The fight that preservationists and Seaport residents have undertaken to stop the Howard Hughes Corporation's plan to build a 494-foot hotel/condo tower has just suffered what appears to be a major setback, as the city has declared that two buildings that were part of the old Fulton Fish Market, the New Market Building and the landmarked Tin Building, are in danger of collapsing and must be demolished. Efforts to stop the development have, up until this point, focused on the preservation of those two buildings, but now that the Economic Development Corp. has issued a statement saying that they "are supported by piles that have deteriorated to the point that they cannot hold the structures above it," they could be razed next month.
There does seem to be some confusion about what is being demolished and when, however, as the EDC has said that it will just take down portions of the rear of both buildings, but also admits that it will reinspect the buildings after that and will probably have to demolish the rest of them, too. "I think there needs to be a lot more transparency and that the city government should be insistent," Historic Districts Council executive director Simeon Bankoff told the Downtown Post. "I can't tell you if it's just Howard Hughes or it's also the EDC [behind this]. That's part of the problem."
· City accelerates demolition of two deteriorating South Street Seaport buildings [Crain's]
· Tin Building/New Market Building coverage [Curbed]
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