In an effort to advocate for "places in New York City that preserve history and sustain culture," the Municipal Art Society, in partnership with organization called City Lore, publishes a website called Placematters.net. Readers are invited to nominate locations that they think fit the description. This week, for example, the Red Hook Graving Dock — currently on the verge of being demolished to make way for the IKEA parking lot — gets special attention, having been submitted by Mary Habstritt:

As of October, 2006, Graving Dock No. 1 is the only structure still standing to remind us of the mighty Todd Shipyards Corporation, once a nationwide company, birthed in Erie Basin. All the shipyard buildings have been demolished as part of developing the site for an IKEA store. Once one of the largest dry docks in the world, it is a symbol of Red Hook's long maritime history, of technological innovation, and of New York's contributions to national war efforts. It is a place where ships could still be repaired and it is part of what makes Brooklyn unique. It is a place that makes New York a place, different from all others.