Rowhouses along 50th Street in Proposed Sunset Park 50th Street Historic District. Image Credit: LPC.
On May 7, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed landmark designation of four historic districts in Sunset Park, Brooklyn: Sunset Park North, Sunset Park South, Sunset Park 50th Street, and Central Sunset Park. The four proposed districts encompass blocks that were found to be the most cohesive and intact concentrations of Sunset Park’s architecture, representative of its primary periods of development. If approved, designation would provide Landmark protection to over 539 buildings, the majority of which are rowhouses constructed between the 1890s and 1910s. (more…)
Before and after images from the Guidelines demonstrate how a new storefront reflects the original storefront opening. Image credit: NYC LPC
The document provides text and visual guidance for applicants. On May 6, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission released Guidelines for Storefront Design in Historic Districts. The guidelines are designed to help business and property owners understand the rules and regulations for new storefronts created in historic districts. (more…)
Map of Sunset Park with the four proposed historic districts outlined in red. Image Credit: LPC.
Landmarks research staff spent several years researching the area, surveying and documenting over 4,000 buildings. On January 22, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to add to its calendar four areas of Sunset Park, Brooklyn for historic district designation. The proposals were presented to the Commission following years of extensive survey and analysis by the Landmarks research staff after a request for evaluation of the area from Sunset Park’s Landmarks Committee in 2014. The Sunset Park Landmarks Committee was established in 2012 by area residents and homeowners who were concerned with redevelopment changing the largely rowhouse-character of the area. To read CityLand coverage on the Committee’s efforts in building community support for designation in its early stages, click here. (more…)
Discover NYC Landmarks. Image Credit: Landmarks Preservation Commission
Interactive map displays and identifies calendared landmarks, provides links to designation reports. On Tuesday, March 15, the Landmarks Preservation Commission announced the launch of Discover NYC Landmarks, an interactive map of New York City allowing users to peruse and examine the City’s landmarked properties. The map identifies individual landmarks, historic districts, scenic landmarks and interior landmarks, as well as properties that have been added to Landmarks calendar but not yet come before the commission for a vote. (more…)
- Proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District in Manhattan. Image: Courtesy of LPC.
Landmarks takes first steps to designate East Village/Lower East Side Historic District and East 10th Street Historic District. On June 28, 2011, Landmarks proposed designating the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District and the East 10th Street Historic District in Manhattan. The districts were developed in the early half of the 19th century and reflect the social history of the various waves of immigrant groups that once occupied these areas.
The proposed East Village/ Lower East Side Historic District would include 270 buildings along Second Avenue between St. Mark’s Place and East 2nd Street, as well as the adjacent side streets. The district would also include buildings along East 6th and East 7th Streets as far as Avenue A. The area is dominated by tenement apartment buildings which replaced older rowhouses built to house German and Irish immigrants in the 1850s. The tenements reflect a variety of architectural styles, including Italianate, Neo-grec, and Queen Anne. The area along Second Avenue became known as “Yiddish Rialto,” due to the number of Yiddish-language theaters. Latin American immigrants moved to the neighborhood after World War II. The area grew more desirable following the removal of the elevated Third Avenue line in 1955, and shortly thereafter the neighborhood was christened the “East Village” by realtors seeking to attract middle class tenants. (more…)
