Commissioners Request that Applicants Rethink Plan for New Rowhouse in Historic District

Materials and proportions identified for criticism in proposal to build limestone-clad rowhouse on narrow vacant lot. On May 24, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application to construct a new building on a vacant lot at 39 South Elliott Place in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Historic District. The mid-block lot was once occupied, but the building was demolished prior to the district’s 1978 designation. The new building will be used for residential purposes.


Ford Foundation Atrium and Doors to be Altered for Handicapped Access and Code Compliance

Alterations part of larger renovations that will see greater handicapped accessibility, non-hierarchical office organization, creation of a visitor center, and space for associated non-profits. On April 19 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and approved an application for work to the Ford Foundation Building, at 320 East 43rd Street in Manhattan. The 1967 building is an individual City landmark, and its atrium is also a designated interior landmark. The proposed work, which will … <Read More>


City Council Resolution Supports Landmarking the Coney Island Boardwalk

The City Council resolution has garnered unanimous support by the Council’s Members and other elected officials. On May 4, 2016, the City Council Land Use Committee will hear testimony on a resolution to urge the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate the Riegelmann Boardwalk—most commonly known as the Coney Island Boardwalk—as a New York City Landmark. The resolution, sponsored by Brooklyn Council Member Mark Treyger, is a way to protect the Boardwalk from physical alterations, which … <Read More>


First Group of Backlogged Items Designated

Landmarks voted to de-calendar St. Augustine’s Church and Rectory after designating an extension the Park Slope Historic District, in which the church is located. On April 12, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission cast dispositive votes on ten items for designation, nine of which were included in the commission’s backlog initiative. Eight individual landmarks were designated, as well as one historic district. Commissioners voted to remove one item, St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church and Rectory, … <Read More>


NYC Landmarks Law and Regulation of Open Space

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has jurisdiction over both buildings and landscape features on landmarks sites.   But the Commission rarely directly regulates changes to landscape features. For routine landscaping changes and in urban contexts, the landscape features are rarely a concern. In other cases the landscape takes on central importance. This is especially true where there where the existing landscaping and natural land features figure prominently in the beauty and importance of the site. In … <Read More>


Clock Tower LPC Certificate Annulled By Court

Justice found Landmarks had authority mandate public access to interior landmark, and require that historic clock’s operation remain mechanical. The Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the interior of the former New York Life Insurance Company Building, at 346 Broadway as an interior landmark in 1987.  The designated space includes the “Clocktower Suite” inside a tower at the top of the building. A spiral staircase and machinery room for the four clock faces on the tower, … <Read More>