Jean Herman House

The building you are looking at is a striking piece of local history, often referred to as a nail house. In the early 1980s, real estate developers purchased the entire block of townhouses on Lexington Avenue between 59th and 60th Street, planning to clear the site for a massive office tower. Every other tenant accepted a buyout and moved away, but a resident named Jean Herman refused to vacate her rent-stabilized apartment on the fourth floor. Because she held a valid lease, the developers were legally unable to force her out. Ultimately, the company chose to construct their thirty-one-story skyscraper directly around her home.