NY Post Goes to Bat for 70 Pine
AIG’S HQ NEEDS A RESCUE, TOO
By STEVE CUOZZO
June 9, 2009 —
WHOEVER’S negotiating to buy AIG’s magnificent 70 Pine St. headquarters tower along with 72 Wall St. from the bailed-out insurer should know that people are watching: namely, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Surprisingly, the iconic 70 Pine St., steeped in Art Deco detail and a commanding skyline presence since 1932, is not a designated city landmark; thus, it enjoys no protection from demolition or ruinous changes.
But with the prospect that the majestic but antiquated skyscraper likely faces conversion to residential and other uses, architects and preservationists are keeping a close eye on the situation.
David Childs, designer of the new 1 World Trade Center and the new chairman of the Municipal Art Society, called 70 Pine “one of the prides of the city. It needs whatever protection it can have.
“The powers that be should do something now to see that it’s recharged, reactivated, but saved for all the important architectural aspects.”
Yesterday, Peg Breen, president of the private, preservation-minded Landmarks Conservancy, wrote to city Landmarks Preservation Commission Chairman Robert Tierney asking to consider 70 Pine St. for designation.
The tower, designed by architectural firms Clinton & Russell and Holton & George, is “one of the iconic buildings of New York,” Breen told The Post. “I’d hope a new owner would understand that that’s the value of it to them.”
In fact, commission spokeswoman Elisabeth de Bourbon said Tierney and his staff “have been looking at it for some time. It is meritorious, but it’s a matter of taking the next step, which would be to have a conversation with the new owners.”