DEC overstepped its authority by judging application against eligibility regulations not found in Brownfield statute. HLP Properties LLC owned a 1.75 acre surface parking lot bounded by West 17th and 18th Streets between 10th and 11th Avenues in Manhattan. The lot was part of the former West 18th Street manufactured gas plant, a 19th century facility that converted coal to combustible gas for all of Manhattan north of Canal Street. The plant operated for more … <Read More>
City and Suburban’s landmarking upheld
Physical alterations ruled irrelevant when assessing historical and cultural significance of two light-court tenements. Between 1898 and 1915, the City and Suburban Homes Company First Avenue Estate was built in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood. It consists of 15 light-court tenements, which are residential buildings configured to maximize light and air, in contrast to the tenements of the period. In April 1990, Landmarks voted to designate the Estate as a landmark site, encompassing the entire … <Read More>
Two landmarks added in East Village
- Wheatsworth Factory. Image:LPC.
Wheatsworth Factory and Public National Bank of NY designated for unique 1920s architecture. On September 16, 2008, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate the Wheatsworth Factory and the Public National Bank of New York Building as individual City landmarks. Built in the 1920s, both represent strains of 20th century European architecture rarely found in New York.
The Wheatsworth factory, at 444 East 10th Street, was built in 1927-28 by J. Edwin Hopkins as … <Read More>
2-story building demo approved
Landmarks found extensive alterations rendered the building noncontributing to district. On September 16, 2008, Landmarks voted to approve the demolition of a two-story building at 501-501A Hudson Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District, along with the proposed replacement, a six-story commercial and residential building designed by Morris Adjmi. At the July 15 public hearing, residents, preservationists, and elected officials expressed opposition to both the demolition of the existing building and the scale and design … <Read More>
Bed-Stuy designation heard
- Home on Alice Court. Image: LPC.
Positive hearing for 36-building residential enclave near Atlantic Avenue. On September 16, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony regarding the potential historic district designation of Alice and Agate Courts in Bedford- Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Comprised of two cul-de-sacs off Atlantic Avenue between Kingston and Albany Avenues, the neighborhood was developed by Swiss-born Florian Grosjean, owner of a successful kitchenware company. Grosjean named Alice Court after his daughter while Agate Court refers to … <Read More>
Garage demolition, new residential loft building approved
Morris Adjmi design wins praise from Commissioners. On September 9, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on three applications for certificates of appropriateness with respect to adjacent properties at 414-422 Greenwich Street and 401-411 Washington Street in the Tribeca North Historic District. The applications propose the demolition of a 1956 garage, the construction of a new six-story building with a penthouse, and a penthouse addition to an existing 1906 loft building adjacent to the garage.
Architectural historian … <Read More>