E-BULLETIN OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL

March 2006, Volume 3 Number 3

Landmarks Preservation Commission Votes to Approve the Demolition of a Landmarked Building

Tuesday, February 21st was a disheartening day for preservation in New York City, as the Landmarks Preservation Commission, voted 7-2 in favor of the demolition of the 1936 Art-Deco Purchase building (HDC’s“Endangered Building of the Month for February) in the Fulton-Ferry Historic District. All Commissioners present voted in favor of issuing a favorable advisory report, except for Commissioner Roberta Brandes Gratz and Commissioner Stephen Byrns who voted in opposition. This action appears to point towards a dangerous and terrible new precedent. While the LPC does allow buildings in historic districts to be demolished for appropriate new development, this is the first time in recent memory permission for a building to be demolished without being replaced with an arguably more appropriate development has been granted. This seems to a trend that’s gathering strength; first, the LPC permitted the demolition in May 2005 of a “no style” brownstone for a void-like entranceway in the Whitney Museum expansion in the Upper East Side Historic District. Now, the agency has allowed the demolition of an Art Deco warehouse for a paved area in a waterfront park. Some of the commissioners’ comments made reference to the difference in age and style between the Purchase Building and predominantly 19th-century Fulton Ferry Historic District it lies within. This pruning of protected historic neighborhoods is troubling to say the least. It has long been a supposition among preservationists that the default stance for buildings within historic districts must be to encourage re-use and preservation. Now it seems that might not be the case and that bodes ill for the heterogeneous historic districts of New York, which all-too-often reflect different layers of the history and development of our city.

At the hearing at the LPC on February 21st , the planners of the Brooklyn Bridge Park again presented their arguments from 2001 that the building bisected the park and blocked views, and that therefore it must be demolished. As far as the public knows, there has been no contemplation of preservation or re-use of this building by the Brooklyn Bridge Park planners.

Preservation and neighborhood groups including the Municipal Art Society, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, the Brooklyn Heights Association, the Dumbo Neighborhood Association, the Boerum Hill Association, the Fort Greene Association and the Art Deco Society of New York came out en masse again to oppose this plan and advocate for preserving the building. All of these groups, HDC included, support the notion of a park at the Brooklyn waterfront, but believe that the Purchase Building could and should be adaptively reused, and that its reuse would not diminish the success of the Brooklyn Bridge Park proposal, but rather serve as an enhancement to the plan.

The disappointment of witnesses in the hearing room when the decision was rendered was clear. The public record on retaining and re-using this building is long and supportive. Nearby residents and neighboring communities, all of whom stand to benefit from the park, have urged its preservation, and the local community board voted overwhelmingly to encourage preservation. A large number of locally-elected representatives requested its preservation, as recently as last fall.

HDC views the proposal for the demolition of this building as a failure of imagination and anti-preservation. By preservation standards, this is not an appropriate solution, and we are extremely disappointed in the LPC’s decision.

Don’t Miss HDC’s 12th Annual Preservation Conference This Weekend,
March 3-5th!

“Place, Race, Money & Art: The Economics and Demographics of Historic Preservation”

To attend any of the following events, please call us at 212.614.9107 x11 or email arich@hdc.org.

Friday, March 3, 2006
Opening Night Reception 6pm-8pm ($25/person, $20/friends of HDC, Students, Seniors)
General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen
20 West 44th Street
Join us for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the main library of this individual landmark.

Saturday, March 4, 2006
12th Annual Preservation Conference ($25/person, $15/ friends of HDC, Students, Seniors)
8:30am-9:30am Registration and Coffee
9:30am-5:15pm Conference Panels
Altschul Auditorium, Room 417
International Affairs Building
Columbia University
Amsterdam Avenue at West 118th Street
For more information on the conference panels, click here

Sunday, March 5, 2006
Walking Tours 10:00 am-1:00 pm ($25/person)
Bronx Historic Districts: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Thriving
Chelsea: New Art, Old Buildings
Crown Heights North: Exploring a Hidden Gem of Brownstone Brooklyn
Gansevoort Market: From Steers to Stage Set
Long Island City: The Next Place to Be
Williamsburg and Greenpoint: Saving the Post-Industrial Future
For more information on the walking tours click here
Space is limited, and tours are filling up. Reservations are required for all tours. Contact us at 212.914.9107 x11 to reserve today.

HDC Hosts Reception to Welcome New Landmarks Subcommittee Chair Jessica Lappin

Last week, HDC hosted a small reception for CM Jessica Lappin at the Neighborhood Preservation Center. Over 30 neighborhood advocates and other friends of preservation were in attendance to greet and talk with Council Member Lappin. They were delighted to hear that CM Lappin, who represents the Henderson Place Historic District and several distinctive landmarks on Roosevelt Island, was raised in a landmarked building and is looking forward to working with the preservation community as chair of the Landmarks Subcommittee.

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The Advocate for New York City’s Historic Neighborhoods
232 East 11th Street New York NY 10003
tel: 212-614-9107 fax: 212-614-9127 email: hdc@hdc.org