The sad and decaying Philip Johnson-designed New York State Pavilion in Flushing-Meadows Park that is a relic of the 1964 World's Fair might be up for the National Register of Historic Places and an icon to many, but there is an exception. Helen Marshall, the Borough President of Queens thinks it's a rotting piece of crap and should come down. Stat. Also, she doesn't care about Philip Johnson. She told the Daily News: "It should be demolished. We have great artists. He's not the only artist in the world." Which, in the most technical sense, is certainly true. Yet, the city does say that the iconic "Tent of Tommorrow" and its three landmark towers are part of the Flushing-Meadows Park makeover if a way can be found to make it work. Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, per the Daily News, says he's open to pitches to turn the nearly 45-year-old pavilion into a welcome center or museum. Yet, the Borough President says "to fix it and repair it would cost an arm and a leg." Mr. Benepe did say that if the crumbling Johnson building could be saved it will. "If there's a practical way to save the Tent of Tomorrow [rotunda] and the whole pavilion, we'll do that." He also added that if a study finds that gravity will bring it down the city would "take serious steps." It's not true that Marshall said that if the building was a Santiago Calatrava or Frank Gehry she would feel differently because they're "really artists."
· Queens Borough President Helen Marshall: raze World's Fair rotunda [NYDN]
· New Flushing-Meadows Park with Waterfront Festival Site [Curbed]
· New York State Pavilion [nyc.gov]
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