Hearing held on vacant Remsen Street building

Image: Courtesy LPC

Fear of demolition triggered hearing on six-story building within proposed Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District. On January 4, 2011, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of the Franklin Building at 186 Remsen Street as an individual City landmark. The vacant building is within the proposed boundaries of the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, but was calendared separately on December 7, 2010 due to “threat of demolition” after the building owner … <Read More>


Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District considered

Proposed Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District. Image: Courtesy of LPC.

Elected officials and business community expressed concerns about proposed twenty-building district. On December 14, 2010, Landmarks heard testimony on the proposed Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District in downtown Brooklyn. The district would include approximately twenty properties along Court, Montague, Remsen, Joralemon, and Livingston Streets. The proposed district is characterized by large commercial buildings in a range of architectural styles including the 35-story Montague-Court Building at … <Read More>


Two new members appointed to commission

Michael Goldblum and Michael Devonshire replaced Stephen Byrns and Roberta Brandes Gratz. Architect Michael Goldblum and architectural conservator Michael Devonshire have replaced Commissioners Stephen Byrns and Roberta Brandes Gratz on the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Byrns joined Landmarks in 2004 and is a founding partner of BKSK Architects LLP. Gratz joined Landmarks in 2003 and will continue to serve the City as a member of the Sustainable Advisory Board for PlaNYC.

The City Council … <Read More>


New residence OK’d on carriage house block

414 Wavery Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Carriage-house style building approved after reducing size and visibility of fourth floor. On December 7, 2010, Landmarks approved a modified proposal to develop a new building on a vacant parking lot at 414 Waverly Avenue in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill Historic District. The owner proposed building a four-story two-family residence inspired by the 19th century carriage houses that bookend the lot. The building would be clad in brick and … <Read More>


Prominent Art Deco skyscraper designated

Image: Courtesy LPC

Architects of 59-story 500 Fifth Avenue building also designed Empire State Building. On December 14, 2010, Landmarks designated the 500 Fifth Avenue Building as an individual City landmark. The building’s architects, Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, also designed the Empire State Building, and both buildings share similar Art Deco motifs. Built in 1931 on a small 100 by 208 feet lot on the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 42nd Street, the 59- … <Read More>


Iconic Coney Island Theater and Restaurant Designated

Interwar buildings recall Coney Island’s era as a family-friendly destination. Landmarks unanimously designated the Coney Island Theater at 1301 Surf Avenue and the Childs Restaurant Building at 1208 Surf Avenue as individual City landmarks. Landmarks held public hearings on both buildings in March 2010, and designated the Coney Island Theater on December 14, 2010 and the Childs Restaurant Building on January 11, 2011. Both buildings are within the area recently rezoned as part of … <Read More>