E-BULLETIN OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL

February 2006, Volume 3 Number 2

Endangered Building of the Month: The Purchase Building

The Purchase Building, a City-owned storage facility located below the Brooklyn Bridge, was a government-funded WPA project of the Depression era, and is a rare surviving example of early Modernism in New York City. This 1936 Art-Deco style building, which is located in Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry Historic District, is a significant, interesting, attractive, and most importantly, protected landmark building. Unfortunately, it is currently proposed for demolition by the planners of Brooklyn Bridge Park. They claim the building will obstruct views from the park—next they’ll want to tear down the bridge!

The Fulton Ferry Historic District designation report (1977) has a description of the Purchase Building which favorably compares its features to the Starrett-Lehigh Warehouse (designated 1986). In addition, the introduction of the report (page 6) states: “in terms of long-range planning, the New York City Department of Purchase buildings directly under the Bridge, although still in use by the City, are being considered for use as an art school or for other educational purposes when the buildings are vacated.” These statements would indicate that the building was considered by the LPC to be worthy of preservation at the time of designation. The City Planning Commission’s report on the designation also references the re-use of this building, further indicating its worth.

HDC supports the notion of a park at the Brooklyn waterfront; its creation would add immeasurably to the quality of life from residents of the surrounding neighborhoods and has the potential to benefit all of Brooklyn. However, we strongly believe that a park of superb quality can be created with the adaptive reuse of this landmark. The building could easily be re-invented to serve a multitude of park uses – such as commissary, shop for equipment rentals, storage or park offices. Community members have suggested this solution and have even done draft designs and renderings. There has been no evidence that the park planners have even contemplated this option, preferring instead to insist on demolition.

In 2001, a plan for the Park was publicized and it was announced that the Purchase Building would be demolished – before the LPC even had a hearing to consider the proposal. Numerous civic associations and individuals protested the building’s demolition. In addition, the issue garnered a great deal of press coverage, both in the local and daily papers. The public hearing for the proposal was held on September 6, 2001. Unfortunately, there was not a quorum at the hearing and the record was held open for the next hearing on September 11, 2001. That hearing was closed early, and the proposal was never voted upon or resolved.

Almost five years later, the proposal is back, essentially unchanged. The park planners still insist on demolishing a landmark-protected building without reasonable cause or contemplation of appropriate re-use. The Landmarks Preservation Commission makes decisions based on a standard of appropriateness. HDC can not imagine a universe where it would be “appropriate” to demolish a usable, architecturally and historically significant landmark building because some people think it would look better without it there.

A significant building within an historic district is on the verge of being demolished. It’s time to take action to prevent what could be a devastating blow to historic preservation in this city.

Please attend the hearing on Tuesday, February 21st at the Landmarks Preservation Commission (time of hearing will be announced on the LPC website closer to the date at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/working_with/calendar.shtml) and ask the Commission not to approve this demolition. If you can’t attend the hearing, contact Chair Tierney at: mailto:comments@lpc.nyc.gov and tell him that the park planners must rethink this destructive solution, and investigate adaptive reuse solutions for this significant structure.

An Event-Full Month

On February 21st at 6:30 pm, HDC and the Fort Greene Association will co-sponsor a panel entitled, “Community Preservation in Brooklyn: Preserving the Past, Planning the Future.” This program will focus on borough-wide planning, landmarking and development issues effecting historic neighborhoods and buildings. Attendees will hear directly from the City agencies responsible for preserving neighborhood character on how the preservation process works. Neighborhood activists from communities across Brooklyn, will detail different ways of preserving community character and historic resources; from landmark designation to rezoning initiatives to public awareness campaigns. Simeon Bankoff, Executive Director of HDC, will moderate the discussion, and scheduled speakers include Aaron Brashear (Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights), architectural historian and Columbia University professor Andrew S. Dolkart, representative from the Brooklyn Borough office of City Planning and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The discussion will be held at the Brooklyn Music School, 126 Saint Felix Street, in Brooklyn. This event is FREE to the public and sponsored in part by Independence Community Foundation, The New York Community Trust and the New York Department of Cultural Affairs. Contact HDC at (212) 614-9107 or hdc@hdc.org for more information.

Also this month we will host two Pre-Conference lectures relating to our conference theme of historic preservation’s economic effects on neighborhoods. Our first panel entitled “What Does Preservation Do To Neighborhood Economics?” will be held on February 16th at 6:00 pm, at the Pratt Institute in Manhattan, 144 West 14th Street, Room 213. Panelists, including Eric Wm. Allison and Frank Braconi, will discuss their own research investigating the relationships between New York City landmark designation on displacement, property values and gentrification.

Then on February 23rd at 6:00 pm at the Fashion Institute of Technology, David Dubinksy Student Center, 8th Floor, Building A, at the corner of 27th Street and 8th Avenue, we will hold another panel, entitled “Preservation Myths & Realities: Case Studies From Other Cities.” Preservation experts from outside of New York, including the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, the Historic Albany Foundation and the international firm LORD Cultural Resources Planning & Management will discuss how they are dealing with the development and gentrification issues of historic neighborhoods in their own communities.

HDC Welcomes New Landmarks Subcommittee Chair Jessica Lappin

As regular readers are aware, the City Council plays a pivotal role in the landmarks designation process in New York. Under the City Charter, the Council has the power to affirm, modify or deny landmark designations. In addition, Council can propose legislation that affects the Landmarks Law, and must approve the city’s annual budget, which of course includes resources for the Landmarks Commission. A new Council session began this year, and Council Member Jessica Lappin was appointed to replace Council member Simcha Felder as Chair of the Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee, which is the first stop on the council for deliberation over landmark designations and legislation. Ms. Lappin represents District 5 in Manhattan, which was represented by former Council Speaker Gifford Miller. A life-long New Yorker, Ms. Lappin joined the City Council staff in 1998 and served until 2005 as Senior Adviser and District Chief of Staff to Mr. Miller. We welcome Ms. Lappin to her new position and look forward to working with her in the coming months!

“Place, Race, Money and Art: The Economics and Demographics of Preservation.” March 3-5, 2006

After a dozen years of successful conference, we thought it was time to tackle some of the core issues concerning preservation: “Does preservation pay? Who benefits? Is preservation really gentrification?” These questions and others will be addressed, discussed and hopefully answered during an action-packed weekend. The program will begin with a fun Opening Night Reception on Friday, March 3 from 6-8pm at the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesman. On Saturday, March 4th, at Columbia University, a distinguished group of preservationists, planners, artists, architects, educators and developers from New York’s five boroughs and beyond will discuss the economic and social effects of historic preservation. Robert Fishman, Professor of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Michigan, will provide our keynote address entitled “Historians of Hope: Preservation and the End of the Urban Crisis”. Panels will address topics such as “Economics of Preservation,” “Race and Preservation,” and “Artists and Neighborhoods.” On Sunday, March 5 we’ll wrap things up with walking tours throughout the five boroughs. Click here for more information and to register.

We make house calls!

If you’d like HDC staff to advise your community on preservation issues, help with strategic planning or navigating the landmarking process, please let us know. We would be happy to meet with your group.

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