Roosevelt Island Kahn FDR Memorial October 17 Dedication May Be Delayed By Donor Reed Rubin Lawsuit Over Engraving Spot

Aerial Image From Curbed

The NY Daily News is reporting that the October 17 dedication of the FDR Four Freedom Park (also known as the Kahn Memorial Boondoggle) located at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island may be delayed due to a dispute with a donor. According to the NY Daily News:

The upcoming dedication of a new park monument to Franklin Delano Roosevelt has hit a snag — thanks to a last-minute decision by organizers not to engrave the name of one donor in a prominent spot.

Businessman Reed Rubin has gone to Manhattan Supreme Court asking the court to order FDR Four Freedoms Park sponsors to install the engraving immediately, or delay the Oct. 17 dedication ceremony....

and:

... The sponsors were bowing to heavy pressure from relatives of the park's designer, the late architect Louis Kahn, who feel the engraving will mar the beauty of the site.

"All of the major donors could argue contractual obligations regarding naming; only the Rubins have chosen to enforce their contract, which everyone acknowledges will defile Kahn's great work," vanden Heuvel wrote in an email, which is included in court papers....

Click here for the entire NY Daily News article.

Last June, I took a tour of the site while it was still under construction. Here's what it looked like then.





and this video from Architectural Record shows the so-called FDR Four Freedoms Park is really intended to be a memorial to the architect Louis Kahn rather than President Franklin D Roosevelt.

Captain James T Kirk, The Joker and George Costanza sum up the frustration of many at what has been built at the southern tip of Roosevelt Island.

You Tube Video of Ode To Khan

Meanwhile, the FDR Hope Memorial sculpture, also to be located at Southpoint Park (just north of the Kahn Boondoggle), depicting President Roosevelt sitting in a wheelchair greeting a young girl in crutches is moving forward.

UPDATE 3:45 PM - Click here (and follow instructions) for the court filings in this case - Reed Foundation Inc v Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park LLC, (Index # 653482-2012)

UPDATE 5:40 PM - FDR Four Freedoms Park Conservancy Press Spokesperson adds:

We are disappointed that litigation was filed. Discussions with the Reed Foundation are continuing, and we are confident a resolution will be reached.

UPDATE 10/13 - Another Kahn/FDR Memorial donor is suing the project sponsors over the failure to engrave an inscription as contractually agreed and wants the October 17 dedication ceremony delayed unless the donor is properly recognized. According the the NY Daily News:

... a philanthropist who donated nearly $11 million to a park honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt says he’s getting a raw deal.

Alphawood Foundation chairman Fred Eychaner charges developers at the FDR Four Freedoms Park reneged on their promise of a prominent public display acknowledging his generosity....

Click here for the entire NY Daily News article.

Click here (and follow instructions) for the court filings in this case - Alphawood Foundation v Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park LLC, 9 Index (653564-2012)

UPDATE 10/16 3:45 PM -  A spokesperson for Alphawood Foundation Chicago said:

We are pleased to have resolved this matter and look forward to the dedication of this wonderful monument to a great President.

More to come.