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New York subway builders find 200-yr-old wall

D

dan e 1980

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New York subway builders find 200-yr-old wall

Thu Dec 8, 4:59 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Builders working on a new subway station at the southern tip of Manhattan have found the remains of a stone wall thought to be part of a fort that protected the city in the late 17th century.


New York City authorities said on Thursday the 40-foot section of wall had been found at a depth of around 10 feet in Battery Park, a green area that looks out on New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty.

"This wall most likely is a portion of the gun batteries that once protected the city in the late 17th and 18th centuries and gave rise to the modern park name," said Robert Tierney, chairman of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

He said the city and the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority would work together to preserve the remains, which were described as "an important remnant of the history of New York City."

Among the artifacts found in the area -- where a series of forts were built between 1625 and 1780 -- was a 1744 George II half penny in very good condition, city authorities said in a statement.

The wall was found during construction work on the new South Ferry Station underneath the park.

"Because this project was within a historically significant area, archaeologists considered it likely that archaeological resources would be found, although no one guessed that such a large portion of the Battery could have survived," the statement said.
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did they ever find any stuff when they built our lines?
 
What I do notice here is how willing NYC seems to be to preserve a part of its history. Compare this to our city. What is happening at the first Parliament site? Aren't there substantial foundations/ruins here to preserve? Maybe we should take a leaf out of NYC's book.
 
"What I do notice here is how willing NYC seems to be to preserve a part of its history. Compare this to our city. What is happening at the first Parliament site? Aren't there substantial foundations/ruins here to preserve? Maybe we should take a leaf out of NYC's book. "

we're no worse than NYC

the land is slowly being aquired at the first Parliament site with little to no help from higher levels of government - a 500 million dollar deficit doesn't help either

The Porsche dealership is now in public hands at great expense to the West Donlands precinct plan
 
^ quote - "we're no worse than NYC"

Clearly, in this instance we are. At least as far as can be determined from the article, it seems that NYC reacted fairly swiftly in its preservation efforts. That does not seem to be the case with the first parliament site.
 
In NYC they have to move quick as they have a subway tunnel to build. The First Parliament site is not under any pressure. What's underground isn't being tampered with. Its been there for many years. A few more years isn't going to make a difference.
 
^ True, but in the interest of haste/economics it would have been all the more easy to bulldoze rather than stop to take the time to preserve. Toronto drags its feet because there is very little will or motivation. No votes to buy here I guess (ouch, cynical).
 

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