Vote expected tomorrow on the proposed 9-story hotel next to the historic Merchant's House

The Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected to vote tomorrow on the proposed 9-floor hotel next to the Merchant's House Museum on East Fourth Street between the Bowery and Lafayette.

Ahead of the meeting, the third on the matter, preservationist groups are rallying for support in protecting the circa-1832 building.

As the city’s only Federal-style house that survives with an intact exterior and interior (including family furnishings), it is a miraculous, irreplaceable, but fragile architectural artifact.

The Merchant’s House Museum previously suffered severe damage from the demolition of 31 East 4th and the subsequent below-the-surface drilling for the acquifer that is located there.

While there isn't any public testimony tomorrow, the Merchant's House is encouraging people to show up in support… and these stickers will be available to wear…



Meeting details:

Tuesday, April 8, 10:45 a.m. (Arrive 10:15 a.m. to sign in. Bring a photo ID.)
Place: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
Municipal Building
1 Centre Street (at Chambers St.), 9th floor.

Find Curbed's coverage of the proposed development here. BoweryBoogie has more details/background on this today right here.

The Merchant's House was the sixth landmark designated in 1965, when LPC was first created.

The space next door to the museum is currently this one-level structure… housing Al-Amin Food Inc., which stores food carts…


[Via Google]

Previously

3rd hearing set tomorrow for proposed hotel next to the Merchant's House Museum

Nearly a year has passed since the last time the developers of a proposed hotel next to the Merchant's House Museum made their case to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC).

The groups will reconvene tomorrow for the third hearing on the matter. Folks from the Merchant's House Museum on East Fourth Street between the Bowery and Lafayette as well as other local residents and officials are concerned that the proposed 9-story hotel would compromise the structural integrity of the Merchant's House.

During the second meeting before the LPC last March 12, the developers provided what Curbed described as a thorough nine-part presentation on how the construction would be completed in a manner that would not damage its historic neighbor. In the end, the LPC "had significant objections to the proposed design of the hotel itself" and were looking for a third-party expert to weigh in on the matter.

Here's the message from the Merchant's House website ahead of tomorrow's meeting:

A developer is planning to build a 9-story hotel at 27 East 4th Street, adjacent to and towering over the Merchant’s House Museum. The new 9-story building would not only overwhelm the 180-year-old landmark Merchant’s House and be strikingly inappropriate to the historic residential context of East 4th Street within the Noho Historic District, but the construction process for a building of this scale is absolutely guaranteed to damage the house.

The potential damage to our very fragile 1832 landmark building — a federal, state, and city landmark, inside and out — during demolition of the existing garage and construction of the new hotel is huge. According to analyses performed by structural engineers, if our building shifts, even 1/4 inch — as is predicted by the developers — the original landmark 1832 decorative plasterwork, considered the finest extant in New York City and a national treasure, will be damaged.

While there isn't any public testimony tomorrow, the Merchant's House is encouraging people to show up in support. (Find more details on the meeting, which starts at 2 p.m., here.)

Find Curbed's coverage of the proposed development here.

The Merchant's House was the sixth landmark designated in 1965, when LPC was first created.

The space next door to the museum is currently this one-level structure… housing Al-Amin Food Inc., which stores food carts…


[Via Google]

Previously.

Landmarks Commission wants more info about hotel planned next to the historic Merchant's House

The developers who want to build a 9-story hotel next door to the Merchant's House on East Fourth Street returned to face the Landmarks Commission today. (Plans call for demolishing the one-level garage/repair shop adjacent to the circa 1832 Merchant's House.)

Curbed's Jeremiah Budin was there. The developers discussed how the construction could occur without compromising the structural integrity of the Merchant's House.

And the end result? Another meeting!

The Commission found the presentation to be, if not completely convincing, very thorough. Ultimately, though, they decided that they would need more information, possibly from some sort of expert third party, to determine whether or not the construction would pose a real threat.

Read the whole Curbed post here.

How you can help protect the Merchant's House Museum on East 4th Street

From the EV Grieve inbox from the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors...

[The proposed hotel]

Below are details sent from the Merchant's House Museum regarding an extremely important hearing that could indeed impact the structural safety of the city's only fully intact Federal-style rowhouse, the landmark Merchant's House Museum at 25 E. 4th St.

At issue is a proposal to build a 9-story hotel tower on the adjacent 27 E. 4th St., an enterprise that experts agree would have a devastating impact on the Merchant's House.

The Merchant's House is one of the city's most precious historic resources. In recent years, we have seen the destruction of Federal era houses at 35 Cooper Square, 135 Bowery, and in many other locations. Please come out on Tuesday to protect the Merchant's House and stop the inappropriate, out-of-context development that threatens it. — David Mulkins, Chair, Bowery Alliance of Neighbors

------

After five postponements, the LPC hearing on the proposed 9-story hotel next door will be held on Tuesday, September 11, at 3:30 p.m. Location: Municipal Building at 1 Centre Street, 9th Floor.

We've said it before, but we'll say it again: The proposed building is out of character with the East 4th Street block and is inappropriate to the historic context of the NoHo Historic District.

Until the 1880s, East 4th Street comprised a row of 13 red-brick and white-marble single-family homes stretching from Lafayette Street to Bowery. Each of these homes featured well-articulated facades and gardens in the rear.

Today, only the landmarked 1832 Merchant's House and 1845 Skidmore House, at 37 East 4th Street, survive to suggest the aesthetics and scale of the block during the mid-19th century.

The proposed 9-story, black glass building butting up against and towering over the delicate late-Federal/Greek revival Merchant's House would brutally shatter this vision.

Adding salt to our wound, the proposed development also poses a grave threat to the structural integrity of the Merchant's House. It's not a question of "if," but rather a question of "how much" damage to the exterior brick and the interior architectural elements will be incurred as a result of demolition and construction next door. According to experts, we can't afford to have the building shift, even one-eighth of an inch.

It's still not too late to help. Please send an email to the LPC urging them to reject the developer's plans. Click here for a template letter.

Find a petition here.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation provides more details here.

BoweryBoogie wrote about the planned hotel here.

9-story hotel next to Merchant's House a no go for now

Various residents and and preservationists came out last night at a CB2 meeting to oppose plans for a nine-story hotel next door to the landmarked Merchant's House on East Fourth Street. Plans call for demolishing the one-level garage/repair shop adjacent to the circa 1832 Merchant's House.

There are concerns that the construction next door would harm the landmarked Museum.

As DNAinfo reported, CB2's Landmarks Committee unanimously voted to deny the application. The proposal will go before CB2's full board meeting on May 24. According to DNAinfo, the Landmarks Preservation Commission will consider CB2's recommendation in June when it gives final approval for the new structure The Landmarks Preservation Commission will consider the proposal in June.

Anyway, you haven't seen the last of this proposal, which will likely be modified to a 4- or 5-story structure.

Curbed has coverage from last night here.

Neighbors rallying to oppose new hotel on East Fourth Street

[Click to enlarge]

Residents and and various preservationists are rallying to oppose plans for a nine-story hotel next door to the landmarked Merchant's House on East Fourth Street.

Plans call for demolishing the one-level garage/repair shop adjacent to the circa 1832 Merchant's House.

Per the petition:

The proposed building, at 9 stories tall (twice the height of the Museum) and without any setbacks, would overwhelm and detract from the special architectural and historic character of the Merchant’s House Museum. Its excessive size and bulk is not respectful of the historical context of the Museum and does not relate to its small scale.

We also request that the strictest of construction standards be applied to any proposed building on this site so that the structural integrity of the Merchant’s House is not in any way compromised. Given the antiquity of the Merchant’s House and the extreme narrowness of the lot at 27 East 4th Street, this is critical.

Find the petition here.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation laid out the next steps here. The applicant is presenting their proposal for a second time at CB2's meeting on Monday at 6:30 p.m. (at the Our Lady of Pompei Church, 25 Carmine St., Father Demo Hall).

BoweryBoogie wrote about the planned hotel here.