FRIENDS is thrilled to share the news that the U.S. Supreme Court has denied Stahl an appeal for the second time. This final legal battle is over at last for Stahl York Ave. Co., LLC, owner of the City & Suburban Homes Company First Avenue Estate complex, an individual landmark.
For years, Stahl has waged a protracted fight against the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in the courts as they sought to demolish two historic buildings in this full-block complex. Like the groundbreaking Penn Central case of 1978, this week’s legal victory affirms the City’s right to regulate landmark-designated properties as a benefit to “all New York citizens… and quality of life in the city as a whole.”
The First Avenue Estate is a full block complex of tenement buildings, located between East 64th and East 65th Streets and First and York Avenues, that was constructed in 1915 by the City and Suburban Homes Company, and designated as an individual landmark for the significance of its design and pioneering role in social housing reform. Home to longtime tenants of modest income, these buildings continue to be a source of affordable housing on the Upper East Side.
FRIENDS is proud of its longstanding leadership role in this issue, which most recently entailed the filing of an amicus curiae brief in 2017 on behalf of the City of New York, with the support of local and national preservation groups, as well as elected officials.
We are grateful to the many partners who joined us in these efforts and contributed to this victory!
- Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
- State Senator Liz Krueger
- State Asssembly Member Rebecca Seawright
- City Council Member Benjamin Kallos
- Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer
- National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Preservation League of New York State
- The Municipal Art Society of New York
- New York Landmarks Conservancy
- Historic Districts Council
- Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation
- Landmark West!
- Friends of the First Avenue Estate
We are also enormously grateful to the tenants, neighbors, advocates, and elected officials who have worked tirelessly over many years on this hardship case. Thanks especially to those who contributed financially to our effort.
For more information, visit FRIENDS’ First Avenue Estate web page for a timeline of this ongoing case and links to additional articles about this site.
