The shroud concealing the work going on at 352 and 354 Warren Street was in place for more than a year. Its appearance was hailed by Mark Allen on Instagram on April 21, 2025.
The construction shroud came down yesterday, to reveal what appears to be a partially completed renovation.
It's been more than two years since the plans for the renovation of these two buildings, which formerly housed Johnny's Ideal Printing and were acquired by the Galvan Initiatives Foundation in 2019, were presented to the Historic Preservation Commission. The plan, as it was presented to the HPC in May 2024, was to combine the two buildings into a single apartment building and to re-create a storefront on the ground floor of 352 Warren, which evidence suggests it once was. Below is the drawing of what the buildings would look like with the changes proposed.
The drawing shows large windows, appropriate for a storefront, on the ground floor of 352 Warren. Those do not appear in the building as it is today. In fact, it appears that the only thing done on the facade of 352 was removing the paint from the brick on the second floor and painting the cornice, the oriel, and wood that sealed up the ground floor facade when the building was Johnny's Ideal Printing.
We await Nick Fox's inspection of the buildings and the explanation of why the renovation was not carried out as proposed and approved by the HPC.
COPYRIGHT 2026 CAROLE OSTERINK
Middle of Warren Street, five years of vacant building ownership with no permits (Perhaps a plan? Perhaps not?), then two years of work with apparently no progress review from the (previous) CEO. How much revenue did this building generate in vacant building fees? Is it (and the hotel) now subject to the city’s $250 per day and violation penalty? At what point does Galvan face any accountability from local government?
ReplyDeleteImagine being this lackadaisical at your work and then asking for a raise.
Godspeed to Nick Fox, I wonder how many other compliance issues he inherited.
Shouldn't there be penalties ($$$) for such a wanton violation of the law?
ReplyDeleteWe haven't heard from Nick Fox on this one yet, but regarding 123 Union and 402-404 Warren, he said in his statement at last week's HPC meeting: "Following the completion of that process, the Code Enforcement Office will determine what further action is warranted, including whether violations should be referred for prosecution and issued the applicable fines and/or penalties, including imprisonment."
DeleteThe relevant text from the historic preservation section of city code:
DeleteҤ 169-15 Penalties for offenses.
A.
Failure to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a violation, and the violator shall be liable to a fine of not more than $250 for each day the violation continues.
B.
Any person who demolishes, alters, constructs, or permits a designated property to fall into a serious state of disrepair in violation of this chapter shall be required to restore the property and its site to its appearance prior to the violation. Any action to enforce this subsection shall be brought by the City Attorney. This civil remedy shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any criminal prosecution and penalty.”
So yes, there should be penalties. Just as there should have been penalties for every other building Galvan has mangled over the years. They also should have been paying annually escalating vacant building fees for each and every vacant building they own or have owned for which they had submitted no plans or pulled no permits. Instead, they’ve received a free pass, discounted assessments and PILOT deals.
Rumor has it that Galvan, or whatever the entity rebrands to under Bard, plans to continue purchasing buildings in Hudson.