Re: Potential demolition of the historic Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, 1 Clarkson Street, Manhattan

On Friday, July 19, this open letter was sent to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other elected officials to protest the proposed demolition of the historic Tony Dapolito Recreation Center in Greenwich Village. The letter was co-signed by the League along with out colleagues at The New York Landmarks Conservancy, Historic Districts Council, Village Preservation, Landmark West!, and Save Harlem Now!. Click here to view this letter as a PDF. For more context on this advocacy work, please visit Village Preservation’s website.

Re: Potential demolition of the historic Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, 1 Clarkson Street, Manhattan

Dear Mayor Adams, Commissioner Donoghue, Chair Carroll, Borough President Levine, Councilmember Bottcher, and Chair Kent:

We write to share our deep concerns about the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation’s announced intention to pursue demolition of the historic Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, located within the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II. We are dismayed that the City is considering destroying a nearly 120-year-old landmarked, National Register-listed, City-owned and operated building.

The boundaries of the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II, designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission on June 22, 2010, were explicitly drawn to include the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center (formerly the Carmine Street Public Baths, and subsequently the Carmine Street Recreation Center). In fact, in an unusual move, this and the adjacent Hudson Park branch of the New York Public Library were included in a non-contiguous section of the extension, speaking to the lengths to which the Landmarks Preservation Commission went in 2010 to ensure these buildings were designated — not a surprise given their incredibly rich history and architectural significance. In 2013, the Recreation Center was also listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure within the South Village Historic District, recognizing its local, state, and national significance.

The building was commissioned by the City and constructed in phases, beginning in 1906-08 to a design by architectural firm Renwick, Aspinwall & Tucker, and has been serving the public ever since. First designed as a public bath house occupying the eastern end of Hudson Park (now James J. Walker Park), the building has been integral to the park’s design for the past nearly 120 years. As indicated in the LPC designation report, the bath house opened on May 6, 1908, as one of “several public bath houses constructed around the turn of the century as part of a city-wide initiative to provide bathing and hygiene facilities to all New Yorkers.” Two subsequent phases of construction occurred in 1922 (architect: Jaros Kraus) and 1929 (architect: Mitchell Bernstein).

NYC Parks’ claim at a recent Community Board 2 meeting that the structure is too difficult to repair, due in part to its phased construction, is entirely unfounded. Countless historic landmarks throughout New York City that have been restored, repaired, and preserved have also been altered over time, whether during early development (for example, the Astor Library, an individual landmark that was famously designed and built in three distinct phases), or as modern insertions, like the innumerable rooftop and rear yard additions we regularly see approved by LPC in all historic districts. Multiple phases of construction certainly do not preclude a building from being repaired, nor from preservation.

That the Recreation Center is in need of repairs, or that some of its interior facilities do not currently meet code, are also not cause to demolish a protected historic building. It is alarming to hear city officials claim that deterioration at this building, the maintenance of which is the responsibility of the City itself, should be a green light for demolition. The building is undoubtedly in need of repairs, but this is no justification for its demolition.

We strongly oppose demolition of the Tony Dapolito Recreation Center, and urge the City to take steps now to restore this historically, architecturally, and culturally significant public asset, so that the space can be reactivated and serve its intended purpose as an amenity for the people of New York.

Sincerely,

Jay DiLorenzo, President, Preservation League of NYS
Peg Breen, President, The New York Landmarks Conservancy
Frampton Tolbert, Executive Director, Historic Districts Council
Andrew Berman, Executive Director, Village Preservation
Sean Khorsandi, Executive Director, Landmark West!
Claudette Brady, Executive Director, Save Harlem Now!

Cc: State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, Elizabeth Goldstein, President, Municipal Art Society