Protest Held Against Demolition Of 9 Landmarked Village Buildings

MEATPACKING DISTRICT, NY — A protest took place Thursday on West 14th Street in front of a row of nine triple-landmarked buildings recently ordered to be partially demolished by the city.

The triple landmark distinction for the buildings located at 44-54 Ninth Avenue and 351-355 West 14th Street means they are landmarked by the city, state, and federal government.

The partial demolition of the buildings was ordered after structural engineers discovered and reported dangerous pre-existing conditions within each of the nine building's structures that meant a "potential collapse" was imminent," the Landmarks Preservation Commission said in a statement.

Village Preservation, a Lower Manhattan architecture preservation group, multiple elected officials, and community members argue that instead of demolishing sections of the buildings, the city should brace and repair the broken elements.

On Thursday, Village Preservation, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Assembly Member Deborah Glick, the Historic Districts Council, Save Chelsea, Save Gansevoort, incoming City Council Member Erik Bottcher, and dozens of community members participated in a protest to stop the demolition.

“The potential loss of nine historic buildings is an egregious misstep by this Administration, the Department of Buildings, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission," Glick said. "This appears to be a case of demolition by neglect and the developer has not been forthcoming with the community at any step of the process."

Andrew Berman, the Executive Director of Village Preservation, "demanded" that a stop-work order be issued on the buildings.

“The loss of nine city, state, and federal landmarks in this manner is a tragedy, and one which certainly was avoidable," Berman said. "We demand that a stop-work order be issued, and the buildings shored, braced, and repaired, rather than dismantled."

Minutes after the protest wrapped up on Thursday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission sent out its own statement explaining their decision to partially demolish the buildings.

“The City must act quickly to keep the public safe when emergencies occur. These historic buildings were being restored and renovated when structural engineers discovered and reported dangerous pre-existing conditions," the Commission wrote. "Many of the structural failures, which predated the recent work at the site, were hidden by interior nonstructural walls and surface finishes. DOB engineers confirmed dangerous conditions with a potential collapse imminent and ordered immediate corrective actions to protect the public and workers at the site, including deconstructing the street facades by hand."

The part-demolition comes after a developer in 2020 received permission to construct a tower behind and attached to these landmarked buildings.

The DOB told Patch it received a report from an engineer that showed "dangerous conditions at multiple buildings on Ninth Avenue and West 14th Street." Specifically, the report indicated that the front facade brick wall of the buildings had partially separated.

Follow-up inspections found that the building "had fallen into severe disrepair," and confirmed that the exterior building facade had pulled away from other sections of the buildings and "were in danger of potential collapse," according to the Department of Buildings.

The DOB then issued an emergency order to the owners and contractors to install shoring at the buildings, and demolish the brick facade walls facing the streets.

Read More: Demolition Of 9 Landmarked West Village Buildings Sparks Outrage