Greystone: Now you see it … protest set for April 12

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Video: ‘Greystone Lost,’ by Rich Modzeleski

Take a good long look at this video. Pretty soon, it may be all that remains of the Kirkbride Building at the former Greystone Park State Psychiatric Hospital.

When it opened in 1876, this colossal Second Empire Victorian edifice was a beacon of hope. By the time it closed in 2008, it was a house of horrors.

The state began demolishing the building on April 6, 2015, after a legal challenge by Preserve Greystone was rejected.

Activists line up to speak for Preserve Greystone at Morris County Freeholders meeting in Morristown. Photo courtesy of Adam McGovern.
Activists line up to speak for Preserve Greystone at Morris County Freeholders meeting in Morristown. Photo courtesy of Adam McGovern.

Twenty-five activists reiterated their case two days later, presenting a 3,000-signature petition to the Morris County freeholders seeking their help in sparing the historic structure, where the ailing folksinger Woody Guthrie was visited by a young Bob Dylan years ago.

Harding Mayor Nicolas Platt added his voice to the chorus. The freeholders listened, but did not reply.

KEEPING IT SMALL

A demonstration is planned for noon on Sunday, April 12.  Nothing has been easy for the preservationists, including this protest.

The Morris County Park Commission , which stands to inherit the footprint of the Kirkbride Building as open space, did not issue a permit for a large gathering on Sunday.

“Therefore, we will have to spread out,” Preserve Greystone President John Huebner told members via email.  “We’ll gather in groups of about two dozen (the most allowed without a permit) and speakers and musicians will come to you!”

Huebner is asking demonstrators to stagger their arrivals between noon and 1 pm, and to seek out Preserve Greystone volunteers.

“It’s important that we keep all the ‘crowds’ small — no more than 25. It is important to keep this civil and purposeful. We will respect the rules of the park and county while exercising our right to freedom of speech and assembly. There will be a march (details given at the rally) for us all to participate in,” Huebner said.

BRICKS AND MORTAR VS. HISTORIC WEBSITE

The grass-roots organization contends the state ignored protections conferred by the building’s eligibility for designation as an historic site. It also has questioned the state expenditure of up to $50 million for demolition, when seven developers have proposed a variety of plans  to re-purpose the building.

Even with tax credits, the redevelopment plans would not be sustainable, according to the state.  A study commissioned by the state Treasury Department predicted shortfalls of $11 million- to $25 million.

“Several proposals to preserve the building were considered by the state,” Treasury Spokesman Joseph Perone said via email on Friday.

The main building at Greystone, a former psychiatric hospital that treated patients for more than a century. Photo by Berit Ollestad
The Kirkbride Building at Greystone, a former psychiatric hospital that treated patients for more than a century. Photo by Berit Ollestad

“All of them were carefully reviewed by Treasury’s Division of Property Management and Construction (DPMC), which manages real estate owned by the state. DPMC concluded that none of the proposals presented a realistic scenario for an economically self-sustaining use of the Kirkbride building.”

The property management division and the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office are taking steps to preserve Greystone’s cultural history, Perone said.

Plans include interpretive signs for the grounds, and a website featuring “historic information about the hospital, including special photography, drawings and other research.”

A similar website was created for Picatinny Arsenal near Dover, he said.

Perone added that “an enhanced narrative history of Greystone and additional large-format photography will be filed with the [historic preservation office] in accordance with Historic American Building Survey guidelines.”

But legal efforts to halt demolition will continue, according to Preserve Greystone’s Adam McGovern. He characterized the group’s mood as one of determination more than optimism at this point.

“It’s a big building and there’s a lot left undestroyed,” McGovern said. “The State itself puts the demolition time at a full year if not more — not long ago they were publicly estimating two years. That gives a lot of time to make less of a horrible mistake, and we’re still in court to try and help ensure that, too.”

ABOUT THE VIDEO:

Rich Modzeleski, a Morristown resident for nearly 50 years, is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson and New York universities who has worked as a production manager for a New York film company.

Scene from 'Greystone Lost,' by Rich  Modzeleski
Scene from ‘Greystone Lost,’ by Rich Modzeleski

As a volunteer in the 1990s, he said, he was the first person to videotape Morristown council meetings for broadcast on cable TV.  Now retired, he splits his time between Sarasota, Fla., and Morristown, where he owns and operates a rooming house.

Greystone Lost was recorded with a camera-mounted, remote-control drone.

“Drone photography has opened a new world for me. It’s a combination of two hobbies– model aircraft and photography,” Modzeleski said.

“I’ve been flying for about a year. It’s a hobby that uses some my earliest working skills, yet the crossover from film to video offers new challenges.”

MORE ABOUT PRESERVE GREYSTONE

3 COMMENTS

  1. The fact that hippo laws didn’t exist and administration was so poor has little to do with the historic nature of the building itself.

  2. As a young college student, I worked there one summer. My job was to transpose prescriptions for a medical dr as well as accompany her “well” visits. The rest of the time I had nothing to do so I read patient files. No HIPPA laws then. I quickly realized that too many were admitted, released, admitted numerous times. The place was a hell hole. Tear it down.

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