REBNY supports development of The Cottages site.

The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) has issued a strong pronouncement supporting the development of The Cottages site on Manhattan's Upper East Side and against the continued "politicizing" of the landmark process by community groups.

In a letter to The New York Times dated March 10, 1998, REBNY President Steve Spinola expressed "strong disagreement" with a suggestion that the landmarking process would be served by holding a hearing on the designation of the Cottages site (west side of Third Avenue between 77th and 78th streets).

"It is important to note," Spinola wrote, "that on four separate occasions in the last 10 years, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (under different chairpersons) has carefully considered this request and has declined to schedule a hearing on this site because of insufficient architectural, historical and cultural merit. In view of this history, a potential purchaser should be able to rely on these decisions that the property is not eligible to be designated as a landmark."

'The pressure to calendar a hearing after a site is purchased, as we have in this instance, is too often motivated by opposition to the size or design of the new building rather than the architectural or other significance of the building which is being replaced,' Spinola continued. "We think the Chairperson and the Commission should be commended for standing up for a standard of architectural preservation that is not devalued in the face of intense community pressure."

In a "View Point" editorial on March 23, Crain's wrote the following:

"Did New York learn anything from the worst recession in the city's post-war history? If the controversy over development of the Cottages site on the Upper East Side is any indication, the answer is no. The Cottages are an odd set of eight apartments, only five of which are occupied, built in a courtyard in 1937 and considered second-rate housing, situated as they were under the Third Avenue El. They are unremarkable, except that those nearby get a nice little park and better sight lines than most Manhattanites."

"Trevor Davis and Aby Rosen have purchased the site and, as of right, want to build a 32-story apartment building with 95 units. The apartments would be big, some with five bedrooms, and would be marketed to the large families who are being forced to move to the suburbs because they can't find a place in the city."

"Opponents are demanding that the Landmarks Preservation Commission take up the case of the Cottages, not because they have any architectural merit - they don't - but because that's how to stop development. They want to preserve their open space. The commission has refused four times to consider the Cottages for landmark status. But even if it just holds a hearing, the developers will find it impossible to get financing and the project will die. In the meantime, no one's speaking up for the New Yorkers who would like to live in the proposed new units or for the pressing need for more housing in the city. That's the kind of anti-development attitude that was typical in New York during the boom of the 1980's."

"The commission should say no to a hearing. And others need to join the debate and make it clear that the issue isn't only about developers' rights, but the need for a clear, consistent policy to encourage new housing throughout the city."