The plan to demolish the 172 year old historic former townhouses at 14-16 Fifth Avenue in the Greenwich Village Historic District, and replace them with a high-rise tower, has returned and will be heard before Community Board 2’s Landmarks Committee on Tuesday, February 16 at 6:30pm. You can register for the Zoom meeting here (be sure to click on the drop-down for the Feb. 16 meeting, NOT the Feb. 11 meeting). 

We strongly oppose this plan, which would involve the demolition of two altered but incredibly historically significant landmarked townhouses which were home to some of the greatest industrialists, artists, writers, actors, philanthropists, and jurists of the last two centuries and were key to the development of our neighborhood and our city. The proposed high-rise replacement, while decreased in size from prior 367 ft. tall and 21/story 244 ft. tall versions (the new version is 19 stories; we do not yet know its height or design), is nevertheless completely inappropriate. Most importantly, demolition of historically significant structures in landmarked areas should NEVER be allowed. Read more about the building’s historic significance, prior iterations and the plan, and our preservation efforts here, here, and here.

After the Community Board 2 hearing and advisory vote, the application will be scheduled for a hearing at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which will ultimately decide if the proposal to demolish the existing buildings and replace them with a new tower will be approved. Once that has been scheduled, we will notify the public, and urge all to attend and testify in opposition.