Commission Addresses Demolition of Fire-Damaged Individually Landmarked Synagogue

Commissioners allowed demolition to proceed, but mandated that any material that can be retained or salvaged must be preserved. On July 12, 2017, Landmarks decided on application filed by the owners of the Beth Hamerdash Hagodol Synagogue, an individual City landmark, at 60 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side.  The building was severely damaged by a fire in May of 2017, believed to have been set by a teenage arsonist who gained access … <Read More>


39-Unit Affordable Development Approved in Harlem Historic District

Seven-story building would have dance studio space at the ground floor. On June 27, 2017, Landmarks considered and approved a proposal for a new development on a vacant lot at 841 St. Nicholas Avenue, at the corner of 152nd Street, in the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Northwest Historic District. The site was acquired by BRP Development Company from the Dance Theater of Harlem in 2016. A deed restriction on the property, limiting its … <Read More>


Queens Colonial-Era Church Enters Designation Process

1736 structure is the second-oldest surviving religious building in New York City. On June 27, 2017, Landmarks unanimously voted to add the Old St. James Episcopal Church at 86-02 Broadway in Queens’ Elmhurst neighborhood, to its calendar, officially beginning the designation process. The building is the one of the oldest purpose-built religious structures in the City, second only to the 1694 Friends Meeting House in Flushing, an individual City landmark designated in 1970.


Extensive Revisions Demanded for Canal Street Development

Developers proposed to demolish five heavily altered 19th-century structures to make way for a new 8-story-plus-penthouse residential building with retail base. On June 6, 2017, Landmarks considered an application to redevelop five lots at 312 through 322 Canal Street in the Tribeca East Historic District. The five buildings were originally constructed in the 1820s, at two-and-a-half stories, but saw repeated additions, reductions and alterations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and currently stand … <Read More>


Landmarks Denies Plan to Reinstate Pre-Designation Building Permit for Rooftop Addition

Despite reductions in addition’s scale and visibility, and promises to install a diorama commemorating escape of abolitionists from Draft Riots mob, Commissioners determined that any rooftop interventions were inappropriate. At its meeting on May 23, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission disposed of an application for facade alterations and rear and roof additions to 339 West 29th Street in the Lamartine Place Historic District. In the 19th century, the building was home to prominent abolitionists … <Read More>


Mayor Announces $50 Million Redevelopment of Orchard Beach Pavilion

Elected officials announced new investment into Bronx beach pavilion reconstruction. On May 26, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio, alongside Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., announced a $50 million investment to redevelop the Bronx’s Orchard Beach pavilion in Pelham Bay Park. The money would go to restore the currently closed pavilion. The Mayor has committed $20 million in capital funding, and $10 million has been committed … <Read More>