Member Appeal
Dear Members,
I write to ask for your support of The Players Preservation Fund.
The Players bears the distinction of being the oldest club in New York City to still occupy its original building. And soon members will celebrate the 136th anniversary of the club’s founding this New Year's Eve.
Proudly, our doors never closed. And our job at the Players Preservation Fund is to ensure they never do.
Our efforts began a decade ago with the ambitious restoration of our building’s landmark Stanford White-designed façade. For many years, members and guests could not comfortably enjoy our terrace because of its crumbling columns. Today, thanks to our efforts, members and guests enjoy the only terrace to overlook Gramercy Park.
In another project, the Players Preservation Fund successfully returned daylight to a long-shrouded part of the clubhouse with the replacement windows in the Edwin Booth Bedroom. Until last year, the Booth Room was protected by UV-filtering shades that kept out all natural light. Now, thanks to the Fund's support, the original windows have been replaced with UV filtering glass and the highest quality hardware to match the original fixtures. The result is that visitors to Booth’s restored bedroom may experience the space as he did with natural sunlight and unimpeded views of Gramercy Park.
As the club’s community grows and our landmark building welcomes more visitors and private events, our work has become all the more urgent. When problems emerge, we always step in to ensure that our unique landmark remains as vital and safe, as ever.
Today, our next and urgent project is already taking shape on the building’s eastern wall, which shows troublesome signs of growing damage. Like much of our work on plumbing, roofing, and HVAC, this issue on the eastern wall is easy to miss.
Our organization’s busiest season is often the August closure when the building is empty and we can complete vital infrastructure projects. This year was no different as we helped refinish the service hall below the kitchen and updated the second-floor restroom.
In sum, we are a small organization serving a very specific mission.
Our 501(c)3 certification comes with the expectation that we can demonstrate a broad base of support, so a gift of any amount helps us show the number of people who care about our work.
Donating online is easy via PayPal, or send your gift via Zelle to president@playerspreservation.org. Checks should be made payable to “The Players Preservation Fund, Inc.” and mailed to or dropped off at:
The Players Preservation Fund, Inc.
16 Gramercy Park South, New York, NY 10003
A number of supporters have also had their contributions matched under their employer’s matching gift program. So do check your company’s matching gift program to see if it will match your 100% tax-deductible contribution to the Preservation Fund.
If you have any questions or thoughts, please feel free to contact me by phone or email at president@playerspreservation.org and 917.669.9492.
Sincerely,
Phil Berg
President