Search Results for: Historic District Designation

John Belle and Richard Southwick on 40 Years of Practicing Before Landmarks

Fresh from a business trip in Europe, John Belle, founding partner of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP, and Richard Southwick, partner and director of the firm’s preservation department, recently sat down for an afternoon with CityLand. Joined by Olivia, Belle’s mild-mannered golden retriever, the two architects discussed the City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission and the impact of preservation on land use.

Self-described as “one of those immigrants,” Belle was born in Cardiff, Wales, … <Read More>

Domino Sugar Factory condos spark controversy

Landmarks heard testimony regarding a mixed-use development plan for the former Domino Sugar Factory site. Image: Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP.

Preservation and housing advocates squared off over development plan. On February 5, 2008, Landmarks held a public hearing regarding alterations and additions to the Domino Sugar Refinery complex, located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

In 2007, the City designated three buildings at the complex. 4 CityLand 141 (Oct. 15, 2007). During … <Read More>

Landmarks considers 1911 printing plant

Owners of former engraving plant welcome landmark designation. Landmarks heard testimony on the possible designation of the American Bank Note Company Printing Plant on January 15, 2008. The architects of the plant, Kirby Petit & Green, also designed the American Bank Note Company’s Manhattan offices on Broad Street, which the City designated as a landmark in 1997.

The plant’s design emphasizes security as well as aesthetics, with only one entrance along the over 1,500 feet … <Read More>

Early 20th century rooming house heard

Owner of renaissance-style building willing to accommodate landmark status. On December 18, 2007, Landmarks heard testimony on the Allerton 39th Street House, built between 1916 and 1918 at 145 East 39th Street in the East Side of Manhattan. The building was one of six Allerton Houses in the City, a chain of residences and clubs that served young middle-class men until the mid- 1920s. Arthur Loomis Harmon, who later worked on the Empire State Building, … <Read More>

Council OKs Eberhard Faber Pencil Hist. Dist

Historic district includes buildings from Brooklyn’s bygone industrial age. On January 30, 2008, the City Council voted to approve Landmarks’ designation of the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District, located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, between West and Kent Streets along Greenpoint Avenue. The factory buildings serve as an example of the German Renaissance Revival style, with some buildings dating as far back as the 1880s. In 2005, the Department of Buildings issued permits … <Read More>

Landmarks rejects Mariners’ Family Asylum bldg.

Elected officials saw designation as obstacle to expansion of foster care facility. On November 20, 2007, Landmarks removed the Mariners’ Family Asylum building from its designation calendar, allowing its current owner, New York Foundling Hospital, to move forward with its development plan.

Built in 1852, the Italianate Villa style building was originally known as the Seamens’ Retreat and housed widows and other family members of New York seamen. Progressive in its time, it was entirely … <Read More>