The divergent fates of two historic stable buildings on the Upper West Side crystallized yesterday, following votes by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The former New York Cab Company Stable on Amsterdam and West 75th Street (pictured, right) will survive as a designated historic landmark, while the former Dakota Stable, just up the street at West 77th and Amsterdam (pictured left), will be demolished to make way for a new condominium building to be designed by the architect Robert A.M. Stern.
Both buildings, erected in the 1890s along Amsterdam Avenue to serve the burgeoning residential population, had become the focus of recent preservation campaigns by Landmark West! as well as the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
The Commission's decision to deny landmark status for the Dakota appears to owe more to the property developer's speedy maneuvering than to a lack of architectural merit. The Chairman of the LPC, Robert Tierney, told the New York Times that the recent removal of architectural detail from the building's facade "pre-empts fuller consideration." The Historic Districts Council was present at the meeting and if this is what LPC meetings are like, we've been missing out:
Commissioner Richard Olcott was “appalled” with the developers’ “shameful” actions. The building was worthy of designation, but now it is not. While it was all completely legal, he blamed the Department of Buildings for not consulting with LPC when permits to strip are pulled.
Commissioner Christopher Moore was also bothered by the permit process that “circumvents the landmarks law.” He felt it was time to “draw a line in the sand” and designate the building anyway. “The Developer did what he had to do. We do too – we have to preserve this building.”
Commissioner Pablo Vengoechea noted that Chair Tierney’s hopes about the design of the new building are nothing more than hopes. The LPC has no say over anything that is not landmarked. He felt it is time to revisit the process. The Mason [aka Dakota] Stable will be “sacrificed” but maybe that’s what is needed “to get us to that point.” He recommended removing the stables from the calendar, but “this should be the last time we get in this position.” (Cynical laughs and murmurs from the audience followed.)
The LPC says it's working with the Buildings Department to figure out a system to delay building permits for work on historic (though not yet landmarked) buildings to avoid this kind of situation again. The current owner Sylgar had obtained a building permit sometime during the summer or fall, which allowed them to perform construction even after the LPC announced its intention to hold a public hearing on the matter. The Related Group is scheduled to take over the property and demolish the stable within the next few months.
Despite rumors to the contrary, the Dakota Stable was not associated with famous Dakota residence at 72nd St and Central Park West where John Lennon was shot and Yoko Ono still lives. The luxury apartment building was completed in 1884, about a decade before the 12,000 square foot stable on 77th and Amsterdam, which was originally named the Mason Stable, according to architectural historian Andrew Dolkart.
And for an overview of other prominent NYC sites that could become the loci of future preservation battles, the Municipal Art Society has created a list of "threatened buildings."
