Looking Back: A Visit with the Keepers of Tribeca's Historic Clock

It has been eight months since Marvin Schneider and Forest Markowitz have been allowed to wind the historic timepiece in the landmark Clock Tower Building at 346 Broadway. The building is slated for condominium conversion and plans by developers the El Ad Group and Peebles Corp. to turn the tower into a private residence has sparked a lawsuit by preservationists and horologists to stop their actions. Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard in State Supreme Court, 80 Centre St., Room 307, on Dec. 15.

In October, 2014, as plans for the conversion were about to go to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (which ultimately approved the privatization of the clock), the Trib accompanied Schneider and Markowitz on one of their routine visits to the clock for manual winding. At the time, electricity had been shut off to the tower and the clock and the weights could not be lifted in order to make the clock ring, but the clock was still keeping time, thanks to their volunteer efforts. This video is from that visit.