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The Northern Dispensary

The Northern Dispensary

Built in 1831, the triangular public health clinic served the poor and infirm before it was shut down in 1989 for refusing treatment to patients suffering from AIDS. The structure subsequently sat empty for three decades in the Greenwich Village Historic District, finally becoming home to a non-profit organization that delivers food to homebound AIDS patients in 2021.

Location: 165 Waverly Place, New York  |  Google Maps
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village, West Village
People: George Whitmore, Ruth W. Messinger, Stuart Klein, William Gottlieb, Neil Bender, Marika Bender, Kenneth Ranftle
Organizations: Greenwich Village Preservation Society, Manhattan Community Board 2, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, Coalition of the Northern Dispensary, God’s Love We Deliver
Places: Greenwich Village, West Village
Above: Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "Northern Dispensary, Waverly Place, corner Christopher street", New York City, 1850, New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 7, 2022.

The Northern Dispensary, a two-story brick-clad structure, was constructed in Greenwich village in 1831. In 1855, an additional story was added to the building, which was used as a public clinic that slowly transitioned to a dental clinic in the 1960s before being shut down for refusing treatment to people with AIDS in 1989. The Northern Dispensary Trust created the building’s deed, which restricts the use of the property for medical care for the “worthy” poor, which was later updated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese to prohibit abortions and any activities that do not fall in line with the teachings of the church. In 1998, a private real estate company bought the building, which remained unused for several years. It is now leased to a growing non-profit organization as an office space.

Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy, The New York Public Library. "Northern Dispensary, Waverly Place, corner Christopher street", New York City, 1850, New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 7, 2022. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/96060d90-a57a-0132-ea98-58d385a7b928

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. "How Do You Spell: "Coalition for the Northern Dispensary"? NIMBY ("Not In My Back Yard")/You Know They Wouldn't Oppose AIDS Housing Here if It Was for White Boys Only. Verso: HIV is . . . crime . . .shut do . . ." New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed 6 April 2022. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-1c89-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Act of incorporation and by-laws of the Northern Dispensary of the city of New York

New York. Northern Dispensary. Act of incorporation and by-laws of the Northern Dispensary of the city of New York as amended: together with the names of officers and trustees from its foundation to the present time. Printed by the N.Y. Economical Print. Co., 1872. Sabin Americana: History of the Americas, 1500-1926, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CY0109942275/SABN?u=nypl&sid=bookmark-SABN&xid=a0ed97e2&pg=1. Accessed 2 Nov. 2022. 

The Northern Dispensary, founded in 1827, moved its permanent residence to a neo-georgian structure built on a small triangular plot of land in Greenwich Village in 1831.[1] The building, constructed by carpenter Henry Bayard and mason John Tucker, was a two-story brick-clad structure chamfered on all three edges with a simple cornice and an anthemion-top fence.[2] The establishment was designed for medical assistance to the 40,000 residents of the neighborhood between Spring and 21st Street, from Broadway to Hudson River, which is now the West Village and Chelsea.[3] Famous among the many people who were treated at the dispensary was poet Edgar Allan Poe for a winter cold in 1837.[4]

In 1855, in response to the growing number of patients, the trustees added another story to the building adorned by a gothic crenulation which was later, between 1895 and 1900, replaced by a plain stone cornice.[5] By 1920, the dispensary saw a decline in the number of patients, and in the four decades that followed, the focus of medical services shifted entirely to dentistry. In 1986, the dispensary was sued by AIDS patients for refusing treatment, was heavily fined by the city’s Human Rights Commission, and shut down three years later.[6]

In the early 1990s, at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City, [7] the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York bought the building with the intention to alter the use of the building to house a 15-bed AIDS Clinic with a community kitchen to serve homeless people suffering from AIDS.[8] The Borough President of Manhattan, Ruth W. Messinger, along with other elected officials and Manhattan Community Board 2, supported the idea.[9] The proposition faced NIMBY opposition[10] from neighborhood groups, including the Coalition of the Northern Dispensary, on the grounds that the clinic intended to lease the rooms to 15 homeless AIDS patients and the building’s deed prohibited its use for residential purposes. Led by Kenneth Ranftle, the Coalition argued that it would prefer a “dental clinic for HIV positive people” or a “women’s health center” in that space that could benefit a larger population. Former Inspector General of the Department of Buildings, Stuart Klein, represented and assisted the group in proposing alternative plans for the building.[11]

Despite the endorsement and approval of Community Board 2 and elected officials, the proposal did not materialize, the reason for which remains unconfirmed, whether because of the restrictive deed or the neighborhood opposition. In 1998, the Archdiocese sold the building for $760,000 to William Gottlieb, proprietor of a real estate company, who bought over 100 buildings from the 1950s until his death in 1999. [12] Gottlieb, later regarded as an accidental preservationist, retained the building’s original appearance and spent the bare minimum on maintenance.[13] The historic triple-story triangular building remained empty and deteriorating for the next two decades. [14]

In 2021, a non-profit founded in 1986 to serve homebound AIDS patients called God's Love We Deliver signed a four-year lease to occupy the Northern Dispensary.[15] Neil Bender and his partner Marika Bender, who succeeded Gottlieb as the principals of William Gottlieb Real Estate, offered the property for the use of the now expanding non-profit after attending one of the group’s annual fundraiser concerts and have stated that the mission of the organization fits well with the mission that the Northern Dispensary has stood staunchly by for two centuries.[16] The renovations of the building will be carried out by Henson Architecture, which aims to preserve all historical and architectural features of the building. [17] The proposal for renovation, which includes the modification of the original entrance to incorporate an ADA-compliant staircase and vertical platform lift, is under review by the Landmarks Preservation Commission as of December 2021. [18]

1827:  The public health clinic was founded

1831:  Construction completed and the structure inaugurated as the Northern Dispensary

1855:   Another story was added to the structure

1890s: Minor architectural changes to the structure

1920s: The establishment saw a decline in patients

1960s: Building use converted to a dental clinic

1969:  Greenwich village was designated as a Historic District

1986:   Organization sued for refusing treatment to AIDS patients

1989:   Health clinic was shut down, the building was abandoned

1990:   Building was taken over by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York

1992:   Proposed plan to convert the building to a 15-bed AIDS Clinic, opposed by neighborhood organizations and later discarded

1998:   The archdiocese sold the building to Mr. Gottlieb

2021:   Non-profit organization called God's Love We Deliver signs a lease to occupy the building

Protected as part of the city-designated Greenwich Historic District

[1] https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/nyc-public-health, “Who is the Village For? the troubled history of the Northern Dispensary”, The Gotham Centre for New York City History, 21 January, 2020

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/realestate/streetscapes-northern-dispensary-plan-house-homeless-with-aids-stirs-protest.html, “Streetscapes/The Northern Dispensary; Plan to House Homeless With AIDS Stirs a Protest”, New York Times, 10 October 1993

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/realestate/streetscapes-northern-dispensary-plan-house-homeless-with-aids-stirs-protest.html, “Streetscapes/The Northern Dispensary; Plan to House Homeless With AIDS Stirs a Protest”, New York Times, 10 October 1993

[4] https://www.amny.com/news/gottlieb-co-getting-active-but-not-on-northern-dispensary/, “Gottlieb Co. getting active, but not on Northern Dispensary”, amNY, 3 January 2019

https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/realestate/streetscapes-northern-dispensary-plan-house-homeless-with-aids-stirs-protest.html, “Streetscapes/The Northern Dispensary; Plan to House Homeless With AIDS Stirs a Protest”, New York Times, 10 October 1993

[5] https://theclio.com/entry/120620, Woodham, Rebecca and Clio Admin. “Northern Dispensary Building, Clio: Your Guide to History. December 8, 2020

https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/realestate/streetscapes-northern-dispensary-plan-house-homeless-with-aids-stirs-protest.html, “Streetscapes/The Northern Dispensary; Plan to House Homeless With AIDS Stirs a Protest”, New York Times, 10 October 1993            

[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/26/nyregion/former-village-dispensary-must-untangle-restrictions.html, “At High-Priced Corner, a Building Forlorn”, New York Times, 25 March 2013

[7] https://www.nycaidsmemorial.org/timeline, “HIV/AIDS Timeline”, New York City AIDS Memorial, accessed on 2 November 2022

[8] https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/realestate/streetscapes-northern-dispensary-plan-house-homeless-with-aids-stirs-protest.html, “Streetscapes/The Northern Dispensary; Plan to House Homeless With AIDS Stirs a Protest”, New York Times, 10 October 1993 

[9]  https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/realestate/streetscapes-northern-dispensary-plan-house-homeless-with-aids-stirs-protest.html, “Streetscapes/The Northern Dispensary; Plan to House Homeless With AIDS Stirs a Protest”, New York Times, 10 October 1993 

https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/nyc-public-health, “Who is the Village For? the troubled history of the Northern Dispensary”, The Gotham Centre for New York City History, 21 January, 2020

[10] https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e3-1c89-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99, “How Do You Spell: “Coalition for the Northern Dispensary”? NIMBY (“Not In My Back Yard”)/You Know They Wouldn’t Oppose AIDS Housing Here if It Was for White Boys Only. Verso: HIV is . . . crime . . .shut do . . .”, Manuscripts and Archives Division, New York Public Library Digital Collections, The New York Public Library.  Accessed 6 April, 2022.

[11]  https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/realestate/streetscapes-northern-dispensary-plan-house-homeless-with-aids-stirs-protest.html, “Streetscapes/The Northern Dispensary; Plan to House Homeless With AIDS Stirs a Protest”, New York Times, 10 October 1993 

https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/nyc-public-health, “Who is the Village For? the troubled history of the Northern Dispensary”, The Gotham Centre for New York City History, 21 January, 2020

[12] https://www.amny.com/news/gottlieb-co-getting-active-but-not-on-northern-dispensary/, “Gottlieb Co. getting active, but not on Northern Dispensary”, amNY, 3 January 2019

[13] https://westviewnews.org/2021/11/05/northern-dispensary-gets-a-new-life/web-admin/, “Northern Dispensary Gets a New Life”, West View News, 11 May 2021

https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/histmed3450/?p=106, “The Fall of The Northern Dispensary”, History of Health in New York, 20 May, 2019

[14] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/nyregion/gods-love-we-deliver-nyc.html, “‘It’s Like Kismet’: How a Long-Empty Building Found the Perfect Tenant”, New York Times, 4 October 2021

https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/histmed3450/?p=106, “The Fall of The Northern Dispensary”, History of Health in New York, 20 May, 2019

[15] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/nyregion/gods-love-we-deliver-nyc.html, “‘It’s Like Kismet’: How a Long-Empty Building Found the Perfect Tenant”, New York Times, 4 October 2021

[16] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/nyregion/gods-love-we-deliver-nyc.html, “‘It’s Like Kismet’: How a Long-Empty Building Found the Perfect Tenant”, New York Times, 4 October 2021

[17] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/nyregion/gods-love-we-deliver-nyc.html, “‘It’s Like Kismet’: How a Long-Empty Building Found the Perfect Tenant”, New York Times, 4 October 2021

[18] https://patch.com/new-york/west-village/5-village-buildings-historic-district-ask-make-changes, “5 Village Buildings In Historic Districts Ask To Make Changes”, Patch, Dec 14, 2021