Preservationists Fight to Keep Landmarked Tribeca Clock Open to Public

June 24, 2015 — The landmarked clock that sits atop the historic 14-story building at 346 Broadway is more than 100 years old. When developers Peebles Corporation and El Ad Group bought the building from the city in May 2014, many worried about the clock's fate. As 2014 came to a close, the Landmark Preservation Commission gave developers the green light to convert the building into upscale condos. Developers said at the time that they intended to keep the clock functioning. But it didn't change the fact that the clock would be closed off to the public and become part of a new luxury penthouse for one super-rich, super-lucky buyer. And then there were the developers' plans to electrify the beloved landmarked clock. For decades, it has been hand-wound by two retired city employees, Marvin Schneider, 75, and Forest Markowitz, 63. At the time, the Historic Districts Council and the Society for the Architecture of the City were reportedly considering legal action. But no suit came about… until six months later, that is. The New York Daily News reports that a group of preservationists and clock enthusiasts has filed suit to stop the developers from taking the public landmark and completely fencing it off from public view. The group has also criticized the developers' plans to dismantle the clock's historic non-electric mechanism: "The move to electrify the mechanism would completely destroy the landmark character of the clock and kill off one of the few remaining such purely mechanical public timepieces in the country." That's a pretty solid point. Preservationists are especially concerned about "the privatization of public assets," adding that it sets "a dangerous precedent for future landmarking disputes."