By Bill Parry
Hundreds of art lovers gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the SculptureCenter’s 14-month, $4.5 million expansion in Long Island City. The popular cultural institution, which opened in 2001 in a former trolley car repair factory at 44-19 Purves St., now has a modern entrance lobby with several amenities.
“It’s been a hugely successful decade and this project is part of the SculptureCenter’s growth,” Director Mary Ceruti said. The 2,000-square-foot structure, built on a vacant lot, provides room for ticketing, orientation and visitors services such as a bookshop, seating and restrooms as well as an enclosed courtyard for outside exhibitions.
The non-profit institution is dedicated to the advancement of the careers of emerging sculptors. The gallery has displayed the works of more than 700 artists after moving to the dead end, underdeveloped street after being in Manhattan’s Upper East Side for 70 years.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz gave credit to her predecessor, Helen Marshall, for investing over $2 million in the project. City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) hailed investment in the arts saying, “Nothing big happens in New York City without culture and the arts being at the center of it, driving the city to excellence every single day.”
The SculptureCenter’s impact on Purves Street will serve as an example of that.
The gallery’s former associate director, Frederick Janka, explained that there was virtually nothing on Purves Street when the SculptureCenter moved into the former Derrick and Hoist Co. Inc. Building. “It was pretty desolate here — nothing but rats and hookers back then,” he said.
Now the SculptureCenter is surrounded by the construction of several luxury high-rise residential towers with a hotel planned for the street as well. City Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl said, “I worked in Long Island City for 12 years. Back in the ‘80s the entire Jackson Avenue area was rough and a little dangerous at night. It is so much better now.”
Feniosky Pena-Mora, the commissioner of Design and Construction, agreed saying, “This area was difficult and rough, but that’s part of our history.” He pointed out that the old trolley repair shop with a modern entrance lobby creates a portal into the past.
“When you come here, you see that you are in a different place because if all of these buildings were glass towers, it might be Beijing, Shanghai or London,” Pena-Mora said. “This design and expansion project helps maintain our past and future all in one place and I find that highly significant.”
Just prior to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Van Bramer unveiled a new sign on the corner co-naming Purves as “Sculpture Street” recognizing the SculptureCenter’s role in the area’s rebirth.
“Everytime people look at that new sign they’ll want to know what’s going on here,” BP Katz said. “It will show the rest of the city that Long Island City has taken the lead in many cultural events. We’re showing that folks come from all over the world to show their works right here in this great borough.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@nyc.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
