In 1973, New York State Governor Rockefeller and New York City Mayor Lindsay presided over the dedication ceremony of Roosevelt Island to pay tribute to this great president. Welfare Island, in the center of the East River of New York City, was re-named Roosevelt island and three acres at its southern tip were set aside to build the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park designed by the renowned architect Louis I. Kahn.
Now, it is time to build. It cannot be built without without generous private contributions. While there are gift naming opportunities from $50,000 to $10-million, your contribution at any level is gratefully welcomed.
The FDR Four Freedoms Park will be a majestic addition to New York City's offering of public spaces. Every visit to this park, every glimpse of its simple grandeur, will be a reminder to us all of what we stand for, fight for, and want with all our hearts to leave to our children and their children's children.
For more information, to request a brochure or the mini-documentary narrated by Orson Welles that is posted on this site, email gpollara@feri.org
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT FOUR FREEDOMS PARK, LLC
66 West 35th Street, Suite 656
New York, NY 10001
Rubenstein Public Relations
Contact: Alan J. Segan Telephone: 212-843-8064
Email: Asegan@rubensteinpr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORKERS CELEBRATE
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT FOUR FREEDOMS PARK
NEW YORK - APRIL 28, 2009 - On Wednesday, April 22nd, The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park held a reception at The Lori Bookstein Fine Art Gallery, 37 West 57th Street, 3rd Floor, from 6pm to 8pm to celebrate the creation of the Park on Roosevelt Island. This Park was designed for Roosevelt Island by legendary architect Louis I. Kahn. This will be his last project and the only design which can still be built. It will serve as a tribute to President Roosevelt and create an extraordinary new civic space in the heart of New York City.
"The design of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park was commissioned by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 and supported by New York Governors Wilson, Carey, Cuomo, Spitzer and Paterson. The design was completed and approved just before Kahn's death. Because of this, it is the only Kahn design which can be built as he intended it," said Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel, Co-Chair of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, LLC.
The Park design will also be a Kahn legacy to New York. Although Kahn delivered landmark lectures in New York City, his architectural mastery will be celebrated in New York for the first time in the development of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park.
-more-
The financial crisis in New York City 35 years ago prevented the project from going forward. Today, renewed interest in the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt and support for this public/private project is enabling construction to proceed.
Construction of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park will begin in the summer of 2009. Construction drawings and engineering plans are being finalized; permits and approvals are being secured. The plan is to dedicate the Park during the 2009 General Assembly of the United Nations, with invitations extended to President Obama, Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg, and world leaders to honor the legacy of President Roosevelt.
Funding for the Park from public and private sources is well underway. Funding to begin the first phase of construction is nearing completion. Donors are invited to sponsor one of 150 Little Leaf Linden trees arranged in allees to border the east and west of the great lawn. Franklin D. Roosevelt was responsible for planting over two billion trees throughout the United States under the auspices of the Civilian Conservation Corporation, which he created. These trees at the Park continue that legacy.
The Park will be the first and only Louis I. Kahn architectural work in New York City and the first Memorial dedicated to President Roosevelt in his home state.
To sponsor a Freedom Tree or make a donation of any size to help build the Park, please call 212-486-0195 or visit www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org.
"Let's build it now and rebuild something in us all."
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, LLC: The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, LLC is a non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. The corporation is designated by the Institute as the development entity dedicated to build the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, a landmark civic project in honor of President Roosevelt.
Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel, Founder and Chair Emeritus of the Institute, co-chairs the LLC with Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. Kathy Sloane, a trustee of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for more than 20 years, serves as Vice-Chair, and Sally Minard is President and Chief Executive Officer. Gina Pollara is Executive Director.
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Bookstein Reception NYC.pdf
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT FOUR FREEDOMS PARK, LLC
66 West 35th Street, Suite 656
New York, NY 10001
Rubenstein Public Relations
Contact: Alan J. Segan Telephone: 212-843-8064
Email: Asegan@rubensteinpr.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT FOUR FREEDOMS PARK HOSTS RECEPTION AT
LOUIS I. KAHN EXHIBIT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
NEW YORK - APRIL 6, 2009 - The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, LLC hosted a special evening for the landmark exhibit, Louis I. Kahn: The Making of a Room, Thursday, March 26, 2009, 5:30-7:30 at the Arthur Ross Gallery. The exhibit celebrates many of Kahn's interior designs and includes a beautiful perspective rendering of the Four Freedoms Park, one of his last designs. The Park is about to be built on Roosevelt Island in New York City. The Arthur Ross Gallery is located at 220 S. 34th Street in the Fisher Fine Arts Library, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
"We are honored to have hosted this special evening and tribute to Louis I. Kahn. The design of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park was commissioned by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1973 and supported by New York Governors Wilson, Carey, Cuomo, Spitzer, and Paterson. The design was completed and approved just before Kahn's death. Because of this, it is the only Kahn design which can be built as he intended it. This exhibit is a tribute not only to Louis Kahn, but to the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms, which will be celebrated in this new Park," said Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel, Co-Chair of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, LLC.
The Park design will also be a Kahn legacy to New York. Although Kahn delivered landmark lectures in New York City, his architectural mastery will be celebrated in New York for the first time in the development of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park.
-more-
The financial crisis in New York City 35 years ago prevented the project from going forward. Today, renewed interest in the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt and support for this public/private project is enabling construction to proceed.
Construction of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park will begin in the summer of 2009. Construction drawings and engineering plans are being finalized; permits and approvals are being secured. The plan is to dedicate the Park during the 2009 General Assembly of the United Nations, with invitations extended to President Obama, Governor Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg, and world leaders to honor the legacy of President Roosevelt.
Funding for the Park from public and private sources is well underway. Funding to begin the first phase of construction is nearing completion. Donors are invited to sponsor one of 155 Little Leaf Linden trees arranged in allees to border the east and west of the great lawn. Franklin D. Roosevelt was responsible for planting over two billion trees throughout the United States under the auspices of the Civilian Conservation Corporation, which he created. These trees at the Park continue that legacy.
The Park will be the first and only Louis I. Kahn architectural work in New York City and the first Memorial dedicated to President Roosevelt in his home state.
To sponsor a Freedom Tree or make a donation of any size to help build the Park, please call 212-486-0195 or visit www.fdrfourfreedomspark.org.
"Let's build it now and rebuild something in us all."
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, LLC: The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, LLC is a non-profit 501(c) (3) corporation operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. The corporation is designated by the Institute as the development entity dedicated to build the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, a landmark civic project in honor of President Roosevelt.
Ambassador William J. vanden Heuvel, Founder and Chair Emeritus of the Institute, co-chairs the LLC with Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. Kathy Sloane, a trustee of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for more than 20 years, serves as Vice-Chair, and Sally Minard is President and Chief Executive Officer. Gina Pollara is Executive Director.
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Kahn Exihibit - U of Penn - Final - 4-6-09.pdf