STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

November 19, 1979

Art Educator Appointed to Term on Landmarks Commission

Anthony M. Tung, a 32-year-old New Brighton architect and art educator, has been appointed to a one-year term on the city Landmarks Preservation Commission by Mayor Koch.

Members of the 11-seat commission, headed by Kent L. Barwick as chairman, are appointed by the mayor for staggered three-year terms and must be representative of all five boroughs. Tung's appointment fills a vacancy left by West Brighton resident Margaret M. Beyer, an Advance Woman of Achievement who resigned her position on the panel more than a year ago because of other volunteer commitments.

Tung, who resides at 141 St. Marks Place, holds a professional degree in architecture from the Cooper Union, and originally intended to pursue a career in architecture and city planning. But he got sidetracked into writing, recording, and performing songs for children, frequently appearing on the PBS-TV series "Sesame Street."

He has also written educational films for Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich and for Harper and Row. For the past seven years he has been working at the Staten Island Museum, where he developed a state-funded education program, "Young People's Art." He is also associate director of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and has worked with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Staten Island Children's Museum, the Jacques Marchais Center for Tibetan Art, and the Staten Island Cooperative Continuum of Education.

In response to his appointment, Tung said his role on the city panel was "not to become an advocate for Staten island, but to make sure Staten Island makes its presentations to the commission in the best possible way. When Staten Island issues come up," he continued, "I will research and study them carefully, and make myself available to Staten Islanders and open to their point of view."

The commission is currently studying the buildings and property of New Drop Moravian Cemetery for possible designation.

Named to the panel along with Tung were three other city residents: Barbaralee Diamondstein and Charles A. Platt of Manhattan, and Elliot Willensky of Brooklyn, former director of High Rock Park Nature Conservation Center in Egbertville. R. Michael Brown, George R. Collins, William Conklin, Thomas J. Evans and Beverly Moss Spatt will continue to serve their unexpired terms. A representative from the Bronx has yet to be named.