Skip to main content Skip to main navigation

Joyce Matz papers

Call Number

MS 3050

Date

1969-2017, inclusive

Creator

Matz, Joyce, 1925-2017

Extent

22 Linear feet (in 22 record cartons)

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

Papers of public relations consultant and historic preservationist Joyce Matz (1925–2017), who represented such varied clients as Congressman Mario Biaggi, the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, and the Armenian Church of America. In her role of chair or co-chair of the Landmarks Committee of Manhattan Community Board 5, she fought to protect iconic New York City structures like Lever House, Town Hall, and St. Bartholomew's Church from alteration or demolition. She often provided pro bono publicity for the various coalitions, committees, and friends groups that lobbied to oppose outsized developments like Donald Trump's "Television City" complex proposed for the 60th Street Rail Yard. Includes press releases, publicity materials, newspaper clippings, notes, research, some correspondence, photographs, and a small amount of audiovisual material (restricted).

Biographical/Historical Note

"The Woman Who Likes Buildings" is the succinct title one newspaper bestowed on Joyce Matz (1925–2017), whose four-decade career in historic preservation led her everywhere at once in Manhattan. Her strong voice could be heard in virtually every fight to save a threatened landmark; her public relations expertise lent validity to the cause of every coalition formed to protect a neighborhood from outsized development.

A child of the city, Matz was born in Manhattan on 20 May 1925 to Harold and Elsie (Corday) Arnstam. She grew up on West 77th Street, next door to the New-York Historical Society, which she passed each day on her way to and from the Ethical Culture School on Central Park West. Matz graduated from Ethical Culture's Fieldston School in 1943. She took a bachelor's degree in English from Mount Holyoke College and would later do graduate work at Smith College and Columbia University. In 1947 she married Mortimer Matz, with whom she would have three children: John, Linda, and Suzanne.

With her husband, a lawyer and one-time reporter for the Daily News, Joyce Matz began her career as a public relations consultant. Starting around 1960, she worked with him as vice president and partner of Mortimer Matz Associates (later called Matz & Matz Associates). Then, after her 1979 divorce and until her death in 2017, she worked for herself as Joyce Matz Associates. She provided publicity to metropolitan, national, and foreign newspapers, as well as radio and television, for a varied client list that included individuals (like John Zervas, "Hot Dog King of Central Park"), politicians (Congressman Mario Biaggi), businesses (Gallery Passport, an art tour service), religious organizations (Armenian Church of America), and charitable groups (Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association). For fuller descriptions, see the Series II container list.

Matz credited a story in National Geographic about the sinking of Venice (which she had never seen) with awakening the sense of panicked urgency she applied to saving the historic fabric of New York. Its buildings were not sinking, but nevertheless they were under attack from greedy property owners and developers with plans inappropriate to the neighborhoods they would affect. In 1977 Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton appointed Matz to Community Board 5 (bounded roughly by 59th Street, Lexington Avenue, 14th Street, Sixth Avenue, 26th Street, and Eighth Avenue). She would chair or co-chair the CB5's Landmarks Committee for 15 years, overseeing iconic structures and neighborhoods in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, such as the Flatiron Building and the Ladies' Mile Historic District. Any application to demolish or alter a landmarked structure, or any proposal for a new designation, came to Matz's committee for rejection or approval. Occasionally she would recuse herself from voting because she was also providing publicity (sometimes pro bono) for the committees, coalitions, and friends groups that lobbied for or against the proposals.

The myriad campaigns in which Matz played a role is long and best grasped by perusing the container list for Series I, but some of her successful fights include preserving St. Bartholomew's Church (which hoped to sell its community house site for an office tower), the Beacon Theatre (which would have been irreparably damaged by its conversion to a discotheque), Town Hall (landmarked in large part by Matz's efforts), and the City & Suburban Homes Company's Avenue A Estate (a complex of model tenements developer Peter Kalikow sought to demolish). She lost many battles, too, most poignantly, perhaps, the one to save the Cottages and Garden, a 1937 enclave of eight apartments that opened onto a private green space behind a Third Avenue commercial building; the complex failed to win landmark designation and was replaced by a condominium tower (see boxes 13–15).

In 2000 Joyce Matz received the Elliot Willensky Fund award for her campaign to secure landmark designation for a group of townhouses on East 54th and East 55th Streets (see box 7, folders 7–12). The following year she was named the Historic Districts Council's 2000 Landmarks Lion in recognition of her unusual devotion to historic districts and landmarks (see box 9, folders 4–6). Shortly before her death she was still at it, touring with a reporter the closed Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady Queen of Angels, which she fought to landmark (as yet undesignated). Joyce Matz died at home in Manhattan on 18 September 2017, aged 92.

[This note is based on various iterations of Joyce Matz's resume (see box 22, folder 7), two newspaper profiles--(1) Al Amateau, "The Woman Who Likes Buildings" from The Westsider (January 16-22, 1986) and (2) Edward-Isaac Dovere, "A Champion for Preservation" from Our Town (November 18, 2004)--as well as her New York Times obituary by Sam Roberts, "Joyce Matz, Fervid Voice for Historic Preservation, Dies at 92" (September 19, 2017). In 2007 Keenan Hughes, a graduate student at Pratt Institute, interviewed Matz for the New York Preservation Archive Project's Oral History Collection; their recorded conversation and a transcript are available at www.nypap.org/oral-history/joyce-matz/.]

Arrangement

The Joyce Matz Papers are organized in three series devised by the archivist:

Series I.
Historic Preservation and quality of life issues, 1978-2013.
Series II.
Public Relations, 1969-2009.
Series III.
General files, photographs, and audiovisual material, 1971-2017.

File names within Series I and II are derived or expanded from Matz's own (see the container list). The sheer number of newspaper clippings saved by Matz to document her work prohibited the archivist from arranging material in strictly chronological order. The researcher should, therefore, consult every folder listed under the same topic to catch items that may be out of place.

Scope and Contents

Virtually every file in the Joyce Matz Papers contains notes, research, press releases, and tear sheets stemming from her historic preservation activism or public relations work. Some include correspondence, ephemera, and photographs. The voluminous newspaper and magazine clippings Matz saved document the countless stories she fed to the press. Descriptions of her public relations campaigns and preservation issues appear at the folder level in the container list.

The researcher should be aware that Matz was in the habit of taking notes or printing out drafts of releases on stationery recycled from unrelated projects; see, for instance, the file for Friends of Hudson River Park (box 8, folder 2), which includes letterhead from the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association (see box 1, folder 5), and S.O.U.L. (Save Our Universalist Landmark; box 15, folder 3).

Subjects

Organizations

92nd Street Y (New York, N.Y.); Acrison, Inc; African Burial Ground (New York, N.Y.); Armenian Church. Diocese of the Armenian Church of America; Brooklyn Educational & Cultural Alliance; Brooklyn Historic Railway Association; Bryant Park Restoration Corporation; Carnegie Hill Neighbors; Cathedral of St. John the Divine (New York, N.Y.); Catholic Interracial Council of New York; Central Park West Preservation Committee; CitiNeighbors Coalition of Historic Carnegie Hill; Coalition for a Livable West Side (New York, N.Y.); Coalition to Save City & Suburban Housing (New York, N.Y.); Coalition to Save the Lincoln Square Home for Adults; Coalition to Save the Naumburg Bandshell; Committee for Fair Options on Walden School Construction; Committee for New York; Committee to Oppose the Sale of St. Bartholomew's Church; Community Board 5 (Manhattan, New York, N.Y.); Concerned Tenants of 823 Park Avenue; Correction Captains' Association (New York, N.Y.); Defenders of the Historic Upper East Side; East 79th Street Block Association (New York, N.Y.); Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (U.S.); Friends of Hudson River Park; Friends of the High School for Environmental Studies; Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts; Gallery Passport, Ltd. (New York, N.Y.); Government and Community Together for Legal Lives (New York, N.Y.); Grand Central Partnership; Gregory Towers Tenants' Coordinating Committee; Guggenheim Neighbors; Historic Districts Council (New York, N.Y.); J.M. Kaplan Fund; Lambs (New York, N.Y.); Landmark West! (Group : New York, N.Y.); Lever House (New York, N.Y.); Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Metropolitan Club (New York, N.Y.); Mount Holyoke Club of New York; Moynihan Station (New York, N.Y.); Municipal Art Society of New York; Nathan's Famous; National Coalition For Family Justice; Neighbors R Us (New York, N.Y.); New York Committee for a Balanced Building Boom; New York Landmarks Conservancy; New York (State). Office of Parks and Recreation; People for the American Way; People for Westpride (New York, N.Y.); Plaza Hotel (New York, N.Y.); Preserve the Landmarks and Character of the East Eighties (New York, N.Y.); St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church (New York, N.Y.); Save Our Universalist Landmark (New York, N.Y.); Save the Beacon Theatre Committee; Save the Coogan Coalition (New York, N.Y.); Save the Cottages and Garden (New York, N.Y.); Save the Whales (Organization); Seventh Regiment Armory (New York, N.Y.); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Student Athletes, Inc.; Superior Officers Association of the New York City Housing Authority Police Department; Sutton Area Community; Tavern on the Green; Town Hall, Inc.; Tudor City Association; Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit; Women's City Club of New York; York Avenue Estate (New York, N.Y.)

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers.

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. (Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days.)

Note that the New-York Historical Society lacks playback equipment for the audiovisual material in box 22.

Use Restrictions

This collection is owned by the New-York Historical Society. The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies and protects unpublished materials as well as published materials. Unpublished materials created before 1 January 1978 cannot be quoted in publication without permission of the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation Note

This collection should be cited as the Joyce Matz Papers, MS 3050, The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact manuscripts@nyhistory.org prior to your research visit to coordinate access. Keep in mind that it will take between two (2) and five (5) business days for collections to arrive, and you should plan your research accordingly.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Suzanne Matz, Linda Matz, and John Matz, children of Joyce Matz, September 2017.

Collection processed by

Joseph Ditta (March-May 2018)

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:46:49 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: English

Processing Information

Archivist Joseph Ditta processed this collection in March-May 2018.

Repository

New-York Historical Society

Series I. Historic Preservation and quality of life issues, 1971-2013

Extent

17 Linear feet

Scope and Contents

Press releases, news clippings, tear sheets, correspondence, and notes for the myriad historic preservation campaigns and quality of life issues on which Joyce Matz consulted and supported. See descriptions at the folder level. A number of these files, although not originally designated as such by Matz, stem from her time as chair or co-chair of the Landmarks Committee of Manhattan Community Board 5. Researchers should, therefore, explore the 17 files of Community Board 5 material (box 5, folders 5-13, and box 6, folders 1-8) for potential additional coverage of an issue outside its designated folder(s).

Arrangement

Series I is organized alphabetically by the name of the specific project (e.g., building or street address) or preservation group (e.g., coalition, committee) for which Joyce Matz provided publicity and support. The sheer number of newspaper clippings saved by Matz to document her work prohibited the archivist from arranging material in strictly chronological order. The researcher should, therefore, consult every folder listed under the same topic to catch items that may be out of place.

Abigail Adams Smith Museum & Glick Project, 1988-1989

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Opposition to developer Jeffrey Glick's plan to construct a twin-towered complex directly across the street from the landmarked 1799 Abigail Adams Smith House (now called the Mount Vernon Hotel Museum, 421 East 61st Street).

African Burial Ground, 1992

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Newspaper clippings regarding the fate of the African Burial Ground, which would gain landmark designation in 1993 as part of the African Burial Ground & the Commons Historic District.

Avenue of the Americas | West 28th and West 29th Streets, 1984-1987

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents Note

Development concerns for Avenue of the Americas (a.k.a. Sixth Avenue) between West 16th and West 23rd Streets, and for West 28th and West 29th Streets between Fifth Avenue and Broadway.

Brooklyn Educational & Cultural Alliance (B.E.C.A.), 1978-1979

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, newspaper clippings, and some correspondence regarding the B.E.C.A.'s activities, and a $33,000 grant it received from the State Board of Regents to provide educational and occupational training for battered women.

Brooklyn Historic Railway Association, 1982-2002

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 5 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, newspaper clippings, and notes regarding the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association, which led tours of the 1844 Atlantic Avenue Tunnel (the world's oldest subway tunnel), and hoped to return historic streetcars to the borough.

Bryant Park Restoration Corporation [4 folders], 1982-1989

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 6-9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, newspaper clippings, notes, and some correspondence documenting the activities of the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, which in 1988 closed the crime-ridden park for a four-year renovation.

Carnegie Hill Neighbors, Inc. | 92nd Street Y, 1999

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Opposition to proposals by the 92nd Street Y to erect a building at 125 East 92nd Street.

Carnegie Hill Neighbors, Inc. | Smithers Mansion, 2000-2001

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Opposition to plans by the Spence School to alter its building, the landmarked 1932 Smithers Mansion at 56 East 93rd Street.

Central Park South, 1997-2009

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Efforts to seek landmark protection for the length of Central Park South (i.e., West 59th Street between Fifth and Eighth Avenues), and specific buildings fronting it, such as 2 Columbus Circle and 240 Central Park South (the latter was designated in 2002).

Central Park West Preservation Committee, Inc., 1983-1984

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Efforts to stop the New-York Historical Society's proposed residential tower above its building at 170 Central Park West. For a later, similar plan, see box 15, folder 10.

CitiNeighbors Coalition of Historic Carnegie Hill [4 folders], 1999-2001

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 14-17 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents Note

Opposition to Citibank's plan to sell the air rights above its branch office at Madison Avenue and East 91st Street. Zoning permitted a potential twelve-story building on the site, but the CitiNeighbors Coalition sought to have Citibank require any new construction to conform to the low-rise character of the neighborhood.

Coalition Against Lincoln West, Inc. [folders 1-4 of 8], 1983-1985

Offsite-Box: 1, Folder: 18-21 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

In 1979 the Macri Group, an Argentine company, in partnership with investor Abe Hirschfeld, bought the 60th Street Rail Yard, and in they 1982 planned a 7,300,000-square-foot residential redevelopment for the site to be called Lincoln West. They were unable to obtain financing, so in 1985, Donald Trump bought the development rights for his proposed Television City. (For opposition to the latter, see the folders on the group Westpride in boxes 15-17).

Coalition Against Lincoln West, Inc. [folders 5-8 of 8], 1983-1985

Offsite-Box: 2, Folder: 1-4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Coalition for a Livable West Side [6 folders], 1992-1997

Offsite-Box: 2, Folder: 5-10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

The Coalition for a Livable West Side, formed in 1981, a volunteer, environmental organization, draws its membership from individuals, tenant and block associations, and cooperative and condominium boards. In the early- to mid-1990s, the Coalition sought to block construction of Donald Trump's Riverside South, a 57-acre urban development project in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan. Originated by Trump in partnership with six civic associations (Municipal Art Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Parks Council, Regional Plan Association, Riverside Park Fund, and Westpride), the project replaced Trump's proposed Television City on the site of the failed Lincoln West residential development. (For Lincoln West, see Matz's files on the Coalition Against Lincoln West, in boxes 1-2; for Television City, see the files on Westpride in boxes 15-17.)

Coalition to Save City & Suburban Housing, Inc. [folders 1-2 of 15], 1985-2006

Offsite-Box: 2, Folder: 11-12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

In 1984 developer Peter S. Kalikow (who later owned the New York Post) bought the City and Suburban Homes Company's Avenue A (York Avenue) Estate, a complex of early twentieth-century model tenements for working-class families. Kalikow's plan to construct high-rise towers on the site (on the block bounded by East 78th Street, East 79th Street, York Avenue, and the FDR Drive) would have displaced thousands of residents, and, so, met fierce opposition. The complex received landmark protection in 1990; however, a portion was later stripped of that designation by the Board of Estimate at the request of Kalikow. In 1993 the courts overturned that decision and restored landmark status to the entire site.

Coalition to Save City & Suburban Housing, Inc. [folders 3-14 of 15], 1985-2006

Offsite-Box: 3, Folder: 1-12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Coalition to Save City & Suburban Housing, Inc. [folder 15 of 15], 1985-2006

Offsite-Box: 4, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Coalition to Save the Lincoln Square Home for Adults, 1984

Offsite-Box: 4, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

The builder of an apartment tower at West 68th Street and Broadway agreed to pay New York City $10 for every foot of bonus space allowed by the City Planning Commission. The resulting $280,530 was coveted by the residents of the Lincoln Square Home for Adults, who were facing eviction and hoped to use the money toward the purchase of their building (201 West 74th Street) before it was sold to a developer and replaced by conventional housing.

Coalition to Save the Naumburg Bandshell [2 folders], 1992-1993, 1999

Offsite-Box: 4, Folder: 3-4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

In 1989 the Central Park Conservancy and the Parks Department, in conjunction with restoration of The Mall, announced plans to demolish the Naumburg Bandshell. Nothing happened until 1992, when revived plans to tear down the bandshell, or move it to Riverside Park, or even to Peekskill, New York, raised the cries of preservationists. They were led by Christopher W. London, great-grandson of Elkan Naumburg, donor of the bandshell in 1923. The courts sided with the preservationists, blocking the bandshell's removal.

Committee for Fair Options on Walden School Construction, 1985

Offsite-Box: 4, Folder: 5 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Efforts to block construction of a condominium tower above the Walden School at 1 West 88th Street, northwest corner of Central Park West.

Committee for New York, 1990

Offsite-Box: 4, Folder: 6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, and materials for "Building the City We Need," a conference sponsored by the Committee for New York, 26 January 1990.

Committee to Oppose the Sale of St. Bartholomew's Church, Inc. [folders 1-11 of 12], 1984-1991

Offsite-Box: 4, Folder: 7-17 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

In the 1980s part of the congregation of the landmarked St. Bartholomew's Church (325 Park Avenue) hoped to increase funding by replacing their community house (109 East 50th Street) with a 47-story office tower. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission twice rejected their application, and the case, which lasted until 1991, eventually went to the Supreme Court, which upheld the landmark designation but raised the question of whether religious structures should be exempt from historic, municipal ordinances.

Committee to Oppose the Sale of St. Bartholomew's Church, Inc. [folder 12 of 12], 1984-1991

Offsite-Box: 5, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Committee to Save the Theatres [2 folders], 1982-1983

Offsite-Box: 5, Folder: 2-3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Spurred by the recent demolition of the Helen Hayes and Morosco Theatres, the Committee to Save the Theatres sought landmark protection for 45 historic Broadway performance venues. Actress Colleen Dewhurst was among the famous names who lent support to the cause.

Committee to Stop the 42nd Street Light Rail, 1994-1996

Offsite-Box: 5, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Documentation of opposition to New York City's plan to install a trolley line along the length of 42nd Street, from the United Nations Plaza on the east, to a terminus at Twelfth Avenue between West 36th and 38th Streets on the west.

Community Board 5 Landmarks Committee [folders 1-9 of 17], circa 1977-2013

Offsite-Box: 5, Folder: 5-13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Manhattan Community Board 5 is bounded (roughly) by 59th Street, Lexington Avenue, 14th Street, Sixth Avenue, 26th Street, and Eighth Avenue. In her long tenure as chair or co-chair of the board's Landmarks Committee, Joyce Matz had oversight of many iconic structures and enclaves in CB5's jurisdiction, such as the Flatiron Building and the Ladies' Mile Historic District. Any application to demolish or alter a landmarked structure, or any proposal for a new designation, came to her committee for rejection or approval. (For the landmarks within CB5's boundaries, refer to the Landmarks Preservation Commission's official map, which provides designation dates and links to designation reports.)

Community Board 5 Landmarks Committee [folders 10-17 of 17], circa 1977-2013

Offsite-Box: 6, Folder: 1-8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Community Coalition | East 76th Street Rezoning [2 folders], 1999-2000

Offsite-Box: 6, Folder: 9-10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

In 1999 the developer of a large site at 506 East 76th Street applied to have the property rezoned from manufacturing to residential, hoping to capitalize on its maximum 31-story building potential. The City Planning Commission reduced the allowable height to 13 stories, which the community argued still exceeded an 8-story limit set in 1985 for all midblock areas of the Upper East Side.

Concerned Tenants of 823 Park Avenue [2 folders], 1992-1998

Offsite-Box: 6, Folder: 11-12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

The City of New York seized the apartment building at 823 Park Avenue for non-payment of taxes, and sold it to Robert Manocherian in 1994. Matz's files document Manocherian's efforts to evict the tenants.

Convent of the Little Sisters of the Assumption / PLACE, 1984-1985

Offsite-Box: 6, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Documentation of the unsuccessful attempt by PLACE (Preserve the Landmarks and Character of the East Eighties) to landmark the Convent of the Little Sisters of the Assumption (originally the Convent of the Sisters of Bon Secours). The four-story, red-brick, Victorian Gothic structure at 1195 Lexington Avenue, was designed by architect William Schickel and built in 1889. It has since been demolished.

Coogan Building (Save the Coogan Coalition), 1999

Offsite-Box: 7, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

The 1876 Coogan Building, originally the Racket Court Club, at 776 Avenue of the Americas, was designed in the Romanesque Revival style by Alfred H. Thorp. It had its 1989 landmark designation overturned by the Board of Estimate. The efforts of a coalition formed to seek re-designation in 1999 were unsuccessful, and the building has since been replaced by a residential tower. The new structure does not appear to incorporate any of the Coogan's facade elements, despite promises from the developer that it would.

Defenders of the Historic Upper East Side [2 folders], 2000-2004

Offsite-Box: 7, Folder: 2-3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

A preservation advocacy group founded in 2003, Defenders of the Historic Upper East Side seeks to protect the historic character of Manhattan's Upper East Side from intrusive development.

Dry Cleaning Fumes [2 folders], 1994-2006

Offsite-Box: 7, Folder: 4-5 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Documentation of toxic tetrachloroethylene (a.k.a., perc) levels emitted by Fancy Cleaners, a dry cleaning business adjacent to 460 East 79th Street, where Joyce Matz occupied apartment 2B.

Dvorák Statue, 1993-1997

Offsite-Box: 7, Folder: 6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Fundraising efforts to restore and dedicate a statue of Czech composer Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904). The statue, by Croatian-American sculptor Ivan Mestrovic (1883-1962), had been presented to the New York Philharmonic in 1963. The Philharmonic donated it to the Dvorák American Heritage Association, which eventually placed it in Stuyvesant Square, nearly opposite the site of 327 East 17th Street, the house Dvorák occupied between 1892 and 1895 (demolished in 1991).

East 54th & East 55th Street Townhouses [6 folders], 1998-2001

Offsite-Box: 7, Folder: 7-12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Efforts to landmark townhouses on the north side of East 54th Street (nos. 111-121), south side of East 55th Street (nos. 116-124), and north side of East 55th Street (nos. 113-119). Ultimately, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated just two of the houses: no. 116-118 East 55th Street (the William and Helen Martin Murphy Ziegler, Jr. House) and no. 124 East 55th Street (the Mary Hale Cunningham House). For her work on this campaign, Matz received the Elliot Willensky Fund award for 2000 (see box 17, folder 8).

East 79th Street Block Association, 1986-1991

Offsite-Box: 7, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and newspaper clippings documenting the activities and concerns of the residents of a 24-block area of the Upper East Side anchored by East 79th Street between Third Avenue and the East River.

Ellis Island [3 folders], 1991-1992

Offsite-Box: 7, Folder: 14-16 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Construction of a proposed conference center by the National Parks Service would have resulted in the demolition of several structures on Ellis Island. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission eventually created the Ellis Island Historic District to prohibit such changes.

Fire Patrol Stations, 2006

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Efforts to landmark Fire Patrol Station No. 1 (240 West 30th Street) and Fire Patrol Station No. 2 (84 West 3rd Street). Since 2013 the latter has been protected as part of the South Village Historic District.

Friends of Hudson River Park, 2006

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes and press releases for Hudson River Park, the Manhattan greenway constructed along the Hudson River between West 59th Street and Battery Park beginning in the late 1990s.

Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts [3 folders], 1991-2000

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 3-5 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

A not-for-profit membership group, Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts was founded in 1982 to maintain the architectural legacy and sense of place of the Upper East Side.

Grand Central Partnership, Inc., 1986-1988

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and newspaper clippings outlining the proposed revitalization of Grand Central Terminal.

Gregory Towers Tenants' Coordinating Committee [3 folders], 1985-2000

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 7-9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Joyce Matz lived for many years in apartment 2B of the Gregory Towers, a 20-story building at 460 East 79th Street. Her files document the building's conversion from rental property to condominium, and the activities of the tenant's coordinating committee.

Guggenheim Neighbors: A Concerned Community Opposed to the Planned Addition to the Guggenheim Museum [7 folders], 1985-1992

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 10-16 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Opposition to a proposed oversized addition to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, an exterior and interior landmark at 1071 Fifth Avenue.

Kaplan Fund, 1984

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 17 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

The J. M. Kaplan Fund, a philanthropic charity organized in 1945, supports varied causes, including heritage conservation.

Lake Minnewaska, Ulster County, New York, 1979-1980

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 18 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Matz's typed reminiscence of her family's visits to Lake Minnewaska Mountain House in Ulster County, New York, submitted to the travel editor of the New York Times after the paper reported the resort had closed.

Lambs Club, 1999-2001

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 19 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Information, clippings, and notes regarding the McKim, Mead & White-designed Lambs Club, an official New York City landmark at 128 West 44th Street.

Landmark West! The Committee to Preserve the Upper West Side [folder 1 of 4], 1987-2011

Offsite-Box: 8, Folder: 20 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, newspaper clippings, brochures, and ephemera documenting the work of Landmark West!, a non-profit group organized in 1985 to achieve landmark status for individual buildings and historic districts on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Landmark West! The Committee to Preserve the Upper West Side [folders 2-4 of 4], 1987-2011

Offsite-Box: 9, Folder: 1-3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Landmarks Lion Award [3 folders], 1999-2013

Offsite-Box: 9, Folder: 4-6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

The Historic Districts Council named Joyce Matz its 2000 Landmarks Lion on 10 January 2001. The award has been presented since 1990 to individuals who show unusual devotion to historic districts and landmarks. Matz's files document her own award, as well as earlier and later recipients.

Lever House [2 folders], 1982-1983

Offsite-Box: 9, Folder: 7-8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Efforts to landmark and preserve Lever House, a glass and stainless steel-clad office building at 390 Park Avenue.

Madison Square North Historic District, 2001

Offsite-Box: 9, Folder: 9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes, correspondence, research, and testimony for the designation of the Madison Square North Historic District.

Memorial Sloan-Kettering expansion / 10021 Community Coalition [2 folders], 2001

Offsite-Box: 9, Folder: 10-11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, research, press releases, and newspaper clippings on the opposition to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital's plan for a 44-story tower on a mid-block site between First and York Avenues, East 68th and 69th Streets.

Metropolitan Club of New York, 1986-1987

Offsite-Box: 9, Folder: 12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Effort to block construction of a tower above the landmarked Metropolitan Club Building at 1-11 East 60th Street.

Moynihan Station, 2005-2006

Offsite-Box: 9, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Documentation of some of the early plans to redevelop the James A. Farley Building (the main U.S. Post Office for New York City) as a replacement for the vanished Pennsylvania Station. The facility, when complete, will be named for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003), who championed the project.

Municipal Art Society / New York Coliseum [folders 1-3 of 11], 1987-1997

Offsite-Box: 9, Folder: 14-16 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, newspaper clippings, and information regarding the Municipal Art Society's opposition to the replacement of the New York Coliseum, at Columbus Circle, by the complex that would eventually be known as the Time Warner Center.

Municipal Art Society / New York Coliseum [folders 4-11 of 11], 1987-1997

Offsite-Box: 10, Folder: 1-8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Neighbors R Us [folders 1-3 of 5], 1994-1997

Offsite-Box: 10, Folder: 9-11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents Note

Coalition of neighborhood groups against construction of a Toys R Us in a former warehouse at 1411 Third Avenue and 201 East 80th Street.

Neighbors R Us [folders 4-5 of 5], 1994-1997

Offsite-Box: 11, Folder: 1-2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

New York City Landmarks Law, changes to, 1988-1989

Offsite-Box: 11, Folder: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes, press releases, and fliers documenting opposition to Mayor Edward Koch's proposed alterations to New York City's Landmarks Law of 1965, which featured a moratorium on designations in specific areas, and a provision to "designate or demolish" within 90 days.

New York Committee for a Balanced Building Boom, 1979

Offsite-Box: 11, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, press releases, and newspaper clippings on the New York Committee for a Balanced Building Boom, formed to "retain the present character, quality, scale, ambiance and appearance of . . . Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan, while . . . supporting the continued growth and vitality of the city."

New York Landmarks Conservancy [8 folders], 1981-1992

Offsite-Box: 11, Folder: 5-12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, newspaper clippings, and correspondence documenting the campaigns and programs of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a preservation advocacy group which funds the restoration and maintenance of historic properties through grants and low-interest loans.

New York Public Library and Midtown Rezoning, 2012-2013

Offsite-Box: 11, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Documentation of opposition to the New York Public Library's "Central Library Plan," which sought to replace the main research division's stacks beneath Bryant Park with a lending library and educational spaces. This folder also includes information on the proposed rezoning of the Greater East Midtown business district, which eventually happened in 2017.

News Boxes, 1994-2000

Offsite-Box: 11, Folder: 14 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes and research on corner news boxes, newsstands, and other "street furniture" in New York City.

Operation Rainbow, 1971-1978

Offsite-Box: 12, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

In 1971 and 1974, Joyce Matz submitted to the New York City Parks Department her proposal for "Operation Rainbow: A Pilot Program Conceived for the Children of New York City," which aimed to bring kids into the parks "not just to play, but to learn and grow" by entrusting to schools the planting and care of gardens in designated "pilot areas" of Manhattan parks.

Plaza Hotel, 2005-2011

Offsite-Box: 12, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes, research, press releases, and some correspondence surrounding the 2005 landmark designation of the Plaza Hotel Interior, and proposed alterations to the same.

Poe & Judson Houses [2 folders], 2000

Offsite-Box: 12, Folder: 3-4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Documentation of efforts to block New York University School of Law from demolishing 85 West 3rd Street, a house occupied by writer Edgar Allan Poe in 1845-46, and the adjacent Judson House, on Thompson Street, a parish building sold to NYU by the struggling Judson Memorial Church. NYU's Furman Hall, the 11-story structure which opened on the site in 2004, incorporates the facades of the historic buildings.

Saint John the Divine Peace Fountain [2 folders], 1984-1985

Offsite-Box: 12, Folder: 5-6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes, press releases, newspaper clippings, and some correspondence regarding sculptor Greg Wyatt's unusual Peace Fountain at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine (1047 Amsterdam Avenue). Wyatt, the Cathedral's Artist-in-Residence, created the work to mark the 200th anniversary of the Episcopal Diocese of New York in 1985.

Save Our Lady Queen of Angels, 2007

Offsite-Box: 12, Folder: 7 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

In January 2007 the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced the closure of the Church of Our Lady Queen of Angels, housed since 1886 in a sanctuary designed by William Schickel & Company at 228 East 113th Street in East Harlem. Joyce Matz provided publicity for parishioners who fought to keep the church open, and lobbied for its landmark status. Neither came to pass.

Save the Beacon Theatre Committee [folders 1-8 of 14], 1986-1989

Offsite-Box: 12, Folder: 8-15 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

A 1987 plan to convert the Beacon Theatre (2124 Broadway) to a discotheque raised an outcry from preservationists, who argued successfully in court that the alterations would damage irreparably the landmarked interior.

Save the Beacon Theatre Committee [folders 9-14 of 14], 1986-1989

Offsite-Box: 13, Folder: 1-6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Save the Cottages and Garden [folders 1-7 of 28], 1997-1999

Offsite-Box: 13, Folder: 7-13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes, research, reports, testimony, press releases, and newspaper clippings documenting the unsuccessful fight to preserve the Cottages and Garden, a 1937 enclave of eight apartments that opened onto a private midblock green space and tennis court behind a Third Avenue commercial building. The complex, designed by architect Edward H. Faile on a site between East 77th and 78th Streets, failed to win landmark designation, and has since been replaced by a condominium tower.

Save the Cottages and Garden [folders 8-27 of 28], 1997-1999

Offsite-Box: 14, Folder: 1-20 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Save the Cottages and Garden [folder 28 of 28], 1997-1999

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Seventh Regiment Armory, 2005-2006

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Documentation of the Empire State Development Corporation's plans to take over, restore, and renovate the Seventh Regiment Armory (a.k.a., the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue) for use as a cultural arts center.

S.O.U.L. (Save Our Universalist Landmark), 1985-1998

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, and some correspondence documenting the formation and later activities of S.O.U.L. (Save Our Universalist Landmark), a group organized to preserve the deteriorating sanctuary of the Fourth Universalist Society at 160 Central Park West.

Sturman property, 1997

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Newspaper clippings regarding Upper East Side property at the southeast corner of Third Avenue and East 86th Street owned then lost by the Sturman family in a bankruptcy auction.

Sutton Area Community, Inc. (SAC), 1985

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 5 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, information, and promotional material for walking tours offered by Sutton Area Community, Inc., a civic organization founded in 1975 to improve the quality of life in the vicinity of Sutton Place.

Tammany Hall, 2009

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Testimony and letters of support to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission for Tammany Hall (100 East 17th Street), which was not designated until 2013.

Tavern on the Green, 2010-2012

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 7 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Documentation of the proposed renovation and reuse of Tavern on the Green in Central Park, which had closed in 2009.

Town Hall [2 folders], 1978-1980

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 8-9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, and other documentation of the successful effort to seek landmark designation (exterior and interior) for Town Hall, the performance space designed by McKim, Mead & White at 113-123 West 43rd Street.

Towers on top of landmarks, 2006-2007

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Testimony and clippings regarding proposed towers above the Parke-Bernet Gallery (980 Madison Avenue) and the New-York Historical Society (170 Central Park West). For the Historical Society's earlier plan to build a residential tower above its building, see Matz's file on the Central Park West Preservation Committee (box 1, folder 13).

Tudor City Association, Inc., Historic Preservation Committee, 1985-1988

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, newspaper clippings, and information on the successful campaign to landmark Tudor City, a residential skyscraper complex on the four blocks bounded by East 40th Street, East 43rd Street, First Avenue, and Second Avenue.

Upper East Side Special Security District, 1994-1995

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

The Douglas Elliman real estate company proposed creating a privately policed--but taxpayer funded--"Special Security District" (later called SAFE, for "Security Area For the Eastside") between East 59th Street, East 96th Street, Fifth Avenue, and the East River. Mayor Giuliani approved the idea, which met considerable opposition.

West 50s

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Testimony, correspondence, and notes about preservation efforts on West 54th, 55th, 56th, and 57th Streets.

Westpride (People for Westpride, Inc.) [folders 1-4 of 22], 1987-1992

Offsite-Box: 15, Folder: 14-17 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, mailings, newspaper clippings, and notes documenting the opposition by this group of Upper West Siders to Donald Trump's Television City, a complex proposed for the 60th Street Rail Yard that would have featured headquarters and television studios for NBC. (For opposition to the earlier, failed, residential plan for the site—called Lincoln West—see the folders in boxes 1–2.)

Westpride (People for Westpride, Inc.) [folders 5-15 of 22], 1987-1992

Offsite-Box: 16, Folder: 1-11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Westpride (People for Westpride, Inc.) [folders 16-22 of 22], 1987-1992

Offsite-Box: 17, Folder: 1-7 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Willensky Fund Award, 2000

Offsite-Box: 17, Folder: 8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Correspondence and a few clippings proclaiming Joyce Matz one of two recipients of the Elliot Willensky Fund award for 2000. Named for the late architectural historian and coauthor of the AIA Guide to New York City, the fund, established in 1991, recognized preservation advocates who kept the landmarks movement alive. Matz received the $500 prize for her campaign to secure landmark designation for a group of townhouses on East 54th and East 55th Streets (see box 7, folders 7–12).

Women's City Club of New York, Inc., 1988-1991

Offsite-Box: 17, Folder: 9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Correspondence, press releases, and newspaper clippings documenting the zoning reform project of the Women's City Club of New York. In conjunction with the Natural Resources Defense Council, the club released a report titled "New York City Zoning: The Need for Reform."

Wood, Anthony: Preserving New York, 2007

Offsite-Box: 17, Folder: 10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Draft of a press release, notes, and some correspondence surrounding the release of the book Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City's Landmarks (New York: Routledge, 2008), by preservation activist Anthony C. Wood. The New-York Historical Society Library holds a copy under call number F128.37 .W66 2008.

Yorkville Clock, 1998-2001

Offsite-Box: 17, Folder: 11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Efforts to restore and reinstall this sidewalk clock, a designated New York City landmark at 1501 Third Avenue.

Series II. Public Relations, 1969-2009

Extent

4 Linear feet

Scope and Contents

Public relations materials (e.g., press releases, news clippings, tear sheets, correspondence, and notes) for the various organizations, businesses, individuals, and political figures promoted by Joyce Matz, first in partnership with her husband (as Mortimer Matz Associates), then eponymously (as Joyce Matz Associates), for the period 1969-2009. See descriptions at the folder level.

Arrangement

Series II is sorted alphabetically by person, business, or organization name. The sheer number of newspaper clippings saved by Matz to document her work prohibited the archivist from arranging material in strictly chronological order. The researcher should, therefore, consult every folder listed under the same topic to catch items that may be out of place.

Acrison, Inc., 1986

Offsite-Box: 17, Folder: 12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for a Moonachie, New Jersey-based manufacturer and innovator of bulk solid processing equipment.

Armenian Church of America [5 folders], 1985-1989

Offsite-Box: 17, Folder: 13-17 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings documenting the activities of the Armenian Church of America, particularly its role in organizing the anniversary commemorations of the Armenian Genocide of 24 April 1915. (See also box 18, folders 10-18, and box 19, folders 1-11.)

Armenian Church of America | Armenian Earthquake, 1988

Offsite-Box: 18, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, and manuscript notes documenting the response of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America to the 6.8 magnitude earthquake of 7 December 1988 that killed between 25,000 and 50,000 people in the northern region of Armenia (then part of the Soviet Union).

Armenian Church of America | Armenian Home for the Aged, 1983-1985

Offsite-Box: 18, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, and publicity materials for the church-run Armenian Home for the Aged (now called the New York Armenian Home) in Flushing, Queens. Includes Matz's bills for public relations consultation for the period February-October 1984.

Armenian Church of America | One World Festival [7 folders], 1980-1985

Offsite-Box: 18, Folder: 3-9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for the 8th (1980), 9th (1981), 10th (1982), 11th (1983), 12th (1984), and 13th (1985) One World Festival, co-sponsored by the Diocese of the Armenian Church of American and the Mayor's Office of Special Events, City of New York.

Armenian Genocide anniversary commemorations [9 folders], 1985-1988

Offsite-Box: 18, Folder: 10-18 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for the 70th (1985), 71st (1986), 72nd (1987), and 73rd (1988) anniversary commemorations in New York City of the Armenian Genocide of 1914-1923, conventionally held to have started on 24 April 1915.

Armenian Genocide anniversary commemorations [11 folders], 1989-2000

Offsite-Box: 19, Folder: 1-11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for the 74th (1989), 75th (1990), 80th (1995), 83rd (1998), and 85th (2000) anniversary commemorations in New York City of the Armenian Genocide of 1914-1923, conventionally held to have started on 24 April 1915.

Biaggi, Mario, 1971-1975

Offsite-Box: 19, Folder: 12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and official statements for Mario Biaggi (1917-2015), a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 16th district (1969-1988). Biaggi was convicted of corruption in two separate trials in 1987 and 1988, and resigned from Congress in 1988. See also photographs of Biaggi with Joyce Matz in box 22, folder 8.

Catholic Interracial Council of New York, Inc., 1979-1980

Offsite-Box: 20, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for this organization, sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York in 1934 to challenge racism and social injustice, which run contradictory to Church teachings. The Catholic Interracial Council honored actress Helen Hayes for her "lifelong fight against racial and religious bigotry" on 3 December 1979; see the autographed photo of Hayes posed with Joyce Matz, presumably taken at this event, in box 22, folder 8.

Coalition for Family Justice, Inc., 1992-1994

Offsite-Box: 20, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes, press releases, and clippings for the volunteer-run, nonprofit Coalition For Family Justice (now the National Coalition For Family Justice), founded in 1988 to "identify problems and advocate for systemic changes in the divorce and family court systems in order to make them fair, user friendly, accountable, and affordable," and to "provide victims and children involved in domestic violence situations with crisis intervention, information, support, legal access, and advocacy."

Correction Captains' Association, 1979-1987

Offsite-Box: 20, Folder: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for the Correction Captains' Association, Inc., which supervises New York City's prison system and correctional facilities.

Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association [7 folders], 1984-1990

Offsite-Box: 20, Folder: 4-10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes, press releases, clippings, and publicity material for the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, a chapter of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, an organization of veterans who have limited mobility due to service-related injury or disease.

Friends of the High School for Environmental Studies, 2002-2009

Offsite-Box: 20, Folder: 11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Joyce Matz served on the board of the Friends of the High School for Environmental Studies (444 West 56th Street), which opened in 1992 "in response to a growing consciousness of environmental issues and in anticipation of a rapidly expanding field of environmental professions." Includes meeting agendas, minutes, correspondence, and notes.

Gallery Passport Ltd., 1969–1981

Offsite-Box: 20, Folder: 12 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for Gallery Passport Ltd., a New York City-based art tour service that booked trips to regional and foreign exhibits and museums.

Government and Community Together for Legal Lives, Inc., 1995-1998

Offsite-Box: 20, Folder: 13 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, and fundraising materials for Government and Community Together for Legal Lives, Inc., an organization established in 1990 by Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes to provide "school children with alternatives to drug use, delinquency and violence."

GreenFlea / Intermediate School 44 Flea Market , 1995

Offsite-Box: 20, Folder: 14 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for GreenFlea, the antiques, crafts, and collectibles fleamarket held in the schoolyard of I.S. 44 at 100 West 77th Street since 1985.

International Festival of Flowers, 1983

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 1 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, and informational material for the International Festival of Flowers inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 5-8 October 1983.

Julien, Alfred S., 1981-1983

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 2 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for Alfred S. Julien (1910-1989), a New York trial attorney for whom Joyce Matz provided publicity.

Lloyd, Anamaria, 2000–2001

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 3 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes, press releases, clippings, and publicity material regarding Anamaria Lloyd, who, in 1998, brought a successful class action lawsuit against Principal Life, then one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States. Principal Life, a mutual insurance holding company--and, thus, owned by its policyholders--sought to become a public stock company without compensating them.

Mount Holyoke Club of New York, 1982-1986

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 4 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases, clippings, and some correspondence regarding events at the Mount Holyoke Club of New York (250 West 57th Street). Matz was a 1947 graduate of Mount Holyoke College, in South Hadley, Massachusetts, the oldest of the "Seven Sisters" consortium of prestigious East Coast liberal arts colleges for women.

Nathan's Famous, 1973-1979

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 5 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases for Nathan's Famous, Inc., purveyors of hotdogs, which sponsored free, weekly, one-hour shows for children in its Times Square eatery and in its other regional locations, between 1973 and 1979.

New York State Office of Parks and Recreation, 1979-1981

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for events and programs in the New York City regional venues of the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation.

People for the American Way, 1991-1992

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 7 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for the "1992 Spirit of Liberty Award" presented to Hollywood entertainment lawyer Arthur B. Krim (1910-1994) by People for the American Way, a progressive advocacy group founded in 1981 to defend constitutional liberties, with emphasis on the First Amendment.

Pollack, William, 1979-1981

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for Bill Pollack, a one-time professional baseball player who had become a successful attorney in Passaic, New Jersey. In 1979 he embarked on another career, as a nightclub singer. Includes correspondence regarding payment owed Matz.

Save the Whales Day, 1978-1979

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 9 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases (by publicity firms other than Joyce Matz's), clippings, and mayoral proclamations for the travels of FLO, a 110-foot inflatable humpback whale exhibited in cities around the United States to raise awareness of the perils of commercial whaling. In New York City FLO flew outside the United Nations.

Sills, Richard Reynolds, 2003

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 10 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and publicity materials for computer scientist Richard Reynolds Sills and his method of detecting hidden weapons of mass destruction.

Student Athletes, Inc., 1995-1997

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 11 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Notes and press releases for Student Athletes, Inc., an organization founded in 1989 to meet the growing need for educational and athletic programs to encourage New York City kids to stay off the streets.

Superior Officers Association of the New York City Housing Police Department [3 folders], 1980-1988

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 12-14 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for the Superior Officers Association of the New York City Housing Police Department, which retained Joyce Matz to publicize "the spiraling crime rates within the 267 New York City housing projects caused by a lack of sufficient housing police manpower."

Upper Manhattan Mental Health Center, Inc., 1999

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 15 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Second annual gala fundraising dinner of the Upper Manhattan Mental Health Center (now called Emma L. Bowen Community Service Center, 1727 Amsterdam Avenue), honoring John Babieracki, Executive Vice President of Morse Diesel International, Inc., 7 June 1999.

Velella, Guy J., 1980-1982

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 16 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for Guy J. Velella (1944-2011), Republican, a member of the New York State Assembly from the 80th District in the Bronx (1973-1982), and a member of the New York State Senate from the 34th District, also in the Bronx (1986-2004).

Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit [3 folders], 1983-1984

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 17-19 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for the 103rd (Spring 1983), 104th (Fall 1983), and 105th (Spring 1984) Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit.

Zeferetti, Leo C., 1978-1979

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 20 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases for Leo C. Zeferetti (1927-2018), a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 15th congressional district (1975-1983).

Zervas, John, 1979-1982

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 21 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Press releases and clippings for the "Hot Dog King of Central Park." In 1977 Zervas won and quickly lost the exclusive right to sell hot dogs in Central Park after his arrest for fighting with other, unlicensed, vendors.

Series III. General files, photographs, and audiovisual material, 1971-2017

Extent

1 Linear feet

Scope and Contents

Series III includes general files of newspaper clippings, tear sheets, and occasional notes that Joyce Matz conceivably meant to incorporate into the more specific categories of Series I and II; a folder of résumés and newspaper interviews; some photographs of Matz with celebrities and political figures (described below); and a small amount of audiovisual material (restricted due to the New-York Historical Society's lack of playback equipment).

Arrangement

The general files are sorted chronologically, with undated material coming last. As with Series I and II, the sheer number of newspaper clippings saved by Matz in the general files prohibited the archivist from arranging material in strictly chronological order. The researcher should, therefore, consult every folder to catch items that may be out of place. The single files of biographical material and photographs follow the general files, and the audiovisual material is grouped in a container inside box 22.

General files [folders 1-2 of 8], 1978-2017, undated

Offsite-Box: 21, Folder: 22-23 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

General files [folders 3-8 of 8], 1978-2017, undated

Offsite-Box: 22, Folder: 1-6 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Matz biographical, 1970s-2004

Offsite-Box: 22, Folder: 7 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Includes various iterations of Joyce Matz's résumé, and two newspaper profiles of her: (1) Al Amateau, "The Woman Who Likes Buildings" from The Westsider (January 16-22, 1986), and (2) Edward-Isaac Dovere, "A Champion for Preservation" from Our Town (November 18, 2004).

Photographs, 1971-1985

Offsite-Box: 22, Folder: 8 (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

Miscellaneous images, including several of Joyce Matz posed with actors Tony Randall and Helen Hayes (the latter presumably taken on 3 December 1979 when Hayes was honored by the Catholic Interracial Council of New York; see box 20, folder 1); Congressman Mario Biaggi (in 1971 and later; see press materials in box 19, folder 12); writer Brendan Gill; and Matz with her dog (Attila?) in 1977. Many of the prints were made by photographer Bill Mitchell.

Audiovisual [7 items], 1984-1997

Offsite-Box: 22, Folder: [container inside box 22] (Material Type: Mixed Materials)

Scope and Contents

  1. U-matic videocassette labelled "Joyce Matz | Midday Show | WNEW-TV | TUES-6-5-84" (1984 June 5).
  2. VHS cassette labelled "Joyce on Midday 1984 WNEW-TV" (1984 [June 5]).
  3. VHS cassette labelled "Joy[ce] [Matz] | 4-21-## | 5-28-94 | May 1st" (1994).
  4. VHS cassette labelled "4/1/96 | Community Bd | Joyce Matz & others" (1996 April 1).
  5. VHS cassette labelled "WNBC TV | Joyce & Sam | 'How it Costs to Keep Your Pet Alive!' | Thursday evening | 11 PM" (undated).
  6. 8mm film reel labelled "NYC" (undated).
  7. Audiocassette labelled "'Tony Randall' | Bloomberg News | WBBR-AM New York | November 1, 1997 7:00-8:00 AM | 1:53" (1997 November 1).

Access Restrictions

The New-York Historical Society lacks audiovisual playback equipment, so these seven items are currently unusable.

New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024