Rendering of the proposed building. Image credit: LPC

Project would entail the demolition of two former service station buildings, and the erection of a new six-story-plus penthouse corner structure with residential and commercial uses. Landmarks considered an application for a new development spanning two lots at 536 and 544 Hudson Street on July 25, 2017. The site, at the corner of Charles Street, lies within the Greenwich Village Historic District. The property’s developer is William Gottlieb Real Estate. (more…)

Image Credit: LPC

Designation of 157 buildings as new historic district supported by elected officials and many residents, while some property owners object. On November 29, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the possible designation of the Sullivan Thompson Historic District, composed of approximately 157 properties south of Washington Square Park and east of Seventh Avenue. The proposed district, added to the Commission’s calendar at its November 1 meeting, is characterized by two major waves of development. (more…)

Map of South Village Historic District. Image courtesy of LPC.

See Below for Update.

Commissioners adopted recommendations of Landmarks’ Research Department to exclude a row of heavily altered buildings on West Houston from designation. On December 17, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the South Village Historic District, an area comprising approximately 250 buildings south of Washington Square Park.  The primarily residential district is bounded by Houston Street to the south, Sixth Avenue to the west, and LaGuardia Place to the east. The area was primarily developed in the 19th century.  Several row houses still remain from early developments from the 1820s and 1830s. Immigrant populations began residing in the area in the 1850s, as wealthier denizens moved uptown, and tenements became the dominant type of development in the neighborhood. The area was a locus of Italian-American life in the early 20th century, and later became renowned as a national center of bohemian life, artists, performance venues, and a thriving gay community. (more…)

Map of proposed South Village historic district. Image Credit: LPC.

Proposed historic district would encompass approximately 250 buildings south of Washington Square Park. On June 25, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the proposed South Village Historic District. The proposed district is roughly bounded by Washington Square to the north and Houston Street to the south, between Sixth Avenue and LaGuardia Place. The proposed district is comprised of approximately 250 buildings, primarily residential, though also includes commercial and institutional structures.

The first major wave of development in the area took place during the 1820s and 1830s, as the City expanded northward. Several Federal and Gothic Revival-style rowhouses remain from this era as an upscale residential community. In the 1850s, immigrants began to populate the area, as wealthier citizens migrated further uptown. Rowhouses were converted into multi-family dwellings, and the area saw the construction of the first tenement buildings. Tenements remained the dominant building type throughout the 19th century, and were built in a variety of styles, including Italianate, Neo-Grec, Queen Anne, and Renaissance Revival. By the early 20th century, the neighborhood was largely Italian and the focal point of Italian-American culture. In the 20th century, the neighborhood became a center of bohemian life in the City, with multiple music venues, cafes, theaters, and a thriving gay community.

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Map of East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. Credit: LPC.

Support and opposition to landmarking reiterated at City Council level. On January 31, 2013, the City Council’s Land Use Committee voted to approve the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s designation of the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District in Manhattan. The district includes approximately 325 buildings, and is composed of two distinct sections on each side of First Avenue. On October 9, 2012, Landmarks approved the designation after modifying the boundaries of the proposal initially presented to the Commission. Landmarks found the area significant for its pre-Depression residential architecture and its social history as a home to successive waves of immigrant communities, as well as an epicenter of bohemian life. At Landmarks’ June 26, 2012 public hearing, the vast majority of speakers testified in support of designation, though some local religious institutions opposed, including the Catholic Worker, the St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Roman Catholic Church, and St. Mary’s Orthodox Church.

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