Rendering of proposed building at 29-37 Jay Street in Brooklyn. Image Credit: LPC/Marvel Architects

Landmarks Preservation Commission sends applicants back to the drawing board. On September 25, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on an application for a certificate of appropriateness to demolish an existing 2-story brick warehouse building located at 29-37 Jay Street, at the northeast corner of Jay and Plymouth Streets in Brooklyn, within the DUMBO Historic District. The application calls for a proposed new 11-story office building at the location made almost entirely with glass. To read CityLand coverage on the designation of the DUMBO Historic District, click here. (more…)

Rendering of 119-121 Second Avenue. Image credit: LPC.

Applicants presented a plan with a reduced penthouse and modified storefronts, among other changes, with a bronze plaque memorializing those who lost lives in 2015 gas explosion. On August 7, 2018, Landmarks considered and approved a modified proposal for two lots at 119-121 Second Avenue in the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. The empty lots, at the corner of East 7th Street, compose a portion of the site of a 2015 explosions, caused by an illegal gas set-up, that led to the deaths of two people, caused multiple injuries and destroyed three buildings. The project’s developers are Nexus Development Group, who acquired the property in 2017. (more…)

Image credit: LPC.

Some commissioners lamented loss of Music Room and house museum character, but acknowledged those issues were outside of Landmark’s purview, and found impact on the exterior fell within bounds of appropriateness. On June 26, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to award the Frick collection a certificate of appropriateness to allow for an expansion that will improve circulation, increase exhibition, education and conservation space, and create a café. The individual City landmark was built for industrialist Henry Clay Frick by Carrere & Hastings in 1914. After the deaths of Frick and his wife, the mansion at 895 Fifth Avenue, was converted into a museum based around Frick’s art collection. The conversion and expansion were overseen by architect John Russell Pope, and include the construction of a library adjoining the museum. (more…)

Additions schematic. Image credit: LPC.

After 2014 plan was withdrawn in face of public outcry, museum presented Selldorf-designed proposal to create more space for exhibitions, conservators, and educational programs. On May 29, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal for the construction of rear and roof additions, as well as additional work, to the Frick Collection, an individual City landmark. The Frick was built as a mansion for industrialist Henry Clay Frick by the firm of Carrere and Hastings, and was converted to a museum displaying his art collection after his death. The building and its grounds stand at 895 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. (more…)

Previous and Current renderings. Image: LPC.

Residential development, with ground-floor commercial space, will occupy two lots, replacing service station structures. On February 6, 2018, Landmarks voted to approve a proposal to demolish two buildings and construct a new building spanning two lots at 540 and 544 Hudson Street, at the corner of Charles Street, in the Greenwich Village Historic District. The site is occupied by two buildings of one and two stories, which were until recently part of an automobile service station. An initial proposal, made to the commission in June of 2017, raised the ire of local elected officials, residents and preservationist organization. William Gottlieb Real Estate is the developer. (more…)