TRIBECA — The NYPD violated city landmarks law by knocking out part of a brick wall at the 1st Precinct's historic stable building, a city official said.
The NYPD should have gone to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for approval before tearing out part of the 100-year-old stable at 19 Varick St., which sits in the Tribeca West Historic District, said Lisi de Bourbon, spokeswoman for the LPC.
But the NYPD did not even notify the Landmarks Commission last summer before cutting a hole in the back of the 100-year-old building and installing a staircase leading up to a new entrance on the second floor, de Bourbon said.
At the LPC's instruction, the NYPD recently submitted an application to legalize the changes. The LPC plans to hold a public hearing soon, tenatively scheduled for Feb. 7, de Bourbon said.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The construction was part of the NYPD's conversion of the building from a stable for the Mounted Unit to a new command post for officers patrolling the World Trade Center site.
The new entrance and staircase also disturbed residents living in the adjacent condo building at 27 N. Moore St.
Residents objected to the bright lights on the staircase that shine into their apartments and the noise of police officers coming and going at all hours.
On Wednesday night, Community Board 1's Tribeca Committee passed a resolution listing a slew of complaints about the World Trade Center command, including the illegal construction on the building.
The board also objected to noise during shift changes, police cars parked in crosswalks and in front of fire hydrants, and police officers being rude to residents.
The NYPD booted the horses from the Varick Street stable last spring to make way for the World Trade Center command, a move that was controversial in the community.
However, top police officials have repeatedly committed to return the horses to Varick Street in about two years, when the World Trade Center command moves into its permanent home in 4 World Trade Center.
