Preserving Housing and History on Thompson Street
A rally in the rain and hundreds of letters sent to the Mayor and Landmarks Preservation Commission by members of the public helped save a 151-year-old landmark building that we almost lost in the South Village.
On April 21, the LPC decided to reject an application calling for the demolition of 139 Thompson Street, a Neo-Grec tenement building that has been standing between West Houston and Prince Streets since 1875. The building is landmarked as part of the Sullivan-Thompson Historic District that we successfully campaigned for in 2016.
Unfortunately, in recent years, the owner of the building allowed the structure to fall into disrepair, leading to the request to demolish the structure rather than bring it back into good condition for its tenants and the community. If the request had been approved, history’s not the only thing we’d lose with 139 Thompson’s destruction: gone would be 19 housing units, 12 of which were rent-regulated and thus affordable, to be replaced by just six much larger but also more expensive domiciles.
Rather than allowing demolition to proceed, the LPC denied the owner’s claim that the building couldn’t be repaired; the owner was instead directed to devise a means to restore the structure.
Village Preservation launched a campaign to preserve history and prevent the loss of affordable housing shortly after the owner’s plans were announced, which included a call for that restoration plan. A key event in the campaign was a rally held in a cold rainstorm on February 20, where we were joined by Councilmember Chris Marte, who chairs the Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks; Community Board 2 Chair Valerie De La Rosa; Gary He of Youth Against Displacement; Frampton Tolbert, Executive Director of the Historic District Council; and scores of neighbors.
“We are seeing the potential demolition of a building,” Marte said, “that has rent-stabilized apartments. But even worse, we have a landlord that has chosen not to do repairs, that has chosen not to have new tenants come in so he can follow what a lot of other landlords and developers do [which is] to allow a building to fall apart, [then] plead to the city and the LPC to say, please allow me to demolish this building so I can build luxury condos …. This is a pattern, and we have to put a stop to that pattern.”
“This is a building that the community and Village Preservation fought hard to get landmarked and succeeded 10 years ago,” noted Village Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman. “That means it’s supposed to be preserved, that means it’s supposed to be maintained, that means it’s supposed to remain standing.” He, like Marte, emphasized the growing use of disrepair as a means to allow the destruction of historic buildings that results in the loss of affordable housing.
As part of the effort to save 139 Thompson, Village Preservation launched a letter-writing campaign that resulted in nearly 900 letters in total sent to Mayor Mandami and the LPC, emphasizing the community’s desire to save the building.
The rally, the letters, and other efforts, highlight what it takes to save New York City’s history and the need to protect housing for all income levels in our neighborhoods and across the five boroughs. You can watch the full February rally here, see photos here, and donate to ensure the success of future preservation campaigns here.