Man stands alone in protest of plan to raze historic Schenectady hall
Sunday, November 20, 2011
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/nov/20/1120_protest/
SCHENECTADY — A leisurely bystander paused in front of the former Odd Fellows Hall on Saturday to ask Tom Hodgkins what he was fighting for.
“Somebody’s going to tear this down?” he said, staring up at the historic State Street structure bearing the familiar red “Arts at 440” inscription.
“They bought out the government,” Hodgkins shouted, as his three small children played nearby. “They’re going to tear down a temple for greed.”
“Do you have any petitions?” asked the bystander.
Clutching his cardboard sign reading “Built for love, razed for greed,” Hodgkins smiled and shook his head.
“We’re just appreciating this building and the values it embodies before it’s gone,” he said. “It’s already been done. The city’s been bought out. It’s done. We’re just here to appreciate it before it’s gone.”
His message was simple, but resigned: inform the people.
The former International Order of Odd Fellows Hall, located at 440 State St., is slated for demolition before year’s end. The decision was approved Wednesday by members of the city Planning Commission after building owner Tony Civitella urged the commission to move ahead with demolition plans so construction wouldn’t be delayed until spring.
But to rush through approval of a demolition that will eradicate a historic piece of the city is undemocratic to Hodgkins. So he stood outside the building, with his three kids, his sign, drums and bells, for two hours Saturday before packing up his belongings and leaving.
“I think it’s important that we keep our heritage,” Hodgkins said. “This is not just some apartment building, it’s not some bank. It was a building built by the community. It wasn’t some rich man’s house. It was built by the people for the people.”
Although Civitella originally called for leveling only the rear two-thirds of the structure, it was determined that the ornate terra-cotta façade is inseparable from the brick substructure of the building, prompting the decision for complete demolition.
Overall, the construction project will cost $5 million. The Metroplex Development Authority in June said it would give Civitella a $150,000 renovation grant and $60,000 façade grant so his software development company, Transfinder, could move its headquarters into the building formerly owned by Proctors.
“But that was the plan all along,” said Hodgkins, who wore a foot-and-a-half tall birch bark hat on his head and a bell on his waist, of the demolition. “That was the plan. That was the Trojan horse. They had a reason to subvert the democratic process because Metroplex is not a democratic organization. They are unaccountable. They have a job, and they will do anything to accomplish what they want.”
Transfinder has plans to incorporate an open space environment and work modules with access to sunlight by installing large windows on each of three floors, balconies and space for a garden on the third floor. Civitella must go before the commission in a month for an architectural review of his building before the plan can move forward.
Schenectady Heritage Foundation Chairwoman Gloria Kishton was not pleased with the commission’s decision. She criticized the new plan, questioning whether the terra-cotta façade was the real reason Transfinder wanted full demolition.
“A lot of people are upset with it,” she said. “I’ve been getting calls from people saying they’re not too happy about this.”
The State Street structure was built by the fraternal organization to embody the principles of love, truth and friendship, said Hodgkins. The community organization spent years involved in charitable works and providing homes for orphans and the elderly, he said.
“I think it’s just a real shame that this had to happen,” he said, “that the developers run the city instead of the people.”
Tom Hodgkins of Schenectady protests Saturday the plan to demolish the building at 440 State St.
Also see:
http://stockadetrees.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/appreciating-and-mourning-ioofs-temple-of-st-paul/"The Planning Board majority, with virtually no time for the public to weigh in, rushed to impose the death penalty on the Temple after Civitella came up with an engineering report saying the façade cannot be saved, and pressed for immediate action on his new plan due to imminent winter weather. We’re supposed to believe that no one at Metroplex, no one in Civitella’s organization, and none of his architects thought to ask the obvious question last Spring: “can the façade be saved and can we afford to do it?” Instead, the building gets purchased at fire-sale rates, Metroplex promises grants — including a $60,000 façade grant — and the project is announced with great fanfare and applause for Mr. Civitella and Metroplex. If there was no engineering report prior to the first approval, lots of heads should roll. Ditto, if there was an engineer’s report that endorsed the façade-saving plan.
For me, it’s much too much like the sorry Gillette House bagel shop story from January, 2011, leaving the same bad taste in my mouth. Shortly after much hoopla and back-slapping over a plan to “save” an important historical building, the shrewd businessman-buyer discovers his original plan is simply no longer viable, and civil servants with the obligation to look hard at the situation and to preserve and protect our architectural heritage give in without demanding lots of facts and taking time for appropriate consideration. It is outlandish that a decision could be made when Civitella only submitted his drastically altered plans two days before the Planning Commission hearing. Does anyone know when Civitella got the first no-go engineer’s report and when he could have first given the Commission a heads-up? It seems far too convenient that it happened so far into winter that the Commission could hide behind weather as a reason for its hasty action.
You can bet there will be a great rush to knock that building down, especially the troublesome façade. A lawsuit will be complicated and expensive, and have only a slight chance of finding a sympathetic judge who could act in time to save this fine old building.
Thanks to Planning Commission member Matthew Cuevas for trying to slow down the process by tabling the measure. And, thanks to Schenectady Heritage Foundation Chairwoman Gloria Kishton, for frantically piecing together public opposition over such a short timeframe. Especially, thank you, Tom Hodgkins and kids, for reminding us what we’re losing. As Tom told our email group yesterday:
“Spending time in that location really gives one some perspective on how few historic buildings remain downtown, and the loss of a building built by the people for the people in the name of love is a crime. Its not the loss of a bank, or some industrialist’s residence, it is the loss of a temple. “