50th Anniversary of Landmarks Law Marked with Exhibit and Symposium

Sometimes-contentious debate focused on the struggle to balance new development with historic preservation in New York City. On the evening of April 20, 2015, the Museum of the City of New York commenced a series of events and exhibitions commemorating the 50th anniversary of the City’s Landmarks Law with a symposium titled “Redefining Preservation for the 21st Century.” The Saving Place exhibit, intends to examine the “impact of a landmark preservation movement that has … <Read More>


Former Piano Showroom City’s Newest Interior Landmark

Reception room and hallway of ornate Steinway & Sons piano showroom, designed by Warren & Wetmore, date to 1925. On September 10, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the hallway and reception room of the former Steinway & Sons retail space at 109 West 57th Street as an interior City landmark. The interior is housed in a 16-story building designed by the firm of Warren & Wetmore, the architects behind other prominent City … <Read More>


Appellate Court Affirms Special Permit for Hospital for Special Surgery

Resident opponents failed to block City Planning’s approval of Hospital for Special Surgery expansion. The Hospital for Special Surgery (HHS), located at 535 East 70th Street, proposed a major renovation and expansion of its existing facility located between East 70th  Street and East 72nd Street, and between York Avenue and  the FDR Drive in Manhattan.

On December 26, 2006, the City Planning Commission (CPC) issued a positive declaration and Lead Agency Determination along with an … <Read More>


EDC Seeks Developers for Four Sites Slated for Industrial Development

City seeks proposals for industrial-use lots in parts of the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. On June 25, 2012, the Economic Development Corporation issued a rolling request for proposals for the purchase or lease of four City-owned industrial parcels in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. The sites are: North Zerega in Unionport, Bronx; Chestnut-Dinsmore in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn; Moore McCormack in Sunset Park, Brooklyn; and College Point in the College Point Industrial Park section of … <Read More>


New five-story building in Brooklyn Heights approved

30 Henry Street. Image courtesy of BKSK Architects.

Proposal to replace low-rise building on Henry Street criticized by neighbors who wanted bolder, contemporary design. On January 17, 2012, Landmarks approved Fortis Property Group LLC’s revised proposal to replace a low-rise industrial building with a five-story apartment building at 30 Henry Street at the edge of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District. Until recently, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper occupied the 1963 brick building at the southwest … <Read More>


Landmarks wins court order to remove illegal signs

598 Broadway. Image: Cityland.

 

Landmarks alleged that building owner and sign company repeatedly installed advertising signs without approvals. In April 1999, 598 Broadway Realty Associates Inc. obtained a permit from Landmarks to install a single advertising sign on the Houston Street-facing facade of a twelve-story building at 598 Broadway in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District in Manhattan. The permit was valid until April 2005. In August 1999, 598 Broadway applied to Landmarks to install … <Read More>