Wyckoff featured in documentary on the "Teardown Epidemic"
Wyckoff is featured as a victim of the teardown epidemic in "Our Vanishing Past," a documentary about the loss of historic homes, buildings and neighborhoods and who is working to save them. Created by award- wining writer, producer, and director Lynn Kosek Walker, the film describes how teardowns:
- raise taxes which can force long-time residents living on fixed incomes out of their houses
- reduce the supply of more affordable starter homes
- destroy the character of neighborhoods and downtowns with out-of-scale structures
- result in the removal of large numbers of mature trees
- harm the environment by the creation of large amounts of debris
The film also features the town of Lambertville, where historic preservation helps safe guard homes and businesses and is a key ingredient in the town's remarkable revival. Lambertville designated a historic district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Officials also passed a preservation ordinance that gives this special area protection from teardowns. The ordinance requires that the town's Historic Preservation Commission review any building being considered for demolition. The Commission uses the Department of Interiors standards to establish the architectural value of each building, and those of architectural value are preserved. As Lambertville's Mayor Dave DelVecchio said, "The historic nature of the community is one of the selling points. The way the town looks, the way the town feels, and if we allow teardowns all over the place, it wouldn't have the look or the feel that it does."
You may watch Our Vanishing Past anytime on the web at: http://njn.net/television/specials/ourvanishingpast/
A DVD of the film is available from the Wyckoff Public Library. Friends of Wyckoff is screening the documentary on September 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Larkin House, 380 Godwin Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ 07481.