Former Tammany Hall at 100 East 17th Street, Manhattan. Image Credit: CityLand.

Hall served as home to powerful City political organization after abandonment of 14th Street headquarters. On May 14, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to calendar the former Tammany Hall, formally commencing the structure’s consideration as an individual City landmark. The building is located at 100-102 East 17th Street, just off Union Square.

The Neo-Georgian building was completed in 1929 based on the designs of the firm of Thompson, Holmes & Converse and architect Charles B. Meyers. Three-and-a-half stories tall, the structure was loosely modeled on Wall Street’s Federal Hall, where George Washington took his oath of office. The building replaced the organization’s former headquarters on 14th Street, a structure that is no longer standing. The building possesses a stone base, with the upper floors primarily clad in brick. Decorative elements include a pedimented portico and sculptural reliefs in limestone and terra cotta.

Edgar Lampert and Don Elliott. Photo Credit: CityLand.

On Thursday, April 11, 2013, the Center for New York City Law and the Center for Real Estate Studies at New York Law School presented a Master Class on the 1969 City Planning Commission’s Plan for New York City. Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law, found a complete set of the original plans at a recent auction. Mr. Sandler invited two guest speakers to discuss the plan: Donald H. Elliott, who was Chair of the City Planning Commission from 1966-1973, as well as Edgar Lampert, who worked on public development projects in Lower Manhattan in Mayor John Lindsay’s administration.

Elliott discussed how a comprehensive plan was required in order for the City to qualify for federal funding for public housing in the 1960s. In addition, the 1938 City Charter called for a plan but the task had yet to be undertaken. Elliott recalled that the 1969 plan embodied Mayor John Lindsay’s approach to the problems of the City. It was not just a land use plan but a comprehensive plan that attempted to deal with the serious problems that faced the City, and give best judgments and determine best practices for the future. The plan was divided into four major sections:

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Print this issue of CityLand on your color printer and you will be able to enjoy the May issue of CityLand just as you have enjoyed the monthly printed CityLand issues over the past eight years. The issue contains all the articles uploaded in the last month, as well as the charts that comprehensively recount the City’s recent land use activity.

Each month we will post a fully designed monthly issue like this one. Sign up for email alerts so that you will know when the next PDF is posted.

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Every month CityLand publishes a comprehensive set of charts to track applications to, and decisions from, New York City’s land use agencies. Agencies covered include: Department of City Planning, City Planning Commission, City Council, Board of Standards & Appeals, and Landmarks Preservation Commission.

CityLand tracks these applications through the review process to a final decision. The majority of these decisions are available on the Center for New York City Law’s CityAdmin database (found at www.CityAdmin.org).

To view the New Filings and Decisions chart for April 2013, click here.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for the 19th annual Citywide Seminar on Ethics in New York City Government — presented by the Center for NYC Law and the NYC Conflicts of Interest Board.

When
Tuesday, May 21, 2013, from 8:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Where
185 West Broadway (between Worth & Leonard Streets), Auditorium

Credit
4 Ethics CLE credits
Non-credit option also available

Cost
$30 general registration fee

REGISTER TODAY!

“Past Leaders Look to the Future” panel discussion on April 25, 2013.

Four past Landmarks chairs gathered to discuss what makes a chair effective, how to make the landmarking process more efficient, and challenges facing the Commission. On April 25th, 2013, at the General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen, four past chairs of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission participated in a panel discussion titled “Past Leaders Look to The Future.” The event was co-sponsored by the Society and a number of preservationist organizations, including the New York Preservation Archive Project, Historic Districts Council, Fine Arts Federation, and the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.

Anthony C. Wood, of the New York Preservation Archive Project, introduced the event, noting that a new mayoral administration will likely mean the appointment of a new Commission chair. Wood hoped the event will “help inform” the thinking of mayoral candidates, will serve to define the challenges facing the next chair, what characteristics the next chair must possess, and to offer advice. Liz McEnaney moderated the discussion, which included former Chairs, Beverly Moss Spatt (1974 to 1978), Kent L. Barwick (1978 to 1983), Laurie Beckelman (1990 to 1994), and Sherida Paulsen (2001 to 2003).