Andrew Berman, Executive Director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.

Nearly 50 years ago the city passed its landmarks law, with the goal of ensuring that historically significant sites and areas could be saved before they might be destroyed, as happened with Penn Station and countless other fallen landmarks. The law gave the city the right to landmark a property or area, but only after notifying the owner that they were considering doing so, holding a hearing at which the owner and anyone else could present their case for or against, and a public vote was taken. As a result, some of our city’s most iconic buildings, sites, and neighborhoods have been preserved. (more…)

Landmarks approved application for five story building at site of existing garage in 2013; applicants sought to amend permit to reduce height while retaining approved design. On June 24, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved an application to amend a certificate of appropriateness for a planned new building at 151 Mercer Street in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. According to the Real Deal, the new building will serve as a flagship store for fashion retailer Tory Burch. (more…)

Rendering of proposed building at 27 East 4th Street. Image Courtesy: SRA Architecture and Engineering.

Applicants take measures to ensure construction does not harm adjacent Merchant’s House. At a public meeting on February 11, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission reviewed a revised proposal for a new building at 27 East 4th Street in the NoHo Historic District Extension.  The applicants returned with a revised plan following Commissioners’ comments at a public hearing on March 12, 2013 (Read Cityland past coverage here).  (more…)

LPC approved rendering of the proposed development at 688 Broadway in the NoHo Historic District. Image Credit: BKSK Architects.

Landmarks approved development project to be built on vacant lot in the NoHo Historic District: Project now before Planning Commission. On February 5, 2014, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing for an application by Downtown Re Holdings LLC for special permits for a proposed mixed-use development located on 688 Broadway, between West 4th and Great Jones Streets in the NoHo Historic District. The special permits would allow Use Group 2 residential uses on the second through twelfth floors of a 15-unit development, and would waive set back requirements along Broadway. The lot at 688 Broadway had been a vacant lot since the 1960s, when two loft buildings were demolished until, for the last twenty years, a street level outdoor marketplace occupied the lot. The Landmarks Preservation Commission issued a certificate of appropriateness for the development on October 9, 2012 (See CityLand coverage here). (more…)

Rendering of proposed development on 100 Franklin Street in Tribeca, Manhattan. Image Credit: DDG Partners. Image Courtesy of the Historic Districts Council.

Plan would see the construction of two connected mixed-use buildings on triangular-shaped lots, currently used for parking, on Sixth Avenue extension. On November 12, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the proposal for two adjacent irregularly shaped lots on 100 Franklin Street in the TriBeCa East Historic District.  DDG Partners is seeking to develop the property with two conjoined structures that would include ground-floor retail and residential use on the upper floors. Representing DDG, Valerie Campbell, attorney at Kramer Levin, stated that the triangular lots had been vacant since the extension of Sixth Avenue in 1930. Campbell also stated that because of the site’s unique characteristics, which includes a below-grade subway tunnel directly in front of the property lot line, the project would likely require variances from the Board of Standards and Appeals for lot coverage, street wall, and set back requirements. (more…)