NEW YORK (AP)  -- The owners of an once-grand apartment building where actor Steve McQueen once lived must repair the decrepit landmark, a judge ruled Friday.

State Supreme Court Judge Karen Smith ordered ``the permanent repair and restoration'' of the 127-year-old Windermere building, which has been vacant since the Fire Department found it to be unsafe and ordered tenants to leave in September. City inspectors have said the walls, floors and roof are collapsing.

A lawyer for the building's owners, which include Japan-based Toa Construction Co., did not immediately return a telephone call Friday night.

``The Windermere is an invaluable part of the City's heritage and now will remain so for future generations,'' city Landmarks Preservation Commission Chairman Robert B. Tierney said.

The commission and the city sued in March to try to force repairs at the Windermere, one of the city's oldest large apartment houses. The Queen Anne-style structure on Manhattan's West Side was built to accommodate the city's growing middle class in the late 19th century, but it eventually became popular with people working in the arts.

The landmarks commission gave the building landmark status in 2005. City laws require owners of landmark buildings to keep them in good repair.

The judge ordered the Windermere's owners to let city officials assess the building and delineate what needs fixing. Then the owners must make repairs and keep the building in good condition, Smith said.

Besides McQueen starred in such movie classics as ``The Great Escape'' and ``Bullitt.'' Other noteworthy Windermere tenants have included Quinto Magnani, who composed the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera ``The Argonauts,'' according to the city Law Department.