Anita Laremont. Image credit: LinkedIn/Anita Laremont.

Current General Counsel is appointed Executive Director. On August 22, 2018, the Department of City Planning announced the appointment of Anita Laremont as its new Executive Director. Laremont is currently the Department’s General Counsel and Chief Analytical Officer. Laremont will succeed outgoing Executive Director Purnima Kapur. She will begin in her new role on September 4 and will continue to serve as the General Counsel until a replacement is named. (more…)

Hans S. Christian Memorial Kindergarten, at 236 President Street. Image credit: LPC.

Owner of one of two buildings associated with Methodist Church and the immigrant community of Carroll Gardens threatened litigation should Landmarks designate the property. On June 26, 2018, Landmarks held a joint hearing on the potential individual landmark designations of two buildings in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The adjoining buildings are the 238 President Street House and the former Hans S. Christian Memorial Kindergarten, at 236 President Street. The Italianate-style building at 238 President Street was built in 1853 as a one-family residence, and converted to a training center and residence for Methodist deaconesses in 1897. The two-story Beaux Arts building at 236 President Street is a rare early example of a purpose-built Kindergarten in the United States. (more…)

Additions schematic. Image credit: LPC.

After 2014 plan was withdrawn in face of public outcry, museum presented Selldorf-designed proposal to create more space for exhibitions, conservators, and educational programs. On May 29, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal for the construction of rear and roof additions, as well as additional work, to the Frick Collection, an individual City landmark. The Frick was built as a mansion for industrialist Henry Clay Frick by the firm of Carrere and Hastings, and was converted to a museum displaying his art collection after his death. The building and its grounds stand at 895 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. (more…)

Richard Briffault. Image credit: CityLaw.

Richard Briffault, Chair of the Conflicts of Interest Board, brings a long record of public service to his current position. A product of the City public school system, Briffault graduated from Columbia University and obtained his law degree from Harvard. He was broadly interested in government as a young man and quickly entered public service, working from 1980 to 1982 as an assistant counsel to Governor Hugh Carey. The position gave him broad opportunity to learn how the State engaged with agencies, with the City, and with the private sector. (more…)

Former Webber Packing House.

The landmarking of two buildings constructed as schools and a former meatpacking plant receive support at public hearing. On February 13, 2018, Landmarks held hearings on the potential designations of three structures as individual City landmarks in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. The three buildings are the former Richard Webber Harlem Packing House, at 207 East 119th Street; the former Public School 109, at 215 East 99th Street; and the former Benjamin Franklin High School, at 260 Pleasant Avenue. The buildings were identified by landmarks staff in a survey of the area’s historical and architectural resources as part of the East Harlem Neighborhood Plan and anticipated East Harlem Rezoning. (more…)