The tenants of the Neumann Leathers building in Hoboken are fighting for survival. Houston-based development company Trammel Crow Residential (TCR) plans to buy the 14-building complex between Newark Street and Willow Avenue if the Zoning Board grants a handful of variances converting the now industrial-zoned site to residential.
The TCR plan calls for the total demolition of the complex to make way for three five-story structures – two for residential condominiums and a third for artist space – and a public courtyard housing cafes and other businesses.
But the main building, a beehive of painters, musicians, furniture makers, sculptors, and industry up-starts like the Systems Group are creating their own plan to save the historic building and their thriving community.
Backed by the architects and designers who also call Neumann home, the Neumann Leathers Tenant Association (NLTA) say they have come up with a similar plan that will maintain the artists’ community, while allowing for residential development.
In dire economic times, both for the city and the nation, NLTA Chairman Tom Newman claims their plan will generate more tax revenue than the TCR plan. But backing by the city, and its residents, is paramount.
“The greatest asset to a democracy is a roused citizen,” said celebrated Hoboken artist Tim Daly last week. The accomplished painter has been commissioned by patrons from Secaucus to New Brunswick, and has spent 20 of his 30 years as a painter inside the Neumann Leathers building.
“The building is so large that [the issue] should go before the City Council, not just the Zoning board,” Daly said. “So, the council can provide guidelines for redevelopment in the area.”
According to NLTA, the 280,000 square-foot complex houses over 30 businesses, employing 200 people and 65 artists; and is more than 100 years old – construction began in the 1880s.
Art and industry
There is a diverse population of artists and artisans inside Neumann Leathers that need the high ceilings, freight elevators, and loading docks necessary to create their specialized crafts.
Chapeau Antiques, an antique furniture restorer, has literally tons of machinery used to reproduce furniture dating as far back as the 1700s. A quick tour of the facility shows pieces dating back to the French Revolution that would retail well into the millions, but to the customers are priceless.
To move their equipment to another location would be costly as best. But the convenience of being within 30 minutes from New York City allows easy communication and business transactions with his customers, Chapeau said.
Tom Newman, also a furniture maker, agreed. “We have such a niche in the New York market,” Newman said. “We don’t build things that get exported to China. Everything is custom-built and the customers need to come in and visit the shops. It’s artisanship, not industry.”
According to Newman, the possible demolition of the building will be costly to tenants.
“If it goes, there will be some casualties,” Newman said, “but we’ll survive. [The building] is the last little island of art in the community, and the town has to decide whether it wants to let this all go by the wayside.”
Saving the past
Even the musicians will lose something if Neumann goes. Yo La Tengo, one of Hoboken’s proudest projects, has enjoyed national recognition for over two decades, while calling Neumann home.
In total, there are four recording studios in the building.
“There’s not a whole lot of culture left in Hoboken,” said tenant and photographer Mauro Altamura, who grew up in the mile-square city. “Without the buildings, Hoboken will be just a land of condos. It’ll be a real loss to the city, and not just for the artists, but for some part of history.”
For Tim Daly, the community is and has been an incubator for art and industry over the past twenty years.
“There’s cross-fertilization,” Daly said, between the different arts. With so many artists in one building, “we can be inspired by one another – it’s a symbiotic relationship. We know what we have here; this is a preventable tragedy.”
For more information on the Neumann Leathers building complex, please visit: www.neumanntenants.org.