Proposed Residential Tower Would Encroach on Site of Steinway Hall [Update: Revised Plan Praised and Approved by Landmarks]

Applicants stated that a tower could be built as of right without the need to seek Landmarks’ approval, but the proposed plan would be more respectful toward the individual landmark. On October 1, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the proposal for the new development of a through-block site at 109 West 57th Street. The proposed residential tower, with commercial use on the lower stories, would occupy a vacant lot, as … <Read More>


Proposed Two-Story Addition to UWS Building Criticized by Commissioners

Applicants testified that seven-story building was originally conceived as rising to nine stories, and that a two-story addition was approved in the 1890s. The Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application to construct a two-story plus bulkhead addition atop the Evelyn, an apartment building at 101 West 78th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District, on July 23, 2013.  The 1886 seven-story Renaissance Revival apartment building stands at the corner of Columbus … <Read More>


Church Representative Opposes Designation [UPDATE: Church Designated]

See below for update.

Medieval Revival-style Catholic Church served as home for the Paulist Fathers. On June 11, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the potential designation of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle, at 8 Columbus Avenue in Manhattan. The church, at the corner of 60th Street, was primarily constructed during the period between 1875 and 1885. The upper parts of the church’s two imposing towers were completed … <Read More>


Local Preservationist Group Builds Support for Neighborhood Designation

SPLC Logo SMGrassroots campaign takes to the streets to build community support to preserve rowhouses from out-of-character development. On Saturday, June 1, 2013, the Sunset Park Landmarks Committee (SPLC) sponsored its third walking tour of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The tour, which begins on 43rd Street and 4th Avenue and concludes on 8th Avenue and 60th Street, is one of the committee’s ways to gain support for the creation of a historic district in Sunset Park by the … <Read More>


Facade Demolitions Approved on DOB Recommendation

Applicants will retain brick from neglected Federal style row houses’ unstable facades on the verge of collapse. On May 21, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve an application for the demolition of two adjacent structures at 321 and 323 Canal Street in Manhattan’s SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. The action was presented as necessary to prevent the imminent collapse of the vacant buildings. Landmarks’ Deputy Counsel John Weiss explained that the application … <Read More>


Fourth RPA Report to Focus on Climate Change and Transportation Technology

sm logoRegional Plan Association event featured a variety of discussions on how the New York metropolitan region might face climate change, tackle transportation advancements. The Regional Plan Association, a non-profit urban research and advocacy organization, focuses on planning for economic competitiveness, quality of life, and long-term sustainability in the region that includes New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Orange counties, western Connecticut and northern New Jersey. On April 19, 2013, the Association held its … <Read More>