Learning from the MacDonough Street Crisis
Things are looking up on MacDonough Street, the site of a partial building collapse in January that threatened to end in demolition of two historic brownstones. Thankfully, that crisis was averted through a mix of activism and clear-headedness. According to a post from the Historic Districts Council that went up last night, “there is now…
Things are looking up on MacDonough Street, the site of a partial building collapse in January that threatened to end in demolition of two historic brownstones. Thankfully, that crisis was averted through a mix of activism and clear-headedness. According to a post from the Historic Districts Council that went up last night, “there is now a new concrete pier in the basement about 4 feet by 3 feet by 9 ft high that contains about 15 tons of concrete supporting the building.” And, as this photo from this morning shows, the scaffolding on the adjacent buildings at 327 and 333 MacDonough came down earlier this week. The HDC email also praises the hard work of the Landmarks Preservation Commission and the New York Landmarks Conservancy in saving the buildings, and even gives kudos to the DOB engineer who initially recommended demolition for keeping an open mind about the decision. The letter goes on to recommend the creation of some kind of “interagency structure…to allow LPC and DOB to triage emergency situations with added preservation resources.” It sounds like a great idea to us.
MacDonough St. Houses Report [Brownstoner]
Update on MacDonough Street [Brownstoner]
Salvation on MacDonough Street? [Brownstoner]
Stay of Execution on MacDonough Street [Brownstoner]
MacDonough Street Update 1/25/10 [Brownstoner]
Wall Collapse, Vacate Order, Maybe Demo on MacDonough [Brownstoner]
The councilman did nothing. And I dare anyone to prove otherwise. Tish James was great. Judge Bunyan, a saint. HDC, despite their overly liberal praise of city agencies, should be commended for their in court and behind the scenes advocacy. LPC completely bent over for the buildings department. They should be ashamed of their lack of advocacy and support when and where they were most needed. Study that!
Local residents especially the bldg owners and their adjoining neighbors turned this from catastrophe into an example of what smart, dedicates and savvy folks can do.
It’s so amazing and wonderful that the right thing was done. That hardly ever happens.
Very interesting.
Let me just add this is a great photo. It looks like it was taken from the church roof.
I have not followed this issue very closely so I am in no position to deconstruct who did what, properly and not. However, in my experience HDC is quick to find fault and hands out praise quite sparingly. That lends credibility to their comments, at least for me.
Guvna, thanks so much for your thoughtful and informative posts.
I’m just happy the buildings could be saved. Since there was a way to save them, it means the initial call for demolition was wrong. Wonder how many other brownstones have been lost under those circumstances?
Minard, point taken, but I think it misses the mark in the end. Without 329 going to court, neither the neighbors, councilman, nor LPC wouldve made a difference because the DOB wouldve demolished 2-4 houses. The decision was made, and nothing couldve stopped it, except a court.
As a side note which hasnt been mentioned before, some of the neighbors had engineers testify in court pushing for demolition of the buildings! So, again, dont beleive all the hype about certain people trying to save the buildings, lol.
Granted 329 started the whole mess with his contractor, but after the vacate order there was a period where nobody knew what to do, and the DOB decided it would demolish between 2 and 4 buildings asap. That wouldve been a good time for LPC, the Conservancy, the local politicians (or any of these folks trying to portray themselves as the saviors of the buildings) to tell the owners to go to court and get an injunction. of course, that didnt happen. Only after he figured it out on his own and went to court did these heroes emerge to take credit. I dont doubt that their presence may have had some influence on the judge, but it must be said that the Judge was focused mostly on what 329’s engineers had to say (as he shouldve been). If they couldnt come up with a feasible plan that met the DOB’s safety concerns,nothing else wouldve mattered, no matter what the LPC, HDC, or politicians said. They had no standing.
I’m curious, who pays for this mess?
guvna, keep in mind that the owner of 329 was responsible for the mess in the first place by allowing illegal excavation in his cellar. He certainly had the most incentive to remedy the situation. But he could not have done it alone. If this was just about him, the judge may have been far less sympathetic. It was the involvement of the entire neighborhood, the councilman, the Landmarks Conservancy, and the immediate neighbors that filled up the courtroom and made a silent but powerful statement.
This was a real victory for the neighborhood and the preservation community, make no mistake.
I kinda agree with Guvna despite the potential longer term attractiveness for an “interagency structure.” The DOB still has the final say and no other agency can over rule it. They will run roughshod over any homeowner or landlord and won’t let anyone else get in their way unless some laws actually change. The initial belligerance of the DOB engineer as case in point.
You gotta go to court.