Letter on Gansevoort Marketplace Demolition

Commissioner Melanie La Rocca 
NYC Department of Buildings 
280 Broadway  
New York, NY 10007 
Commissioner Sarah Carroll 
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission 
1 Centre Street, floor 9  
New York, NY 10007 
Dear Commissioners La Rocca and Carroll: 

October 27^th, 2021:

We write in regard to the preservation of 44-54 Ninth Avenue and 351-355 West 14^th Street. We  understand that while working on the renovation of these historic, also known as the Gansevoort  Marketplace, Tavros Capital, the developer, discovered that the buildings were structurally unstable.  As a result, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) and the Department of Buildings (DOB)  allowed the developer to continue demolition of these buildings and to change the means and  methods of how this work gets done. We have many questions regarding the state of the buildings  and request that both agencies halt work at this site until the development team can have a  conversation with the community and advocates and present options for preservation. 

While we understand that the DOB and LPC have determined that the structural conditions of the  buildings are the result of how they were constructed, we also believe that it is incumbent on the  developer to consider all options and take all measures necessary to prevent any further damage or  deterioration to these historic structures. Manhattan Community Board 4, in their October 12^th letter  to LPC Commissioner Carroll, provided examples of how the facades may still be preserved. That  option, along with any others, should be thoroughly explored by the developer.  

Furthermore, we request that you provide us with a full accounting of the events leading up to this  change in course, including what information was provided by the developer in their engineering  report to LPC. Our offices need to know which measures your agencies have in place so we can  address this situation and prevent any similar occurrences in other historic properties.  

Sincerely,  

Gale A. Brewer 

Manhattan Borough President  

Brad Hoylman NY State Senator 

 Deborah J. Glick   Assemblymember

cc: Lowell Kern, Chair, Manhattan Community Board 4 Executive Committee, The Historic Districts Council Andrew Berman, Executive Director, Village Preservation Pam Wolff, Chair, Save Chelsea 

Bill Borock, Chair, Council of Chelsea Block Associations Tavros Capital