History in the Making: The New York City Landmarks Law at 50

Speakers spoke of the different priorities of City government and other stakeholders, examined preservation strategies of municipalities nationwide, and considered changes in the legal landscape that could affect landmarking. On October 26, 2015, , Meenakshi Srinivasan, Chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and Jerold Kayden, Professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, co-hosted an event titled “History in the Making: The New York City Landmarks Law at 50.” The event held at … <Read More>


Commission Held First of Four Special Hearings to Address Backlog

Wide support voiced for designation of Coney Island pumping Station; potential extension to Douglaston Historic District and individual designation of Queens Apartment complex and religious structures proved contentious. On October 8, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held the first of four hearings meant to address the backlog of items on the Commission’s calendar added prior to 2010. Twenty-nine items were considered, in three groupings of multiple items clustered by borough. Each speaker had three minutes … <Read More>


Landmarks Applies Double Standard for Townhouse Addition

A recent decision by the Landmarks Preservation Commission to approve a non-compliant addition to a building within an historic district has enraged residents who are held to stricter standards, and preservationists who see the floodgates opening to the deterioration of the historic districts on a broader scale.


Landmarks Unsatisfied By Revised Rooftop Addition Proposed for Harlem Rowhouse

Revised design shifted bulk of proposed one-story addition on St. Nicholas Avenue building toward front facade, but commissioners still found it excessive. On October 2, 2012, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered 719/721 SNA Realty LLC’s revised proposal for a one-story rooftop addition to a five-story building at 721 St. Nicholas Avenue on the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 146th Street in the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District.  The Romanesque Revival building features … <Read More>


Landmarks Asks for Redesign of Proposed Rooftop Addition for Harlem Rowhouse

Owner proposed a one-story brown metal addition to 1890s rowhouse on St. Nicholas Avenue. On July 10, 2012, Landmarks considered 719/721 SNA Realty LLC’s proposal to build a one-story addition on top of a five-story rowhouse at 721 St. Nicholas Avenue in Harlem’s Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Historic District. Sitting at the corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and West 146th Street, the 1890s building features a curved tower with an arcading attic story facing St. … <Read More>


Rezonings in Bed-Stuy and Harlem Begin Review Process

City Planning Commission certified 140-block Bed-Stuy North Rezoning and 90-block West Harlem Rezoning: included in the Brooklyn proposal is a text amendment that would also apply Citywide and to areas of the Bronx. At City Planning Commission’s review session on May 7, 2012, the Commission certified the Department of City Planning’s contextual rezoning proposal for the northern half of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. The Bedford-Stuyvesant North Rezoning plan would impact a 140-block area generally bounded … <Read More>