The impending demolition of three Columbia-owned brownstones may destroy political ties, Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell said on Thursday.
O’Donnell, who represents Morningside Heights, sent a letter to University President Lee Bollinger last week saying that moving ahead with the demolitions of brownstones on 115th Street would be “a misguided and hostile move toward the residents of Morningside Heights.”
The letter said, “Columbia’s continuing to ignore this neighborhood’s pleas would irrevocably damage my working relationship with the university and destroy any remaining goodwill I harbor for your institution.”
The vacant brownstones, 408, 410, and 412 West 115th Street, are currently shrouded in netting and scaffolding. Columbia obtained a demolition permit in November 2009, and local preservation groups have been protesting against the tear-down for years. The University has maintained that the brownstones are in a state of disrepair.
O’Donnell said in an interview that he expects the buildings to come down, but that Columbia could lose political support for its campus expansion in West Harlem as a result.
“If Columbia intends to expand and seek the cooperation of the neighborhood, then the university has to show that they are consistent with the community’s concerns and desires and worthy of being the caretaker of the architectural heritage that exists around it,” he said.
Harry Schwartz, a member of the Coalition to Preserve the Morningside Brownstones—which residents formed in response to the University’s demolition plans—said that he is encouraged by O’Donnell’s vocal opposition. The Assembly member also copied preservationists and politicians, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Borough President Scott Stringer, on the letter.
“That’s a pretty strong stance for someone to take in public,” said Schwartz, who lives at 115th and Morningside Drive.
Council member Inez Dickens also wrote a letter to Bollinger in December 2009 calling on the University to “reconsider this decision and restore these buildings to their original condition.”
Multiple local politicians—including Congressman Charles Rangel and State Senator Bill Perkins—have written letters, which Schwartz shared with Spectator, to Robert Tierney, chair of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, requesting additional hearings.
Dan Held, spokesperson for Columbia facilities, said in an email on Thursday, “We have met with the local community and local elected officials to discuss our demolition plans,” but did not comment on specifics of the demolition timeline. “We anticipate completion of those plans in the near future,” he said, adding, “We do not have specific development plans for the site at this time.”
In the last two weeks, concern over the buildings’ future has increased for some residents on 115th Street who say they’ve noticed new activity on site. Two or three workers have been at 115th for the last two weeks, Schwartz said.
“They seem to be reinforcing the scaffolding and hoisting planks. It looks like they’re making preparations to tear them down. ... People feel that this is the beginning of the end,” Schwartz said.
Nancy Kricorian, another demolition opponent who lives on 115th Street, said that she has been working on this issue for over five years but feels that she and other frustrated residents have nearly exhausted their resources.
Despite Held’s claims of the University’s interactions with the local neighborhood, Kricorian said, “Columbia is not communicating with us,” she said, adding that she has resorted to other measures to find information. “I myself have peered through the door. ... People will try to tell the workers there to tell us what’s going on.”
She said, “I don’t know what else we can do short of chaining ourselves to the wrecking ball.”
O’Donnell’s frustrations stem from a 15-year, and so far unsuccessful, attempt to push the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to create a Morningside Heights historic district, which would make demolishing buildings in the district subject to city review.
Elisabeth de Bourbon, spokesperson for the Landmarks Preservation Commission, said that the brownstones also did not meet the criteria to be individually landmarked, despite their recognition by the New York State Historic Preservation Office as "historic" in December 2008.
She clarified that the LPC has legal authority in its regulation, while the national registry listing is more honorific. “It can be torn down on the national register but it can’t be with ours,” she said.
At least one local, though, is more than ready to see the scaffolded structures razed.
“I’m all for saving historical buildings, but those are not historic,” said Doreen Mocha, who has lived across the street from the brownstones for almost 15 years. “The insides are a total mess, and it would take a fortune the put the buildings back to the way they were.”
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