“They’re going one by one,” Dierickx sighed, “and then there will be nothing left of the old Manhattan. I’m seeing it happen.”
Along with other people who care about the historic fabric of Lower Manhattan, Dierickx has resurrected an organization founded in 2003 called Citizens for Downtown whose purpose is to keep the bulldozers at bay. What Dierickx describes as “World Trade Center fatigue” doomed its initial efforts, but earlier this month, Dierickx contacted former members and some other people in her address book. She asked them if they’d be interested in preserving the historic architecture and cultural resources of Lower Manhattan south of Chambers Street. “They wrote back, ‘Count me in!’” she said.
“It’s important that we protect the historic value of downtown, “ said one member, Anthony Milano, who works in marketing, business development and human resources for Crown Design & Consulting at 29 Broadway.
So far Citizens for Downtown has 24 members including architects, lawyers, a videographer, an engineer and a computer software publisher. Most live or work in the neighborhood.
In trying to save the buildings “that give the neighborhood context” in Dierickx’s words, they are up against developers who see Lower Manhattan real estate as a gold mine. “Many buildings are so valuable that they’ve become their own corporation,” said Dierickx. “The stakes are huge.”
There are two federal historic districts in the area of interest to Citizens for Downtown. The Fulton-Nassau Historic District runs between Spruce and Liberty Streets and between Broadway and William Street. The Wall Street Historic District goes from Maiden Lane to the Battery and from Greenwich Street to Water Street. Each of these historic districts has irregular outlines, including some buildings and omitting others.
“The protection is limited,” said Dierickx. “You can tear down a building within a National Register Historic District. But the designation protects properties from certain government actions.”
Within these historic districts, Citizens for Downtown will be looking at smaller districts that might be eligible for New York City landmark designation and for individual buildings that could merit New York City landmark protection.
Beside landmark designation, there are other ways of protecting old buildings, Diericks observed. “You can encourage owners to take the Historic Preservation and Rehabilitation Tax Credit,” she said, which would give a 20 percent federal tax credit off rehabilitation costs. You can also try to persuade owners to save their buildings and not tear them down. “Historic buildings have a cachet,” said Dierickx. “If they’re commercial buildings, they can be marketed as historic.”
Dierickx has a long-standing interest in old things. A native of New Jersey, she attended N.Y.U., where she majored in classical civilization. “I studied archaeology as part of that degree,” she said. Then she went to graduate school at Columbia University , where, in 1976, she got an M.S. in historic preservation. She was there in the early days of the field, she recalled. When she finished her course work but before she had written her thesis, she went to work for the Architectural Survey Dept. of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. In 1977, she started her own historic preservation consulting business — “one of the first in the city.”
Citizens for Downtown will have its first meeting either in late August or in September at which time the members will begin the process of deciding which buildings in Lower Manhattan are most endangered and most in need of saving.
“I think you have to work at your city all the time to make sure that it grows but that it has personality,” Dierickx said.
