| Hearing Date: 4/1/2008
LPC Docket Number: 084933
Manhattan, Block: 617, Lot: 55
20 7th Avenue - Greenwich Village Historic District
A contemporary institutional building designed by Arthur A. Schiller
and Albert Ledner and built in 1962-63. Application is to demolish
the building and construct a new hospital building.
HDC Testimony
Introduction
For decades the Historic Districts Council has reviewed and testified
on Certificate of Appropriateness applications at the Landmarks
Preservation Commission, projects ranging in scope from modifying
a window opening to the demolition of a building and the construction
of another in its place. This plan is the largest development proposal
we have ever seen suggested in a designated New York City Historic
District. HDC has grave concerns about this proposal – the
massive, unprecedented amount of demolition requested as well as
the out of character massing and design of the new construction
– and what an approved plan would mean both to the Greenwich
Village Historic District and the city’s 90 other historic
districts.
In addition to these concerns there are other issues to consider
including the blurring of the line between non-profit and for-profit
ventures, of community facilities and private development. The practical
needs of a community for an up-to-date medical facility and the
need to preserve the city’s architectural heritage and a neighborhood’s
character are also vital in this conversation. We are convinced
that these last two matters are not mutually exclusive, and must
work together for residents of this community and the city at large.
Proposed demolition on the east side of 7th Avenue
Eight structures, roughly half the block bounded by 7th Avenue,
6th Avenue, 12th Street, and 11th Street, are proposed for demolition.
They range from a 1924 Nurses Residence to 1980’s LPC-approved
pavilions, each one a piece of St. Vincent’s Hospital’s
history. Six of these structures – the Nurses Residence, the
Reiss Pavilion, and the Spellman, Cronin, Smith, and Raskob Buildings
– exhibit an unusual level of detail and design for 20th-century
institutional buildings, obviously built to complement the historic
district, decades before the idea of an historic district was ever
conceived.
These hospital buildings were designed to compliment, but be subservient
to, the main structure – the now demolished Seton Building
designed by Schickel & Ditmars in 1897. The buildings are primarily
of brick with limestone bases and trim similar to Seton, the window
openings similar scale and similar decorative detail can be found
in door and window surrounds. In addition, the buildings’
material and scale compliment their non-medical neighbors. The Greenwich
Village Historic District designation report described the south
side of 12th Street, “There is a sameness in the design of
the large hospital buildings and yet, in their use of brick and
individual window openings, they harmonize, as a group, remarkably
well with their neighbors.” Of the Nurses’ Residence,
“It should be noted that one of these buildings near mid-block
is set back above the second story, and had it been located in a
row of town houses, would have blended remarkably well with them,
as it does with those across the street.” (This is praise
from a designation report that is not shy about criticizing other
20th-century building ventures with comments like “They are
not designed to harmonize with their neighbors, in scale, detail
or use of materials. A cursory look at the relatively harmonious
apartment house of the Nineteen-twenties, which line Fifth Avenue,
might have given the architect at least a clue as to how he might
have achieved some degree of harmony when designing these buildings.”
or “Obviously no design controls were exercised here, and
the result is a building which in every way defies its surroundings.”)
HDC is opposed to the demolition of these buildings as they are
vital pieces of Greenwich Village’s history and are part of
the neighborhood’s character. They are residential in nature
and could be readily adapted for residential use.
HDC could approve of the demolition of the Link and Coleman Pavilions.
In 1979, LPC approved the demolition of the Seton Building, the
last 19th century building on the St. Vincent’s Hospital Campus,
and the construction of Link and Coleman. The newer buildings are
sadly out-of-context with the district. In addition, they are not
as readily adaptable to residential use as the other hospital buildings
on this block. What is to go in their place is another matter of
concern.
HDC would like to note the existence of the chapel annex of the
Seton Building. A newspaper article from 1899 mentions the structure
on the east end of the main building that contained a second floor
chapel and “a spacious room on the first floor, to be devoted
to community purposes.” While we are happy to hear that the
chapel room may be moved to the new hospital building, we are concerned
that more historic material exists than just the room – from
Google Earth maps and a site visit it appears to still be an annex.
HDC feels that what remains of the structure, the only link to the
hospital’s 19th-century past, should be preserved.
Proposed construction on the east side of 7th Avenue
While the presentation claims the construction of new townhouses
on 11th and 12th Streets will restore the low-scale, residential
character of these streets, as the designation report indicates,
this is not an issue in need of a solution. Additionally, at five
stories tall, the proposed buildings are larger than the typical
Greenwich Village townhouse, more along the lines of a tenement
building. HDC believes that what belongs most in an historic district
are structures that help tell the story of a community, and the
existing, not the proposed, buildings do.
While we approve of the demolition of Link and Coleman, HDC does
not approve of the proposed replacement. The two existing buildings
were already larger than the 1899 hospital building demolished for
their sake, and the proposed is now larger than them. This incremental
increase in the size of buildings on this block is worrisome. HDC
feels whatever is to be built should be no taller than what exists
now.
Proposed demolition on the O’Toole Building
There was some debate amongst HDC’s board over the O’Toole.
Some felt it was out of context, not the best example of modernism,
and could be demolished. Others felt strongly that the building’s
size made it contextual on 7th Avenue and that it should be preserved
as an example of modernism and a part of the design history of the
Village. Still others, not necessarily fans of the building itself,
felt uncomfortable demolishing a structure in an historic district
described not unfavorably in its designation report.
Proposed construction on the site of the O’Toole Building
If a new building is to be built in a historic district, it must
be more contextual than what it is replacing. This is not the case
at the site of the O’Toole Building. The proposed is simply
far too tall. At 330 feet, it would tower over the Avenue as the
proposal illustrates. In addition, its elliptical shape, while interesting,
is neither good for the hospital nor good for the neighborhood.
If the aim of this whole project is to consolidate hospital functions
in one building and space is an issue, a squared off floor plan
would make much more sense. It would also allow for a shorter building,
more in context with its surroundings. Also, the shape is not one
found on buildings in the Greenwich Village Historic District.
Conclusion
In community meetings, this plan – massive demolition and
the construction of out-of-scale buildings – has been presented
as the only possibility. We believe strongly that it is not. While
it may be the plan that will make the most money, it is not the
plan that best serves the neighborhood or the historic district.
The six historic hospital buildings on the east side of 7th Avenue
should be restored and adapted for residential use, more contextual,
residential buildings designed for the site of the Coleman and Link
Pavilions, and a plan for a hospital building of proper size, massing
and style, including the possibility of renovating the O’Toole
building, be created.
Finally, HDC feels we must address references to this being a “green
project”. Reusing an existing building is the greenest of
projects. It does not require tons of building materials to be demolished,
transported and dumped into landfills. Neither does it use the vast
amounts of energy needed to create new materials, to transport them
to the construction site, and to finally build a new structure.
Most of the buildings proposed for demolition in order to build
the residential project are residential in character and are excellent
candidates for reuse. Beyond the basic tenants of preserving New
York City’s historic districts, this can be an even “greener
project.”
LPC Determination: Incomplete
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