1936: The Sailors’ Snug Harbor Board of Trustees announces it will demolish the “Row” but the Municipal Art Society persuades them otherwise

1967: The six Greek Revival houses at Sailors’ Snug Harbor are designated as New York City Landmarks

1971: The Sailors’ Snug Harbor property is bought by the City of New York

Sailors’ Snug Harbor consists of a 130-acre plot of land overlooking the Kill Van Kull in Staten Island, which was an important maritime route established between New York and New Jersey in the 18^th century. The property originally belonged to Captain Robert Richard Randall, Revolutionary War soldier and shipmaster. Upon his death in June 1801, he deeded the estate, which also included farmland in Manhattan, to a board of trustees who would be responsible for creating a retirement community for "aged, decrepit and worn out seamen.”¹ Since merchant marines were historically considered the lower prongs of society, Captain Randall wanted to ensure that they would be taken care of for their contributions to the economic vitality of New York City.² According to the will, drafted by Alexander Hamilton, the board of trustees would include the Mayor of New York City, President and Vice President of the Marine Society, Senior Ministers of the Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches, Head of the Chamber of Commerce, and Chancellor of the State.³

In the 1830s, this board, referred to as the Sailors' Snug Harbor Board of Trustees, set to work on building dormitories to house retired sailors. The first six structures reflected a Greek Revival style. In 1890, Gustavus G. D. Trask, governor of the Harbor, embarked on a building project that included the Randall Memorial Chapel and a music hall; both were designed by Robert W. Gibson. The Renaissance Revival style chapel was later demolished in 1952.⁴ At the turn of the century, Sailors' Snug Harbor had an admittance of 900 residents, and the complex expanded to 50 structures containing a mix of Beaux-Arts, Second Empire, and Italianate styles.

However, by the 1940s the retirement community experienced an economic downturn due to the low admittance of only 375 retired sailors. Sailors’ Snug relied heavily on the financial funds from the 22-acre plot of land in Manhattan, which originally functioned as the 1790 Randall farm.⁵ The Sailors' Snug Harbor Board of Trustees leased the property to three businessmen: James Boorman, John Johnston, and John Morrison. Today the area is located north of Washington Square Park between Fifth Avenue and University Place, which was ripe for residential development in the early 1800s.

A block of 13 row houses was constructed in 1832-33 in Greek revival style. The first group of row houses, One through Six, feature red brick exteriors distinguished by Doric capitals on the columns and pitched lintels, while row houses Seven through Thirteen featured Ionic capitals and rectangular lintels.⁶ These houses, referred to as “The Row,” were a fine example of high style homes for wealthy families. The businessmen reached an agreement with the trustees to place restrictions on the exterior of the houses to retain their elegance in order to attract wealthy families.⁷ The revenue from the rents reached approximately $100,000 a year and was used to fund the Sailors’ Snug Harbor residences.⁸ In the 1930s, architect Harvey Wiley Corbett converted the row houses into apartment houses by gutting the interiors.⁹

Greenwich Village at this time was vulnerable to new development and destruction of historic houses as New York University (NYU) expanded. The Board of Trustees announced it would demolish the “Row” in 1936.¹⁰ However, the Municipal Art Society was able to persuade Snug Harbor against destruction of the row houses.

In 1967, the six Greek Revival houses at Sailors’ Snug Harbor were designated as New York City Landmarks.¹¹ The Board of Trustees sued the city, arguing that the regulations infringed on the functionality of the retirement homes. The appellate court upheld the Landmarks Law. The property was eventually bought by the city in 1971. The Sailors’ Snug Harbor Trustees used the profit to relocate the community to North Carolina were it functioned as a retirement home for merchant marines until 2005 when it was purchased by private investors.

Sailors' Snug Harbor on Staten Island now functions as a cultural center and museum.

The Board of Trustees of Sailors’ Snug Harbor was involved in two major historic preservation controversies: "The Row" houses at Washington Square Park North and the Sailors' Snug Harbor complex in Staten Island.

The group of row houses on the north side of Washington Square Park between Fifth Avenue and University Place, referred to as the “Row,” were among the most distinguished examples of high style Greek Revival represented in Greenwich Village. The 21-acre lot was deeded to the Sailors' Snug Harbor Board of Trustees’ in 1801. The trustees leased the land to three esteemed businessmen who took advantage of the prime real estate by developing row houses in 1832-33.¹² The trustees and the developers had a contract to maintain the exterior of the row houses in order to attract wealthy families, and these row houses only had a few minor alterations in the late 1800s.¹³ The revenue generated from rents primarily funded the Sailors’ Snug retirement complex in Staten Island.

In the 1930s, Washington Square Park became a center for new development, which included Robert Moses' traffic plans, real estate development, and New York University’s expansion. As a result, the Sailors' Snug Harbor Board of Trustees announced that the row houses would be demolished. In a letter to the Sailor's Snug Harbor Board of Trustees, the Municipal Art Society urged the trustees to protect the row houses by not demolishing them and maintaining their architectural beauty.¹⁴ Talbot F. Hamlin, head of the Avery Library, also encouraged the preservation of these significant row houses because their presence in the park contributed to the distinct character of the Village.¹⁵ The trustees relented and preserved the row houses.

Yet this was not the end of the battle. In the 1940s, New York University was expanding its campus and sought to lease the houses from Sailors’ Snug Harbor Board of Trustees. Preservationists feared this might lead to either the demolition or alteration of the façades of the houses. Sailors’ Snug Harbor Trustees were able to reach an agreement in the lease that NYU must maintain the historic exterior of the buildings.¹⁶

By the 1940s, the retirement complex at Sailors’ Snug Harbor suffered from an economic decline as residents dropped from 900 to 375.¹⁷ The buildings were in poor condition due to neglect. Harmon Goldstone, Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, had a special fondness for the Greek Revival structures.¹⁸ At this point, the trustees had taken a laissez faire attitude toward the retirement facility and relied on the executive administrator Frank Hickok for maintaining the buildings. Hickok, described by some as a “curmudgeon,” had other plans for the complex that did not include preserving the original structures.¹⁹ By the early 1960s, plans were in the works for a massive alteration to the complex, including a three-story apartment house, several one-story townhouses and a new community center. The plans also included the demolition of five of the six Greek Revival structures. With the Landmarks Law having been passed, Goldstone worked quickly to designate the structures. They were among the first 20 buildings designated.²⁰

The Board of Trustees filed a lawsuit against the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (Snug Harbor v. Platt) arguing that the law had placed too many restrictions and had resulted in a ‘taking’ of property.²¹ When the case reached the appellate court, the Municipal Art Society provided a pro-bono team of lawyers including Terence Benbow, Ralph Menapace, Jr., and Paul Byard. The amicus brief they submitted argued that ruling in favor of the trustees would “eviscerate” the New York City Landmarks Law.²² The court upheld the Landmarks Law because it provided a public benefit, however, the ruling drew concerns about the economic hardship of the owners. The court wanted to investigate whether the restrictions imposed would prevent the owners from "carrying out its charitable purpose.”²³

Harmon Goldstone sought the help of Mayor Lindsay who had recently resigned from the Board of Trustees. After Goldstone filled the mayor in on the issues surrounding the Snug Harbor court case, Lindsay was intent on rescuing the buildings from the fate of demolition. He saved the day when he burst into a meeting of the Sailors' Snug Harbor Board of Trustees and resumed his position on the board. He announced his vote against the demolition, and declared that the City of New York would buy the six buildings and the surrounding property.²⁴ The board agreed to sell the property and used the money to relocate the retirement complex to Nelson Bay in North Carolina.

• Sailors' Snug Harbor Archives
  Stephen B. Luce Library
  Maritime College
  State University of New York
  6 Pennyfield Avenue
  Fort Schuyler
  Throngs Neck, NY 10465
  
  
• Original Board Minutes
  Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay
  272 Highway 70 East
  P.O. Box 150
  Sea Level, NC 28577