8/3/2019 285-287 East Third Street

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March9,2011

Hon.RobertTierney,Chair

NewYorkCityLandmarksPreservationCommission

OneCentreStreet,9thfloor

NewYork,NY10007

Re:UrgentRequestforEvaluationfor285and287East3rdStreet,Manhattan

DearChairTierney:

WerequestthattheLandmarksPreservationCommissionconsiderforlandmarkdesignation

Nos.285&287East3rdStreetinManhattan,twohighlyintactGreekRevival“sister”rowhouses

datingfrom1837, builtonlandoriginallyowned bytheprominentFishfamily.Theonlyhouses

evertostandontheirlots, bothhavemiraculouslysurvived174yearsofneighborhoodchange

andexisttodayinexcellentphysicalcondition.Astheattachedphotographsindicate,thehouses

haveretainedanexceptionallevelofarchitecturalintegrity.Theirdentiledwoodcornices,sills,

lintels,anddoorentablatureshavesurvivedintactandhaveclearly beenwellmaintainedfor

nearlytwo

centuries.

The

only

two

survivors

of

arow

of

six,

they

recall

the

days

when

the

majorityofthe blocks betweenAvenuesC&Dwerelinedwithsimilarhomes.

RowhousesthatsurviveinthisportionoftheEastVillagearetheearliest buildingsevertoexist

ontheirsites; beforetheirconstruction,theareawasprimarilyfarmland.Themajorityofthese

homeswere builtformerchantsassociatedwiththe blossomingshipbuildingindustrythatcrept

upfromCorlear’sHookandthrivedalongthisportionoftheEastRiverinthe1830sand40s

whentheareawasknownastheDryDockNeighborhood.WiththerecentlossofNos.326&328

East4thStreet,twoofthemostintacthousesfromtheDryDockera,fewerandfewerofthese

homesnowstandasatestamenttothisdecisivetimeintheneighborhood’shistory,makingswift

action bytheLandmarksPreservationCommissiontoprotectthosethatremainallthemore

critical.

Reflectingthehomes’connectiontotheshipyards,taxassessmentrecordsindicatethatNo.285

wasconstructed byCharlesDodge,ashipcarverformanyyears.Dodgelaterachievedpolitical

prominenceasTrusteeandCommissioneroftheNewYorkBoardofEducation,DeputyTax

Commissioner,andasamemberoftheNewYorkCommonCouncilandtheBoardofAlderman

fortheEleventhWard.

8/3/2019 285-287 East Third Street

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AswasthecasewithmanyotherEastVillagerowhouses builtoriginallyassinglefamilyhomes,

Nos.285&287accommodatedmultiplefamilies bythemid19thCentury.Unlikeotherhouses,

however,thesetwomanagedtoescape beingraisedinheightorextendedintherear,and

thereforelookmuchastheydidwhentheywerefirst built;ararityinpartsofthecitythat

houseddenseimmigrantpopulations.Censusrecordsshowthat by1870,22peopleresidedin

No.285and27inNo.287.Inthatyear,themajorityoftheresidentswereGerman, butinthe

remainingdecadesofthecenturyBavarians,Russians,HungariansandothersofEastern

Europeanoriginalsolivedinthehomes,workingascigar,clothingandshoemakersandinother

manufacturingprofessions.By1930thehomeswerestilloccupied bymultiplefamilies butmost

were JewishAustriansandHungarians,reflectingthetransformationoftheneighborhoodfrom

Kleindeutschlandtothe JewishLowerEastSide.

Tofindone174yearoldhomeinsuchexceptionalphysicalconditionandwiththisdegreeof

architecturalintegrityisuncommon;tofindamatchingpairisnothingshortofextraordinary.

However,thefateofNo.285remainsuncertain,asthehomeiscurrentlyforsale.Weurgethe

CommissiontoactquicklytoconsiderlandmarkdesignationofthisNos.285&287East3rd

Street,sofutureownersmaycontinueto bestewardsofthesignificanthistoryoftheEastVillage

andof

these

remarkable

homes.

Wehaveattachedphotosandprimarysourcedocumentstoconfirmourresearch.Welook

forwardtoyourresponse.

Sincerely,

AndrewBerman KurtCavanaugh

ExecutiveDirector

Managing

Director

GreenwichVillageSocietyforHistoricPreservation EastVillageCommunityCoalition

Cc:CouncilmemberRosieMendez

MaryBethBetts,DirectorofResearch,LPC

MunicipalArtSociety

NYLandmarksConservancy

HistoricDistrictsCouncil