Bill Curtis, Longtime TBA President, Has Passed Away
William E. Curtis, who led the Turtle Bay Association as president for nearly 50 years before stepping down in 2020, has passed away. He was 92 years old.
During his many years of service to the Turtle Bay neighborhood, Curtis – who was known to everyone as “Bill” – also was a member of Manhattan’s Community Board Six for some 12 years, serving as chair of the Parks Committee and later as First Vice Chair of the Board. And most recently, he worked on behalf of the Turtle Bay Tree Fund, which maintains tree beds throughout much of East Midtown.
Curtis’s role with the TBA began in the 1960s, and occurred quite by chance. An Army veteran and graduate of Pratt Institute, Curtis was working as a graphic artist in 1963 when he moved from Brooklyn to Midtown Manhattan, renting an apartment through a local real estate agent, Peter Detmold. Detmold was then president of the TBA, and was looking for graphic design support for the organization’s newsletter. Curtis agreed to help, and not long after, was serving on the TBA Board of Directors. With Detmold’s death in 1972, Curtis was named president of the TBA, working alongside the organization’s chair, James Amster. After Amster died in 1986, Curtis took on the role of both chair and president of the TBA, but always used the title of president.
During his tenure, the TBA was a leader in a multitude of high-profile efforts on behalf of the East Midtown community, from zoning and land use issues, to park and landscape enhancements, to safety and security concerns. Curtis was instrumental in the successful 1970s bid to stop establishment of a huge Long Island Rail Road passenger terminal at the corner of 48th Street and Third Avenue. In the 1980s, he played a leading role in seeking city approval of a zoning plan that limits the height of buildings on many East Midtown streets. And in the 1990s, he was a leader in the effort to rejuvenate Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and establish the Katherine Hepburn Garden.
Throughout his many years of community service, he maintained a thriving graphic arts business, Curtis & Company, working on the creation of logos and branding for such high-profile entities as the New York City Bar, Dunkin’ Donuts, Absolut Vodka, and Manhattan School of Music. And he was a prolific artist, including paintings of many scenes in the Turtle Bay neighborhood, some of which have been used by the TBA in its promotional materials over the years.
Curtis’s wife of 54 years, Colleen, died in 2019. A former actress, she also was active in the community, serving on the Community Board’s Land Use Committee.
A memorial service for Bill Curtis is planned for the spring.
