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West 13th StreetGazetteVOICE OF THE WEST 13TH ST . 100 BLOCK ASSOCIATION INC. , 155 W. 13TH ST . , NYC 10011

Issue No. 17 www.west13.org Fall/Winter 2008

St. Vincents 'Hardship Case' ApprovedLandmarks Commission Okays O'Toole Bldg. Destruction

President's MessageBy Gary Tomei

We Have Not YetBegun To Fight

The Landmarks Preservation Com-mission's vote approving St. Vin-

cent's Hospital's hardship appli-

cation, allows it to raze the OToolebuilding, which has been acknow-

ledged by the LPC itself to be an

architecturally significant buildingwithin the confines of the Greenwich

Village Historic District.

This building was already land-

marked when it was acquired by St

Vincents in 1973. Authorities famil-iar with the Landmarks Law, say the

commissioners who voted in favor ofSt. Vincents apparently failed to

apply the proper statutory standards

regarding the hardshipapplication.

This decision, if allowed to stand,

will ultimately mean the destruc-

tion of the character of the Village.

Furthemore, it will render the Land-marks Law moot.

If a charity can acquire a buildingknowing that it is protected by theLandmarks Law and then turn around

and demolish it by claiming hardship,

the law is going to be followed morein the breach than in the observance,"

said Delia Guazzo, Vice Chairperson

of Protect the Village HistoricDistrict.

I ask, Where is the outrage?

- cont. P.2

The city Landmarks Preservation Commission has votedto approve St. Vincents Hospital's "hardship" applicationfor permission to tear down the white O'Toole Bldg. at13th St. and 7th Ave., to make way for a huge newhospital tower on the site.

The 6-4 vote on Oct. 28 was a setback for opponents ofthe St. Vincents plan, though far from a final defeat.If allowed to proceed, the project could mean a decade

or more of major construction work immediately adjacentto our block, with all the heavy truck traffic, dirt, noise,incidental damage and disruption that goes with it.The plan involves first building the nearly 300-foot-tallhospital tower, followed by demolition of the existinghospital complex on the east side of 7th Ave. and erectionof a huge new luxury apartment complex by the RudinOrganization on that site.

These buildings would be a wrenching blow to the heartof the supposedly protected West Village, and set aprecedent that could undercut the laws that now protectnot only the Greenwich Village Historic District, but alsoother historic districts throughout the city.

For much more on this issue, see the President's Message.

Good food & conversation at the W 13 Block Party. See P.5&6

http://www.west13.org/http://www.west13.org/

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President's Message cont. from P.1What has happened to our sense of duty to preserve the

best of our culture for future generations?

We in the Greenwich Village Historic District will not,

must not, stand idly by, and let this decision go unchal-

lenged. We will appeal this travesty of justice and makesure it is overturned.

To do so we need your support. I urge you to go to theGVHD website at http://www.protectthevillage.org/ to see

what you can do to help our cause.

The LPC vote was supposed to be solely concerning the

OToole building, and pursuant to the statute, OToole can

only be torn down if it can no longer be used for its present

purposes. The building is now being used for physicians

offices and can continue to be so used.

Therefore, the application should have been rejected;

however, by mixing apples with oranges, those voting in

favor of the application, in reaching their decision relied

on the alleged financial problems of the Hospital, its

professed difficulty in renovating the present hospitalbuilding, located across from OToole, and the question

whether any alternative sites were available to St.

Vincents.

None of these considerations were relevant to the

question before the Commission, yet the decision turned

on just those issues. St. Vincents had not even applied for

a financial hardship, nor had it opened its books to the

Commission, which would have been necessary had it

made such an application.

Furthermore, St.Vincent's has always contended that the

Hospital had to be one huge tower; however, prior to the

October 28th meeting, the LPC had already decided thatthe size of the proposed hospital building was

inappropriate for the Village. St. Vincent's never reapplied

for a Certificate of Appropriateness, so it would appear

that the Commission has granted the Hospital the right to

tear down a historic building in order to erect an edifice

that it has already deemed inappropriate.

In view of those facts, this decision defies common sense.

I have contended from the beginning of this process that

the attempt by Rudin and St. Vincents to build two

humongous buildings in the Village was driven by

economic and political expediency. If those are the sole

standards that we are to employ, what is the sense ofhaving a Landmarks Law? The builders and developers

would bury our historic, cultural and architectural past

under a slew of undistinguished glass towers.

Let me be clear: I support St. Vincents need to

modernize, but I see no inherent conflict between that

need and the preservation of our beloved Village.

The St. Vincents catchment area is now the Westside

from the Battery to 59th street. There is no valid reason

that the Hospital remain here, in our limited communal

area. Let St. Vincents build, without constraints, outsidethe Historic District where it can truly best serve the entire

Westside community.

Finally, a personal note: Congratulations to our new

President-Elect, Barack Obama!

We have been privileged to witness, and participate in, a

historic moment in American history. By electing Sen

Obama as president we have overcome hate and racismrestored our honor as a nation, and have again become an

inspiration and a beacon of hope to the entire world.

After eight years of having lost our moral compass and

wandering in the desert, we have finally returned to the

promised land. Frankly, I was despairing that this momen

would ever come, but it has.

It's our our country, and it's good to have it back!

Facelift Planned for

Blighted Mid-Block Bldgs.Block residents have long complained about theunsightly faade of 133-135 W. 13th St.This has been the location of a series of restaurantsover the years (La Champignon, Mandarin HouseCovent Garden, New Deal, MariaElena). Mosrecently, it was La Nonna, which closed early thisdecade, leaving the building's exterior uncared-forGraffiti was not removed, and the front waldeveloped a bulge on an upper floor.Ownership of the building has changed hands a few

times in recent years. The latest owners have hired

William W. Suk, AIA, of the Truisi Suk Design GroupAt a hearing Oct. 14 before the LandmarksCommittee of Community Board 2, Suk presented aplan to restore the faade in a manner consistenwith our historic district and with the original design ofthe buildings.The buildings apparently were constructed in the1840's in a style one committee membercharacterized as "transitional Greek Revival toItalianate." One major change to be made in thebuildings is to even out the top row of windows of 133and 135, which currently do not align.

The owners will not include a restaurant in therestored building, and the wisteria now climbing itsfront will be removed. The architects claim thewisteria has gotten behind some of the brick workcausing structural problems.Suk would not reveal the owner of the building. The

owner of record is "135 West 13 LLC," managed bytwo brokers at the Corcoran Group based on E. 10thSt.

- Alan Jacobs

W. 13th

P St. Ga ette Pa e 2 Fall/Winter 2008

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Tree Box DamageOn the night of Oct. 9 or morning of Oct. 10,during the Dept. of Transportation re-paving ofour block, several of our recently installed tree-

box fenceswere dam-

aged. Thetree boxeswere paidfor by theW13BAand someindividualblock resi-dents, at acost ofsome

$26,000.BA boardmemberNaomi

Usher is overseeing repair efforts for most of theblock (the 105 bldg. went ahead with repairs tothe damaged box there on its own). Whether theDOT or the city will help pay for it remains to beseen.

Parking Regs ChangedAfter considerable pressure from the W13BA,the city finally altered parking regulations on our

block. On J uly14 (BastilleDay!), daytimeparking ceasedon the southside of thestreet. Peacereturned. Birds,if not angels,could be heard

lifting their little hearts in song. Well, it was a littlequieter, anyway.

W. 13th

P St. Ga ette Pa e 3 Fall/Winter 2008

Real Estate ReportBy Kitty Sorrel. W13BA& Corcoran Real Estate

The profound slump in our economy hasled the way to a depreciating real estatemarket with overpriced listings flooding allareas of Manhattan.As in previous years in a falling market,

home prices went down and interest rateswere lowered. Sellers with basic needs tosell now will continue to place their homeson the market.Many financial experts say buy low now

and sell high when the market comes back.

J ust as the price of gold always fluctuates,so do real estate values.

The brighter side: so far, sales andrentals on our block from June '08to now are doing fine.

At least so far, our block of W. 13th St.(along with much of the Village) is buckingthe national trend.A multi-unit townhouse on our block sold

for $5,500,000, another single familytownhouse is in contract. Available now, asingle family townhouse is asking in thehigh $7,900,000 range.Two-bedroom apartment sales in our full-service bldgs. ranged in price from$1,165,000 to $1,100,000.Sold one-bedrooms ranged from $795,000

to $670,000. Studios for sale ranged in pricefrom $569,000 to $395,000.Townhouse rentals on our block range

from two full floors for $15,000 to two-bedrooms for $8,000. One-bedrooms inmulti-residence bldgs. ranged from $4,400to $3,695.

For more information: Kitty Sorell, VP/Assoc.Broker, Corcoran Real Estate212-989-0101The West 13

thStreet Gazette

Published by the W. 13th

St. 100 Block Assn.Bruce Meyer, editor

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Alan Jacobs: Explor ing our Neighborhood

500 Steps NorthThis is the second in a series of guides to things tosee within 500 steps (according to my pedometer) ofthe 100 block of West 13th Street. Going north, Ifound God's Country:

The Salvation Army Centennial Memorial TempleIt's right around the corner at 120 W. 14th St. Wewalk past it all the time, perceive somethingspectacular, but never go in. I called up our localemissary from the Salvation Army, Envoy Ian Ander-

son, and got anamazing tour, alongwith a dollop ofSalvation Army his-tory. The Chapel isin an art deco style

popular in the 20's,also called ZigguratModerne. Originallythe national head-quarters, it is nowheadquarters for theNew York region. Itsname commemo-rates the centennialof the birth of

Salvation Army founder William Booth. Its 1600-seatauditorium resembles a lovely old movie palace.

Envoy Anderson tells me that such a resemblance isintentional: the Army wanted to reach those whocould not ordinarily be drawn into churches, so itoften created theatrical events to entice sinners whothen might be converted. So the buildings locationon a block with three porn shops is appropriate: themore sinners in the vicinity, the better for the mission.hSee this masterpiece for yourself at the "ChristmasExtravaganza," Sunday, December 14, at 6 p.m.Admission is free and Envoy Anderson says themusic is terrific!

The Mormons New Yorkersare used to neighbors withexotic religions, whether it beSufi, Sikh, or Hare Krishna.But somehow the earnest,clean-cut young Mormon menin white shirts walking thestreets of our city looking forconverts are jarring. Theyshouldnt be: this is, after all,

the state where the Angel Moroni handed down theLatter-Day Saints sacred writings! And while they'reheadquartered in Utah, theyve re-arrived in New

York, and set up shop right in our neighborhood, a144 W. 15th St. The building is undistinguished -- iwas a convent and womens shelter before theMormons came about 10 years ago. But when I saw

the welcoming sign over the door, I had to find outmore. The church holds three services each week inits small, unadorned worship space: one for the deafone for young single adults, and one for its regularcongregation.

Rubin Museum of Art A few steps farther north, a7th Ave. and 17th St.,

just within my 500-steplimit (take big steps), isthe Rubin Museum,featuring Himalayan art,

mostly with Buddhist orHindu themes. I can'tdescribe the whole mu-seum in one paragraph.But as a longtime New

Yorker, I can relate toone interesting detail.

The building is theformer Barneys clothing store, and the museumchose to retain a Barney's feature: the spiral stair-case. You get dj vu climbing that staircase. Buinstead of being flabbergasted by the number of

digits in the price of a sweater, one is awed by thenumber of faces and arms on a representation of thedivine, like Avalokiteshvara (11 faces, 8 arms).

Desco Vacuum Cleaners This is the real shrine fome -- a place that embraces the vacuum. In 1978, bought a used Electrolux from Desco that was justlike the one wehad when Iwas a kid. Thisstore has beenat 131 W. 14thSt. since be-fore World WarII. Rick De-Silva's familyhas owned itsince 1976. Hesays most vacuum repair businesses have closedbecause people throw out old vacuums rather thanhave them fixed! But Desco survives, sells newvacuums and does repairs, too. I really love the neonsigns on the shop: beacons for lost souls in the night.

W. 13th

St. Gazette Pa e 4 Fall/Winter2008

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W. 13th

St. Ga ette Pa e 5 Fall/Winter 2008

And A Good Time Was Had By All!It was Sunday in New York, and the best place to be last October 5 was the rear dining room ofGradisca, filled with the aroma and flavors ofEmilia-Romagna, good wine,convivial conver-sation

and the warmth of the W13BA's annual all-are-welcomeblock party. Indeed, a good time was had by all, of all ages.No business was conducted as about 60 residents of ourblock enjoyed the hospitality of one of our favoriterestaurants.

Let's do i t again next year!

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W. 13th

St. Gazette Page 6 Fall/Winter 2008

More ictures from our West 13th Street BA block art at Gradisca October 5th!

ITS YOUR BLOCK ASSOCIATION: JOIN OR RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW!Block Association dues for calendar year 2009 may be paid now. Make checks to W. 13 St. 100 Block Assn,

Mail to: W. 13th St. 100 Block Association, 155 W. 13th St., New York, N.Y. 10011 Resident ($10 per individual) Number of individuals: Brownstone owner ($50) Business ($100) Cooperative board ($100) Additional contribution (any amount) TOTAL ENCLOSED: $ ______

This is a renewal. Name or names:Address:Name of business (if applicable):Home phone: Work phone: E-mail:I am interested in the following issues (circle one or more): St. Vincent's / Traffic / Crime Prevention / Beautification /Community Affairs / Other (please specify):