Court of Appeal
Local Leaders Urge Preservation of Justice Complex
Community Board 1 (CB1) is urging the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to consider granting legally protected status to the Criminal Courts Building, at 100 Centre Street.
In a resolution enacted at the Board’s September 24 meeting, CB1 noted, “the surprising and unfortunate fact that many of the Civic Center’s important historic buildings lie outside the existing neighboring historic districts and are not yet landmarked. These include 80 Centre Street, 137 Centre Street, 139 Centre Street, and the Manhattan Criminal Court Building at 100 Centre Street. The unprotected status of these historic structures came to light during the review of plans by the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio to replace the existing Manhattan Detention Complex at 124/125 White Street with a new, 45-story prison facility that would be the tallest jail in the world.
The case of 100 Centre Street takes on special urgency in this context, because, as the CB1 resolution notes, “the Manhattan Criminal Court building shares the same underlying City lot with the south tower of the Manhattan Detention Complex. This appears to mean that if City Hall needed extra space for the proposed new jail, it would face no legal obstacle in demolishing all or part of the historic building.
Another danger is also cited in the Board’s resolution, which notes that, “given the rapid rate of development in Lower Manhattan, there is enormous risk that without a prompt landmark designation, the Criminal Court building could likely be sold, demolished and replaced with a large-scale tower, as of right.”
The building was erected in the late 1930s, with federal funds from the Public Works Administration, a New Deal agency that aimed to stimulate the national economy during the depths of the Great Depression by commission large-scale civic infrastructure projects. One of the architects who help design 100 Centre Street was Harvey Wiley Corbett, who also worked on Rockefeller Center and the Metropolitan Life North Building, adjacent to Madison Square, which is widely regarded as an Art Deco masterpiece.
CB1’s resolution concludes by noting that, “the Manhattan Criminal Court building clearly contributes to the historic context of the neighborhood and is a critical to Lower Manhattan’s social history, architectural character and urban design,” and urging the LPC, “to act promptly in reviewing and seeking to preserve the Manhattan Criminal Court Building at 100 Centre Street.”
Matthew Fenton
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