A multiyear effort to save the Springs house and studios of the Abstract Expressionist artists James Brooks and Charlotte Park may yet have a happy ending, despite a demolition permit, approved by the architectural review board in January 2020, that is "still on the table," according to a co-chairman of the East Hampton Arts Council.
A renewed push to seek a not-for-profit entity to manage the property follows Preservation Long Island's issue of an "alert" status as to the structures' potential demolition, and the organization has asked the town to rescind the demolition permit.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, in a March 26 letter to Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc, also appealed for the demolition permit to be rescinded and requested that the town develop "a revised plan for the long-term future of this nationally significant site."
The arts council, said Scott Bluedorn, its co-chairman, "has been trying to work with the town board and several community members who've become interested in it because of the notice of pending demolition. . . . We're trying to gather interested parties, put together documents, and try to make a compelling case for the town to revoke the permit so the structures can be stabilized and until a management group can be identified."
The town board and the town's property-management committee have recently talked about finding a group that would be responsible for ongoing management and maintenance of the deteriorating structures, including a studio that Brooks designed and built in the early 1960s. The property, off Neck Path, also includes a main house, which was moved by barge from Montauk in 1956; a studio that was the former Wainscott post office, and a small cottage.
The momentum building toward preservation reverses what appeared to be a steady march to demolition, which was the initial plan when the town acquired the property in 2013 using the community preservation fund. The $1.1 million purchase was meant to create open space, but a group of Springs residents formed the Brooks Park Heritage Project and lobbied for preserving the buildings instead. It was hoped they would become a community arts space, akin to Duck Creek Farm, another Springs property previously owned by an artist, the painter John Little. Duck Creek Farm was later acquired by the town, and the Arts Center at Duck Creek now hosts exhibitions and performances.
The Brooks-Park buildings were designated a town historic landmark in July 2014, which allowed for C.P.F. money to be spent toward the site's restoration, but not for its management. The project also spurred private tax-deductible donations through Peconic Historic Preservation, a nonprofit entity started by Robert Strada and Michelle Murphy Strada. Mr. Strada and Peconic Historic Preservation became the licensee to manage the property for the town in April 2017. At the same time, the nonprofit submitted a management plan that suggested that the buildings be used for exhibitions, readings, and performances, which would help pay for its management.
In 2018, the town board approved a management and stewardship plan for properties acquired with the community preservation fund, which included an estimated $850,000 expenditure to restore the Brooks-Park property. The following year, however, the property-management committee concluded that "due to deterioration and vandalism, the buildings are now derelict and the cost of restoration is considered to be prohibitive." It recommended that the structures be demolished and the site cleared.
The town board adopted a resolution in February to revoke the license agreement with Peconic Historic Preservation, citing "a considerable period of time" having elapsed "without necessary restoration work being performed upon the structures."
Though he voted with his colleagues to revoke the license agreement, "I have been an active champion in saving the buildings and continue to be," Councilman Jeff Bragman said on Monday. The structures can be saved, he said, "and if it takes a little longer, it takes a little longer, but this is a really important piece of art history."
Marietta Gavaris, an Abstract Expressionist painter who lives in Springs, has worked to preserve the structures since learning of the planned demolition in 2019. The town board, she said this week, must "understand that in order to facilitate a successful long-term plan, we need a bit of time to succeed in that effort." She lamented what she called neglect of the property since the town acquired it. "As we work to engage different organizations and professionals," she said, "we should concurrently mothball, stabilize, and secure the site to avoid further decay, which should have been done from the get-go."
Brooks and Park, who were married, were leading members of the AbEx movement, contributing to New York City's emerging status in the mid-20th century as the center of the art world. Their friendship with Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, who lived not far away, is another component of their importance both locally and in the history of midcentury art.
Brooks died in 1992, Park in 2010.
"The site is exceptional," Ms. Gavaris said. "It could be great for the community, for locals and visitors alike."
