Conclusion

What we hope will be instructive from our study and the conclusions we have made are the implications they offer, not just for the development of 14th Street and Union Square but also for the insight it may offer in the creation of preservation plans for other places in other neighborhoods, in other cities. That said, it is this essence of 14th Street’s character that our study attempts to define.

The following is a list of buildings that capture the essence of Union Square and 14th Street, and whose precarious existence demonstrates the need for historic preservation. The buildings on this list are “at-risk” buildings, meaning that if all potential tools have been exhausted, or if no effective tools present themselves, and landmark designation is not achieved, the building is at risk of being demolished or seriously defaced.

1. The church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, located on West 14th Street, is at risk because it currently sits vacant, having lost its congregation after a recent merger of two congregations. The building is owned by the Roman Catholic Church, which has a checkered history of stewardship to historic buildings. Finally, the Archdiocese of New York has been engaged in institutional restructuring that results in the closing of church facilities, like schools.

2. The former Schirmer’s Store, located on Union Square West, is at risk because it is significantly underbuilt and is flanked on the right side by another vastly underbuilt lot occupied by a one-story “taxpayer.” The rising real estate values on Union Square could make these two lots attractive to a developer seeking to merge two twenty five-foot lots for demolition and redevelopment.

3. The former Greenwich Savings Bank, located on the northwest corner of 14th Street and Sixth Avenue, is at risk because it is a one-story building located on a prominent commercial corner near Union Square.

4. The polychrome terra cotta loft on the southeast corner of 14th Street and Seventh Avenue is currently suffering from lack of maintenance, and runs the risk of having its terra cotta detailing stripped because of Local Law 11.

5. The row of tenements at 628-640 East 14th Street are currently suffering from lack of maintenance and structural failure, and could be demolished in the future for redevelopment. The fact that several different parties own groupings of tenements in the row increases the likelihood of partial demolition.

6. 527 Sixth Avenue currently suffers from lack of maintenance, and is also an underbuilt building located on a prominent commercial lot.

7. The still-functioning firehouse on East 14th Street is at risk of closure, which would lead to deterioration and possible condemnation. Despite individual fire departments’ allegience to their buildings, the New York City Fire Department has exhibited the desire to replace nineteenth-century firehouses with more modern facilities. It is therefore a matter of particular urgency to raise public awareness about the value of the Engine Company No. 5.

We realize that we as preservationists cannot save every building, nor do we think this is constructive in an evolving city. Our Plan seeks to address the best possible way of balancing the integrity of the historic built fabric with the need for change.