The Jersey City Municipal Council voted Wednesday to support the artists of 111 First St., in their monthly meeting held at the Jersey City Museum.
A large crowd of 111 First St. supporters attended the meeting, which was held at the museum because the air-conditioning would make people more comfortable, said Council President/Acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith. The supporters of the artists wore badges reading “P.A.D.” (Powerhouse Arts District) and held signs supporting the preservation of both 110 and 111 First St.
By a vote of 8-0-1, the council decided to pursue the idea of designating 111 First St. a Jersey City historical landmark, thereby protecting it from demolition.
However, the building behind it, at 110 First St., lies in jeopardy. A second reading regarding what to do with the building will be held on Sept. 8.
Two proposals will be introduced – one preserving both 110 and 111 First St., and one preserving only 111 First St. The two proposals are an effort to reach a compromise between building owner Lloyd Goldman and the artists in residence at 111 First St. After hearing from the public on Sept. 8, the Council will vote on which plan to adopt.
“What it means is that we’re in a race against time to preserve 110 and 111 First Street,” said Bill Rodwell, President of the 111 First Street Tenants’ Association. “The unfortunate thing is there has to be another reading.” The artists in residence at 111 First St. are fighting to preserve both 110 and 111 First St. as historical landmarks, and hope to incorporate the buildings as part of an arts district in downtown Jersey City.
“The 111 artists would like to see every building in the district landmarked,” said Rodwell. “We’d like to save them all.”
Kicked out, or just moved?
The tenants have accused building owner Lloyd Goldman of trying to force them out of the building by handing out “quit and demand for possession” notices recently that asked the artists to leave by August 31. Goldman, of New Gold Equities, wants to add luxury housing to the building. However, some of the artists feel he eventually would like them to leave so he could renovate the building into condominiums.
“We think that was their declaration of war to get [us] out of there,” Rodwell said, referring to the eviction notices.
However, Goldman’s lawyer, Robert Cavanaugh, argued otherwise at the City Council meeting.
“Lloyd Goldman is the one who brought the artists into the building 12, 15 years ago,” Cavanaugh said. But the artists and their supporters silently waved their signs in protest as Cavanaugh spoke.
Cavanaugh further stated that New Jersey law requires building owners to terminate month-to-month leases before establishing long-term leases. He also said that Goldman has the right to get a “reasonable return on his investment.”
“The plan is to renovate the building with the artists in place while we renovate,” Cavanaugh continued.
The gloves are off
For the past few weeks, controversy has stemmed over Goldman’s attempts to demolish 111 First St.’s smokestack, as well as the partial destruction of the building across the street at 110 First St.
Cavanaugh argued that his client had obtained the proper permits to go forward with the demolitions, as the structures were “beyond repair” – for example, the seventh floor wall at 110 was collapsing and the smokestack at 111 needed to come down, said Cavanaugh.
The council, however, stated that Goldman’s team did not have the proper permits to demolish the buildings. According to the council, Goldman was only permitted to take down the roof and top floor of 110 First St., not the entire building.
He also had a permit to take down only the smokestack at 111, but the city issued a stop order, saying that the smokestack might not be as unstable as previously thought. This stop-work order came after experts hired by both the city and the artists said otherwise. The artists’ expert said that only a few feet of the chimney at the 111 building needed to come down, and while the city’s expert recommended a little more than that – both figures were less that the 50 feet Goldman’s expert had recommended.
“Slugging it away did not loosen the bricks,” said Councilman Mariano Vega, Jr., citing the chimney’s durability against contractors’ sledgehammers. “It actually cracked the brick.”
The court eventually ruled in favor of Goldman, who will be allowed to take down up to 50 feet of the smokestack, no more.
“They’re perfectly within their right of taking 50 feet of it,” said Councilman E. Junior Maldonado. “We’re hoping that’s all Mr. Goldman takes.”
Maldonado said, “If he takes more than 50 feet [of the smokestack], all he’s doing is thumbing his nose at the city. The city has taken a position that they will go after him with the full effect of what a city can do against a landlord.”
Should Goldman violate his permits, Maldonado said, a last-ditch effort would be made to cite the law of eminent domain and pay him market value for the property, as a means of saving the building from further demolition.