White Horse Tavern's Inside Should Be A Landmark, Group Says

WEST VILLAGE, NY — A preservationist group wants the city to landmark the interior of the White Horse Tavern in light of reports that infamous landlord Steve Croman could purchase the building and its bar will be taken over by a restaurateur known for co-owning a restaurant with ousted White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation urged the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the White Horse Tavern's interior as a landmark in a letter on Friday.

The tavern, located at 567 Hudson St., is known for its literary regulars including Dylan Thomas, Jack Kerouac and James Baldwin. Even Jane Jacobs was a patron of the literary haunt, the letter says. In the early 19th century, longshoremen frequented the tavern.

"Its cultural significance cannot be overstated, and the potential loss of the interior of this tavern from a recent change in ownership would be a devastating loss, not only to New York City, but to the country and the world," the preservationist group's executive director Andrew Berman wrote in letter to LPC chair Sarah Carroll.

Last week, news broke that the nearly 140-year-old West Village bar will be taken over by Eytan Sugarman, who co-owns a Midtown steakhouse with Trump's short-lived communications director, Scaramucci.

Sugarman wants to "maintain the history and preserve the legacy," according to his spokesperson, but the building's new potential landlord Steve Croman, who did a stint in jail for tax fraud and is known for harassing tenants, concerns some West Villagers.

A spokesperson said infrastructure upgrades are expected, though plans have not yet been announced. Sugarman will present to Community Board 2 for a new liquor license on Thursday.

The sale, which the New York Post reported could close April 9, was a "wake-up call" for how "incredibly precious that piece of history is and what an incredible shame it would be and a loss to all New Yorkers if it were compromised or destroyed in any way," said Berman.

The tavern is already located in the Greenwich Village Historic District, which largely protects the building's exterior, wrote Berman. But its interior remains "remarkably intact" by its current owners, Eddie Brennan and James Munson.

"They've been incredible caretakers of the property during the entire period of their ownership," said Berman. But, he added "we don't want to leave anything to chance particularly in light of some of the track record of the new owner."

"Even the specter of [the landlord] being Mr. Croman certainly gives us great pause," Berman said. "This is more than just sentiment or even culture or history. I think there's an economic reason and a reason in terms of the health of New York and the appeal of New York as a place that people come to from across the globe because sites like this are meccas for fans of literature and it should remain that way."

The city has just 120 interior landmarks, including the Merchant's House on East Fourth St., compared to over 1,400 individual landmarks citywide.

LPC said it received the preservation group's letter and is reviewing the request.