Friday, March 25, 2011

☞ READ: CB9 Votes Against Local Landmark



Community Board 9 seems to be getting a bit of controversial coverage this month for landmark specific decisions.  An article in DNAinfo reveals that the board has approved to remove a decades old landmark consideration to the Mink Building at 1361 Amsterdam Avenue and 127th Street.  Built back in 1905 as the Bernheimer and Schwartz Pilsener Brewing Company, the tallest remaining historic building on the side of Manhattanville that is not getting demolished would convert to storage use once Prohibition closed it down in the 1920's. More recently, the notable building has been used for offices and art studios.

Janus Properties gave the building its new moniker after the furs that used to be stored therein and the developer now has successfully petitioned the board to remove the old brewery from landmark consideration since it was possibly hindering potential new businesses to arrive.  On the other hand, renowned Harlem historian Michael Henry Adams states in the article that ""Compared to richer neighborhoods downtown we don't have many landmarks...The lie we are told is that if we don't have landmarks we can have economic development. But TriBeCa is an area with some of the most landmarks and it also has the most development. One has nothing to do with the other." Read more on the debate over one of West Harlem's last vestige of its industrial past in DNAinfo: LINK.

Note the last photo shows current work being done on the building which had to be approved by the New York Landmark Preservation Commission.  Community Board approval is the first part of any landmark consideration before going to the actual New York City landmarks committee. Other CB9 news this month included an eye-brow raising, elevator addition to a landmark church in the Hamilton Heights Historic District: LINK
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 25, 2011 at 10:14 AM

    After reading the DNAinfo article, I'm actually inclined to agree with CB9 on this one...

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  2. HarlemHeightsMarch 25, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    C'mon, there is no integrity to the process, it's about who you know & what they will do for you, no? Abyssinian Development Corp will never be denied tearing down anything in Harlem if they want to develop on that spot for example. You can 'dress' a case, pro or con, but at the end of the day, it's all political - no surprise there.

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  3. westsiderMarch 25, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    The Mink Building is Harlem’s Puck Building and deserves protection. With the new glass and steel Columbia developments coming to the area, this beautifully detailed brick building will stand out even more and its aesthetic value will become more apparent.

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  4. BradMarch 25, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    I gotta agree with westsider and HarlemHeights here. This CB9 action is a travesty and reeks of political deal making.

    The decision to recommend (without any serious review on the merits) that all NINE properties owned by Janus Properties in this zone be de-calendared (including the Mink Building) while a tenth property similarly effected but owned by others not be similarly recommended is what gives off that putrid smell.

    On any level (architectural uniqueness, historical significance to the neighborhood etc.) this Mink Building (Bernheimer and Schwartz Brewery) is certainly as deserving of LPC designation as the school on 145th Street (PS 186) which this same CB9 Landmarks Committee is so adamant about preserving.

    Got to stop. The stench of hypocrisy is overwhelming me.

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