Remembering Peter Stanford from Community Board 1

COMMUNITY BOARD #1 – MANHATTAN RESOLUTION
DATE: APRIL 26, 2016

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: LANDMARKS

COMMITTEE VOTE:
6 In Favor 0 Opposed 0 Abstained 0 Recused

BOARD VOTE:
36 In Favor 0 Opposed 0 Abstained 0 Recused

RE: Remembering Peter Stanford

WHEREAS: Peter Stanford, the founding president of the South Street Seaport Museum and the second president of the National Maritime Historical Society, died on March 24, 2016, and

WHEREAS: Peter Stanford created a grassroots organization of South Street Seaport Museum volunteers and community stakeholders dedicated to preserving the maritime history of the South Street Seaport and to bolstering the museum, and

WHEREAS: Peter Stanford’s goal was to create a museum in the South Street Seaport to become a center of learning for the public about maritime history, and

WHEREAS: Peter Stanford and his wife Norma were persistent advocates, with legion volunteers, staff, and supporters, for the creation of the South Street Seaport Museum and, after his retirement, he believed in the current leadership to faithfully carry the Museum forward, and

WHEREAS: Peter Stanford was a force for preservation in founding the museum, collecting the Historic Ships and working with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to create a South Street Seaport Historic District, and

WHEREAS: Peter Stanford co-founded and supervised both OpSail 1976 for the nation’s bicentennial and the Statue of Liberty Parade of Sail in 1986, and

WHEREAS: After leaving the South Street Seaport Museum and becoming the head of the National Maritime Historical Society, Peter Stanford founded several other museums and maritime organizations. They included the Council of American Maritime Museums (1972), the American Society of Marine Artists (1977), the American Ship Trust (1978), the Hudson River Maritime Museum (1979), and the National Maritime Alliance (1987), and

WHEREAS: Peter Stanford wrote hundreds of magazine articles and a number of museum books. With his wife Norma Stanford, he wrote “A Dream of Tall Ships: How New Yorkers came together to save the city’s sailing-ship waterfront” (Sea History Press, 2013), now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: CB 1 recognizes the lifetime achievements of Peter Stanford and declares that his dream of a vibrant South Street Seaport lives on.