Winans-Crippen House Still Stands
By Elizabeth McNamara | Online Only | Apr. 25, 2011
This month, New York's Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation won a small victory in its battle to save the free-standing, Second Empire townhouse located at 66 Franklin Street. Demolition of the circa 1870 house, built by local architect John D. Stevens, has been temporarily halted by State Supreme Court.
The house, known as the Winans-Crippen House, stands within the National Register-listed Franklin Square Historic District. Though the house is not listed individually, owners of properties within the district must first have the approval of the Design Review Commission (DRC) before proceeding with alterations or demolitions.
Joseph Boff purchased the Winans-Crippen House in August 2008, intending to rehabilitate it, says Boff's attorney, Matthew Mazur. But, after Boff learned it would cost an estimated $1.6 million to replicate the property, he instead initiated a demolition proceeding before the DRC in November 2008. The DRC required Boff to prepare an environmental impact statement outlining the demolition's effect on the "historic and cultural resources" of the historic district.
"And that has yet to be submitted," says Samantha Bosshart, executive director of SSPF. "So [Boff] knew what he was buying."
Bosshart says the house sat vacant and exposed to the elements after that initial hearing. It fell into further disrepair and, last September, a city code enforcement officer petitioned the city court to issue a demolition based on public safety.
"The city brought the action," says Mazur, "and [Boff] wasn't around, and because there was no opposition, the judge signed the order of demolition."
When Bosshart and SSPF heard of the demolition order, they intervened on the city and state levels, arguing that the demolition order bypassed the DRC's pending demolition proceeding. They requested the court order be overturned, and the structure stabilized.
In October, a judge ruled in SSPF's favor, ordering Boff to stabilize the structure -- a task Boff's attorney says was completed in February for nearly $20,000. Then, earlier this month, came Supreme Court Justice Thomas D. Nolan Jr.'s ruling to halt demolition.
"We're very pleased with the judge's decision and I think it's important that the Design Review Commission has been affirmed in its role," says Bosshart. "We hope that the building is preserved because there are hardly any examples of [architect Stephens'] work remaining in Saratoga. And that building tells a part of the history of this neighborhood and its development."
Mazur says an inspector examined the stabilization work and will be certifying its completion in the coming days, but does not know what Boff plans to do with the Winans-Crippen House.
"We have had the windows boarded up to protect whatever might be of historic value or salvageable inside the house," says Mazur. "I don't think [Boff] realized the extent of what he was getting himself into. I know he finds Saratoga very charming, but I think he's just going to wrap things up in city court and stop litigating."
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