BY ALBERT AMATEAU | Arnold S. Warwick, a real estate broker known as the “Mayor of Commerce St.,” where he lived for more than 50 years above the Cherry Lane Theatre, died at New York Presbyterian Hospital on Jan. 21 at the age of 82.
He died a short time after being admitted to the hospital, said his son, Matthew, who is carrying on the business, Arnold S. Warwick & Co. Ltd., founded by his father.
Arnold Warwick’s enduring passion for Greenwich Village was reflected in his family life, business and civic associations. He was treasurer for many years of the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce board of directors and former president of the board of directors of Westbeth, the nonprofit housing complex for artists.
“He loved his business because he could connect with so many different people,” one of his daughters, Liadain Smith, wrote in an e-mail tribute. She described her father as a “lifelong food enthusiast who made sure his office was always near a good restaurant where he would dine daily for lunch.”
Born in Brooklyn to Lillian and Harry Warwick, Arnold served in the Army as a medical technician in the early 1950s and attended Bard College after his discharge.
His son recalled that Arnold’s first job was house manager and lighting designer at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The theater, at 38 and 40-42 Commerce St., at the bend of the street, had been founded in 1924 in a building constructed as a brewery in the mid-19th century.
Arnold’s work at the Cherry Lane led to his renting an apartment in the building and enabled him to pursue a serious interest in photography. He rented a photo darkroom space located above The Blue Mill restaurant on Commerce St., two doors away.
The darkroom once belonged to Berenice Abbott, the renowned Village photographer of the 1930s, according to Matthew Warwick.
“She had left a very large photo mounted on cardboard taken from the top of the Empire State Building,” he said. “My father donated it to the Museum of the City of New York.”
Before he moved into the Commerce St. apartment, Arnold lived in a Perry St. building where the actor Steve McQueen also had an apartment, Matthew said.
In 1961, Arnold married Jane Hawke, an editor who worked at Mademoiselle magazine. They raised their family in the building, where Kim Hunter, the Oscar-winning actor, was also a tenant. Jane died in January 2010 at the age of 78.
In a New York Times article by Elizabeth Harris two years ago, Arnold commented on his rare good fortune for his 1,200-square-foot, $331-per-month, rent-controlled apartment.
Arnold’s involvement with Westbeth began about 12 years ago during a critical period for the square-block, 13-building complex, formerly the Bell Telephone laboratories, converted in 1970 into an artists’ residence, at West and Bethune Sts.
Matthew Russas, Westbeth’s manager for the past 10 years, said, “Arnie had a passion and love for Greenwich Village that transcended his business interest. He served as president of the board for two and a half years when Westbeth needed his real estate management experience.”
Russas, who worked as a real estate manager for Arnold Warwick & Co. Ltd. in the 1990s, said, “He was my mentor. He trained me in real estate management. His passing was a terrible loss.”
In addition to his son, Matthew, of Park Slope, and his daughter Liadain, of the Village, another daughter, Samantha Tompkins, of East Hampton, also survives, as do seven grandchildren.
