Admiral’s Row Historic Sites Endangered
UPDATE: Jan. 30 2012
The New York Landmarks Conservancy is happy that the Admirals Row property has finally been sold to the City and is now in the hands of the Navy Yard who we hope will act quickly to stabilize the two historic structures that are to remain on the site.
Although we would have preferred to see more of the houses saved, we believe that the plan espoused by the Navy Yard incorporating two of the historic buildings is a good one. We trust that the Navy Yard will honor its commitment to historic preservation and look forward to seeing how work on the site proceeds.
Previous update:
Despite a recent agreement to save the “timber shed,” an 1850s brick storehouse built to hold ship timbers, the national guard announced that it would not stabilize the structure because they felt it could lead to its collapse. The Navy Yard has now joined the Conservancy and others demanding that the structure—the only one of its kind left in the country—be immediately protected.
After years of participating in Section 106 review meetings and working with other interested parties to save the historic buildings of Admiral’s row we finally succeeded in having two historic buildings on the site identified as significant resources that needed to be preserved and restored as part of the transfer of the property from the Federal Government, specifically the Army National Guard, to the City of New York. The two structures are Quarters “B” the oldest and grandest of the officer’s mansions, and the “Timber Shed” a brick storehouse dating to 1850 built to hold ship timbers used to build and repair the Navy’s wooden sail ships.
We were therefore very surprised to receive a letter from the National Guard dated January 26, 2011 stating that the stabilization and restoration of the timber shed is no longer a requirement of the property disposal of Admiral’s Row. The reasons cited were “deterioration” and “funding constraints”.
The surprise message in that letter was particularly ironic in light of the fact that the Brooklyn Navy Yard has embraced the concept of restoring the timber shed and has made it part of their proposed re-use of the site. In response the Brooklyn Navy Yard writes: “we continue to believe it remains possible to preserve and rehabilitate the Timber Shed.” This letter, signed by the President and CEO of the Navy Yard goes on to state: “the developer we have selected for the site has incorporated the Timber Shed into its design and remains committed to its preservation and rehabilitation including shoring up the Timber Shed prior to the contemplated transfer of the Site to the City of New York. We believe it is imperative for the National Guard to provide prompt access to the Site so that such shoring efforts can begin as soon as possible.”
The next Section 106 meeting is set for February 8, 2010 at which time this matter and other preservation issues on the site will be further discussed. We will continue to press for the preservation of this special resource, the only US Navy Timber Shed known to survive in the entire country.
