Preservationists Rally to Save Rent-Stabilized SoHo Building

City Council Member Christopher Marte and a local preservationist group are calling on the Landmarks Preservation Commission to save a local rent-stabilized apartment building in SoHo, the mysterious owner of which wants to tear it down and replace it with a luxury, market-rate apartment building.

Marte and Village Preservation note that the topic is supposed to be on the agenda of an LPC meeting that was slated to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 24.

Village Preservation notes that the building in question, 139 Thompson St., is a landmark located in the Sullivan Historic District. Out of its 19 apartments, 12 are rent-stabilized, meaning that their rents are capped.

“This is a classic example of how historic preservation can help preserve housing and affordability, and how demolition and new development can destroy it,” Village Preservation said in an online release.

The owner of 139 Thompson St. has been rendered essentially anonymous by an LLC, with state records indicating that their postal address is located in New Rochelle, New York.

They argue that the building is in too great a state of disrepair to fix, hence their appeal to the Landmarks Commission to let them demolish it. The replacement tower would reportedly only contain six new condos, none of them rent-stabilized.

Village Preservation is disrupting the premise that the building is unfixable, namely by arguing that the owner “neglected it for approximately two decades,” as well as accrued a number of building violations.

A Feb. 20 rally on the subject was held in front of 139 Thompson St. itself. Scaffolding that encased the building, an indicator of its suspended fate, proved oddly fortuitous by shielding most attendees from an onslaught of rain.

District 1 Council Member Marte oversaw the proceedings, and opened his remarks by calling the possibility of the building’s demolition “terrible.” He added that he believed the landlord “allowed the building to fall apart,” a phenomenon he said is replicated elsewhere throughout Lower Manhattan, the area he represents.

“This is a pattern, and we have to put a stop to that pattern,” Marte said, vowing to “fight back.”

Andrew Berman, the executive director of Village Preservation, spoke next. “This is a building that this community and Village Preservation fought hard to get landmarked, and succeeded in getting landmarked, ten years ago,” he said. “That means it’s supposed to be preserved, that means it’s supposed to be maintained, that means it’s supposed to remain standing.”

“The Landmarks Preservation Commission should do its job, and say: ‘It is not ok to demolish this building. You must repair and fix this building, and reopen it for the tenants to live in it,’” Berman added.

He concluded his remarks by pointing out that the adjoining building at 137 Thompson St., which was built at the same time and in the same style 150 years ago, is in “beautiful” condition. This proves, Berman argued, that poor stewardship is responsible for the deterioration of 139 Thompson St.

Marte and Berman’s case was given emphasis by Gary He, a member of a group called Youth Against Displacement, which brings together young people to advocate against “overdevelopment” in the area.

”Developers and the city...they’ll break all the rules,” He said. “They’ll pull out all the tricks to destroy our community and profit from our displacement.”