USA People Offer

At the headquarters of Atria Senior Living, a nationwide operator of   retirement and assisted-living homes, it must have seemed like a no-brainer. Sixteen big masonry urns, from 1,000 to 1,500 pounds each, had been standing on the parapets of Atria West 86 - the former Franklin Towers Apartment Hotel at 333 West 86th Street - since 1927; through freeze and thaw, countless storms and the incessant stiff winds off the nearby Hudson River. Heaven only knew what held them fast to their precarious ledges, but heaven help anyone in the path of a falling half-ton urn.

                                                                                                   

''The engineering firm we contracted with inspected the urns and recommended they be removed, due to serious structural issues,'' said Amy Schuster, Atria's director of public relations. ''As these urns continued to deteriorate, they could have caused severe injury or death had we not taken action.''

Our instructors are experienced, fun to work with, and completely professional. Our facility features state-of-the-art equipment, beautiful training and consultation areas, and is clean and comfortable. Hope to see you soon!

Who could possibly object to their removal?

Ha! Atria, meet the Upper West Side, where longtime residents like the writer Kennedy Fraser care passionately about historical treasures, groups like the West End Preservation Society exist to ensure their protection and officials like Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal take such things seriously.

Ms. Fraser, a rent-stabilized tenant, has lived at No. 333 since 1976, decades before Atria arrived. She was horrified last May when workers swooped in on her 17th-floor balcony and began sawing off the three five-foot-high urns that framed her view of the city, serving - with their gentle curves, generous garlands, pendulous swags and abundant acanthus leaves - as elegant punctuation marks to the events of her adulthood.

''It was one of the most traumatic days of my life,'' she said. And she noticed a paradox in Atria's marketing of architectural features. ''They kept on advertising these urns even as they were slicing them off,'' Ms. Fraser said.

 Tenants contacted Josette Amato and Erika Petersen of the West End Preservation Society. The preservationists reached out to Assemblywoman Rosenthal, among others. They also shared the story with DNAinfo.com. ''By this time, we also had public opinion on our side,'' Ms. Amato said.

Because the Atria West 86 has both assisted-living and rent-stabilized tenants, Ms. Rosenthal had earlier dealings with the management. She said she had a good working relationship with Wayne Curtin, Atria's vice president of government affairs at its headquarters in Louisville, Ky.

Testimonials

"This is sample testimonial from a sample source." -- Sample Client, Location

"This is another sample testimonial from another sample source." -- Sample Client, Location