Bedford Historic District Unanimously Designated

Approximately 800-building district is primarily characterized by residential architecture from the late 19th century. On December 8 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Bedford Historic District, composed of approximately 800 buildings and roughly bounded by Bedford, Nostrand, Putnam, Tompkins and Marcy Avenues, and Monroe, Fulton, and Halsey Streets in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The area mostly consists of residential buildings constructed between 1870 and 1900, both rowhouses and small apartment buildings, … <Read More>


Plan by West End Collegiate Church to Develop Adjacent Lot Approved

Demolition of existing building and construction of new residential tower generally supported by community and preservationist organizations. On December 8 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve two applications submitted by West End Collegiate Church for the redevelopment of adjoining properties. The sites are currently occupied by the Collegiate School, from whom the church repurchased the property when the school made a decision to relocate. The plan calls for the demolition of the existing … <Read More>


Extension to IFC Theater on Cornelia Street-Facing Vacant Lot Approved

Applicants returned to Landmarks after modifying base to better relate to the block’s residential and commercial character. On November 17, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to approve the construction of a new building at 14 Cornelia Street in the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II. The lot is currently vacant. The building will serve as an extension to the IFC Center, which faces 323 Sixth Avenue, and will allow the Center to … <Read More>


Commission Approves 29-Foot Elevation of Palace Theater, an Interior Landmark

Renovations will allow for better utilization of space, according to applicants, while preservationists expressed concerns about fragility of early-20th-century Baroque theater. On November 24, 2015, Landmarks approved an application to raise the Palace Theater, an interior landmark, 29 feet within its current footprint, as well as conduct restoration work and other associated renovations. The original building in which the theater stood was demolished, and a new hotel built over and around the theater … <Read More>


At Final Backlog Hearing, Testimony Considered on Manhattan Items

The proposed designation of the former Yuengling Brewery Site in East Harlem proved contentious, dividing preservationists and those who wished to see site developed.  On November 12, 2015 the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the final of four special hearings organized to address the backlog of items added to the Commission’s calendar before 2001, but never brought to a vote on designation.  The final hearing consisted of items in Manhattan, occupying Community Boards six through twelve.  … <Read More>


Commission Requests Revisions to Plan to Replace 19th-Century Corner Building

Applicant had previously planned to restore existing building, but engineers had determined it to be structurally unsound. On November 10 2015 the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the proposed demolition of an existing structure, and the erection of a new building at 327 Bleecker Street, in the Greenwich Village Historic District, at the corner of Christopher Street. Landmarks previously approved a plan for the alteration of the existing structure in 2012.