Nearly 30 buildings were spotlighted in the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation’s recent report on landlords demolishing buildings after Landmarks Preservation Commission officials tipped them off.
The advance notice allows landlords to push through demolitions before the landmarks process begin. Between 2002 and 2013, these situations spanned the city. Most of the buildings were altered, either with a new façade or a rooftop or the removal or a cornice. About eight of the sites were razed, including a historic townhouse making way for a condominium building and a historic factory building being replaced by a parking lot.
The Paterson Silks Building at 36 West 14th Street and the Dakota Stables at 342 Amsterdam Avenue, for example, were both demolished as landlords eyed new ground-up developments in 2005 and 2006, respectively.