The New York State Supreme Court on Monday, April 11, issued a permanent injunction preventing the demolition of the historic Winans-Crippen House at 66 Franklin St., Saratoga Springs without either approval of the City’s Design Review Commission or an order of the State Supreme Court.
The building’s owner, Joe Boff, applied for demolition of the structure before the city’s Design Review Commission in December 2008.
The property is listed as a contributing building to the West Side Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also located in the local historic district where its demolition is subject to review and approval by the City’s Design Review Commission. In July 2009, the National Trust for Historic Preservation featured it in its national magazine Preservation as a “threatened” historic building.
“It’s one of the few remaining examples of John D. Steven’s work who was the architect for The United States Hotel and The Grand Union Hotel that were once on Broadway,” said Samantha Bosshart, Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation’s executive director.
“It has some of the earliest houses dating back to the early 1800s but it’s also unique because it shows evolution of architecture over the next century. You see Second Empire, you see Greek Revival, you see the Queen Anne, you have a little bit of everything right there,” added Bosshart about Franklin Square.
According to Bosshart, the foundation is pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision and would like to see somebody restore the building at 66 Franklin St.
“This decision, affirming the role of the Design Review Commission in protecting our City’s historic buildings, is a win for historic preservation in Saratoga Springs and a win for following the process outlined in the city ordinance and by New York State law. …We hope that the owner of 66 Franklin Street will complete the DRC proceeding and let the DRC make its decision. The Foundation would like to see this historic building repaired so it can continue to tell its story of Saratoga Springs’s remarkable architectural history,” she said.
Boff, a developer, had plans to redevelop the site after demolition but he has yet to produce all of the necessary information requested of the city’s Design Review Commission.
“He’s said in the past that he wanted to redevelop the site but his plans and his application for the demolition included no plans for any new buildings. It only included plans for a fence. (The building) is stable and needs to be brought up within compliance of the New York state property maintenance code. We’ve had a structural engineer inspect the building and he has since been required by city court to do preventative maintenance to stabilize it and to prevent it from deteriorating any further,” said Bosshart.
Signs on the front of the building read “No Trespassing” and is listed for sale by Roohan Realty at a price of $675,000, according Bosshart. Boff paid $400,000for the home in 2008. He also owns the vacant lot adjacent to the property, which had a similar building on it but was demolished in the 1970s.
Boff went to the city’s Design Review Commission in the summer of 2009 and was asked to provide a limited scope EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) on the impacts to the cultural and historical resources to Franklin Square should the building be demolished, according to Brad Birge, administrator of Planning &Economic Development. Boff requested the demolition through the city court.
“The city along with the owner went to city court to request demolition. However, our interpretation of the law is that city court can’t issue a demolition. That can only be done through New York State Supreme Court action. City Court had once approved demolition but realizing the interpretation withdrew their approval of the demolition and we sought an injunction,” said Bosshart.
Birge said, “As far as the city is concerned, there is an application for demolition. Within the city’s zoning ordinance the structure is identified as having architectural significance and there has to be a dollar and cents argument and documentation as to why it can not be preserved and then if it may be eligible for the listing of national register of historical properties and there needs to be a post demolition plan for that.”
“A SEQR analysis came to two questions. Impact on the historical aesthetic and the impact to that area, they requested more work to be done and reached a positive declaration. DRC has never denied the demolition but have requested additional information,” said Birge.
Boff has not yet presented that information to the DRC.
“There’s still an avenue of working through the city’s process,” said Birge.
In addition to the Foundation requesting the permanent injunction by the NYS Supreme Court, the Foundation sought clarification that a demolition order by the City Code Enforcement Officer had to receive approval from the NYS Supreme Court, not the City Court, as outlined in NYS Executive Law 382.
