Daily News from New York, New York • 126

ve theaters Honor architect's plan to sa drop outs and ex-offenders. "The awards are given to different groups for different reasons, but they all reflect the efforts of these groups to improve life in New York City," said Da jam. She cited the Bronx plazas as examples of architectural work which reflects the spirit of New Yorkers. Both are apartment complexes which the owners decided to restore, rather than demolish. "Other awards, such as the ones to the Dome Project, run by John Simon, and the school of Mario recognize the vitality of individual New Yorkers who choose to devote a large measure of their own time and energy to helping others," said Dajani.

trated to save the theaters. I'll accept it for all of them and for people everywhere who want to preserve our rich theatrical history," he said. His redesign, which consisted of shifting public rooms to accommodate the theaters, was called "unworkable" by Portman architects. The civic group will also give awards to Macy's for its Thanksgiving Day Parade, WNEW-TV for its Big Apple Minute, Noonan and Tiffany Plazas in the Bronx for quality housing renovation, the Chrysler Building for its illuminated spire, Columbia Prof. Mario Salvador! for his teaching of disadvantaged- kids, three teams of archeologists for excavations in lower Manhattan and the Dome Project, a W.

82d St school for raising the consciousness of New Yorkers to their theatrical heritage The two theaters were demolished two months ago to make way for the huge hotel, following unprecedented protests on the part of the theater and historic preservation communities. Pomeroy will be presented the award by actress Colleen Dewhurst, who was one of the frequent demonstrators outside the theaters. Pomeroy, who redesigned the theater at the request of the Actors Equity Union, said he was pleased with the award, but refused to take all of the credit "The is an honor for me, but also a tribute to the thousands of people who signed petitions and demons By BRUCE CHADWICK r-73HE ARCHITECTS OF the pro- posed 50-story, $292-milIion LI Portman Hotel, now under construction in Times Square, will get a shock this afternoon when the prestigious Municipal Arts Society gives one of its annual awards to the architect who tried to redesign the Portman in order to save the Helen Hayes and Morosco theaters. "There were some members who did not want to make yet another controversy out of this," said Virginia Dajani, associate director of the group. "We decided, though, that the architect, Lee Pomeroy, deserved it." The inscription reads: Theaters turned discos may be landmarks By BRUCE CHADWICK I THE DRIVE to win protective landmark status for as many theaters in the Broadway area as possible, preservationists said 1 h-V iJ (f: Both will be on lists prepared by the city and state landmarks offices and presented to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in Washington, D.C., as part of the national historic district proposal for the theater area.

"People who are astonished at our recommendation of discos have short memories," said Jack Goldstein, of Actors Equity, a landmarks expert "Until just recently, both were thriving theaters and they could be again." Studio 54 was really built for the beautiful people long ago but not for discoing beautiful people. It was originally slated to be an opera house. A spokesman for the disco, who said the owners weren't sure whether or not they wanted landmark status, said the disco previously had been a theater and a television studio. "Actually, it's only been a disco for a small percentage of its life," he said. Xenon was the Henry Miller Theater for years, and could be a theater again.

But if they're going to stage Shakespeare, they might want to mute the strobe lights a bit yesterday two of the city's most prominent discos Studio 54 and Xenon may wind up as perhaps the hippest landmarks in the whole country. The scenario goes like this: The City Planning Commission and the Landmarks Preservation Commission are determined to make venues such as the Alvin, Booth and Winter Garden Theaters national as well as city landmarks. And by a quirk of regulations 'and geography, they are equally committed to securing national landmark status for the Although the leading lights of the jet set who dance the night away in designer jeans probably don't realize it, both discos used to be theaters. When they were renovated, their architects apparently did not do much damage. So, since both could be theaters again, they will be part of the landmarks movement My? "5 Rock 'n' roll landmarks Trees fall and tempers flair By MICHAEL NEILL I A TREE falls in Central Park, does it make a 1 sound? If it has been sawed down by the Parks Department it makes a real racket The area which runs from 79th St.

south is equally famous as the haunt of birds and of homosexuals. There, in the shadow of an outcropping rock, Kelly told of the plans to replace the topsoil lost in a century of erosion. Resoiling involves removing trees. And here, the bird watchers made their displeasure felt, or at least some of them did. The bird watchers of Central Park do -not it appears, speak with a single voice.

Peter Post, a member of the Audubon Society who, as he puts it, "lives in the park," became involved in a dispute with Lambert Pohner, who describes himself as "an independent bird watcher." Post opposes the tree" cutting. Pohner thinks it is necessary. And when bird watchers argue, it is with all the gentility of two birds disputing the tenancy of one nest. From there the group went to the Gill, a fetid pond of standing green water at the edge of the Ramble, frequented by frogs and rats. It needs to be problem is that the machine needed for the job will damage trees, and the.

bird watchers aren't happy about that cither. Soon the group got to the Point a promontory that juts into the Rowboat Lake in the 70s. It is a Point on which, it seems; there can. be no 'agreement-. Barlow pointed out that, at the' bird watchers' request a busy macadam bikeway had been eliminated and replaced with a gravel-and-woodchip footpath.

Yesterday, Elizabeth Barlow, the Central Park administrator, tried to defuse some of the criticism of the controversial park-restoration program by taking a group of people some of them members of Community Board 5, some of them park bird watchers, and some from the media on a tour of the" affected areas. The bird watchers, particularly the Audubon Society, have been the most vocal of the Parks Department's master plan for Central Park. Part of that plan involves the felling of trees that block park vistas. The bird watchers contend that felling these trees will deprive migrating birds of the shelter they need. The Parks Department says that the effect of the tree cutting onJ the birds will be negligible, and that, in any case, the felled frees are being replaced by new plantings.

On yesterday's tour, Barlow was accompanied by Bruce Kelly, the landscape artist responsible for much of the tree cutting that already has taken place. The tour, covered an area from the 74th St. boathouse to the renovated Belvedere Castle, to the adjacent PlainrBut it was in the Ramble that the real dispute erupted. a- 3 CO to BOB KOLLER 0A1LV NEWS Cheer up, better times are coming. "Yes," said Post, "but they made it three times wider.

Now, the Point is like something from the 19th century, where people with parasols could walk down to the water." Pohner, however, is happy with what's happening at the Point, however. "I just saw my 30th kind of warbler here," he said..