Despite homeowner objections, rare residences designated unanimously. Landmarks designated two Federalera row houses at 486 and 488 Greenwich Street as individual landmarks on July 24, 2007. The two-and-a-half story houses, built in 1823 for German tailor and developer John Rohr, now contain commercial establishments on their ground floors. The houses retain their peaked dormered roofs, stone lintels and sills, and essential identity as three-bayed row houses despite numerous alterations over the years. The buildings’ survival is notable given the area’s transformation into residential lofts and industrial and commercial uses.

At the April 10, 2007 hearing, the row houses’ owners, Jon and Geoffrey Hendricks, expressed ambivalence over the potential landmarking. The Hendricks testified that landmarks were “an important part of the city,” but worried about associated costs. Supporters of designation included the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the Society for the Architecture of the City. 4 CityLand 61 (May 15, 2007). (read more…)

Support voiced for designation of two homes built in 1823. Landmarks heard testimony on the 486 and 488 Greenwich Street houses on April 10, 2007. Built in 1823 for German-born tailor John Rohr, the two-anda- half story, Federal-style row houses feature dormered peaked roofs, brick cladding, and stone lintels and sills. Rohr built a group of five row houses at the corner of Greenwich and Canal Streets, and 486 and 488 Greenwich remain the only two not designated.

Brothers Jon and Geoffrey Hendricks, who each spoke at the hearing, own the row houses. Jon testified that “landmarks are an important part of the city,” but that “the process is complex and personally expensive.” Jon proposed that owners should somehow be compensated when Landmarks designates their homes, and requested an opportunity to speak with Landmarks’ General Counsel Mark Silberman about what landmarking would entail. Similarly ambivalent, Geoffrey Hendricks stated that they spent 30 years bringing the “derelict” buildings into their current state, and that increased costs associated with landmarking would be difficult for him as a retired artist. (read more…)