahoo.com.

Shop Amazon and support The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association at the same time!

Shop amazon.com via this link, and support The Murray Hill Neighborhood Association!

Three New Cultural Medallions Honoring Distinguished Murray Hill Residents Are Unveiled

Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt, Charles Dana Gibson, and Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn were honored in April in ceremonies unveiling cultural medallions placed on the façades of each of the brownstones where they once resided in Murray Hill. 

To commemorate other illustrious residents who once lived in Murray Hill, the P&D Committee is exploring several names to add to our list of cultural medallion honorees. These include the songwriter, Cole Porter, the architect Marcel Breuer, the playwright Tennessee Williams and the actress Helen Hayes. 

Funding for the research, fabrication of the medallions and the videotaping of the ceremonies comes from individual sponsors, honored building owners and private donations. If you would like to sponsor or contribute to the Medallion Program, please visit our website at www.murrayhillnyc.org and click Donate. Email Susan Demmet at sldemmet@gmail.com when you donate so your contribution can be properly acknowledged, or if you know of a significant person who lived in Murray Hill whom you believe should be nominated for a Cultural Medallion.

Do you have a complaint?

Call 311 or post a complaint on the 311 website: www1.nyc.gov/311.