Redevelopment of South Street Seaport may threaten historic district, group says

10/20/08
south street seaport
By Mae Cheng

Redevelopment of South Street Seaport may threaten historic district, group says

Photo credit: Urbanite

The Tin Building at the South Street Seaport (Photo by Jefferson Siegel)

By Ryan Chatelain

ryan.chatelain@am-ny.com

The historic character of the South Street Seaport is threatened by redevelopment, a preservationist group argues.

As developer General Growth Properties presents its plan for the Seaport Tuesday to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Historic Districts Council believes the project will compromise some of the city’s most precious buildings and adversely alter the area’s appearance.

“I’d say it probably is the most historic neighborhood in Manhattan,” said Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council. “It’s definitely the oldest intact neighborhood.”

General Growth, a shopping mall giant and owner of Pier 17 mall at the Seaport, must seek approval from Landmarks because the bulk of the redevelopment would take place within a designated historic district. Barring any delays, the developer, which also needs to obtain rezoning approval, plans to begin construction in 2010 and the project would be completed by 2014.The plan would require relocating the Tin Building - built in 1907 and once used for the now-departed Fulton Fish Market - to the edge of the pier.

The proposal would also call for the demolition of the 1939 New Market Building to make way for a 42-story residential/hotel tower and a 12-story boutique hotel. The New Market Building site falls just outside the boundaries of the Seaport historic district, so it is not protected from being torn down.

Bankoff contends that moving the Tin Building would divorce it from its historic context, that most of the new buildings’ designs would be too modern for a historic district and even that the 24-year-old Pier 17, which would also be bulldozed, should be preserved.

General Growth’s plan, which has the backing of the Bloomberg administration, also includes nearly 5 acres of open space, a community center/school, specialty stores, restaurants and outdoor markets.

Michael McNaughton, a vice president at General Growth, said the company is working to create a waterfront site that New Yorkers can enjoy but that also recognizes and preserves the Seaport’s history.

“We want to be true to what the Seaport has meant to the city of New York for hundreds of years,” McNaughton said.

McNaughton argues that the Tin Building’s historical context has already been removed because it has been entombed over the years by several buildings and the FDR Drive overpass. McNaughton added that the New Market Building was never deemed historically significant, and that there are many examples of malls throughout the country more worthy of preservation than Pier 17.
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Redevelopment of South Street Seaport may threaten historic district, group says

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