When was the last time a neighborhood's residents campaigned to save a group of smokestacks from demolition? In Long Island City, the answer is now. The four smokestacks on top of the Schwartz Chemical Plant (née, Pennsylvania Railroad Power House) have loomed large in LIC since 1909, but now they will be torn down to make way for the building's obligatory condo conversion. Developer Cheskel Schwimmer says he tried to incorporate the stacks into the new design, but the city didn't approve the plan. Blogger GrubbyKid notes that the most disheartening part of the smokestacks' demise is the "yuppie gloating going on" in a discussion thread on the matter on the QueensWest (née, Long Island City) website. A little morning class war, anyone?
· Long Island City Powerhouse [GrubbyKid]
· Four Relics From the Past Will Topple After All [NYTimes]
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