East Village church opposes designation

 

Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection at 59 East 2nd Street in Manhattan’s East Village. Image: LPC.

Parishioners of 1890s-era Russian Orthodox Cathedral argued that landmarking would add to struggling church’s financial burden. On March 23, 2010, Landmarks heard testimony on the possible designation of the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection at 59-63 East 2nd Street in the East Village. Formerly known as the Olivet Memorial Church, the Kentucky … <Read More>


Single 1830s-era rowhouse designated

 

143 Allen Street House on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Photo: CityLand.

Ship’s captain built Federal style rowhouse as speculative investment during the Lower East Side’s early period of development. On February 9, 2010, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate the 143 Allen Street House as an individual City landmark. Built between 1830 and 1831 by merchant and ship captain George Sutton, the two-and-a-half story Flemish bondbrick rowhouse was part of a row of six similar … <Read More>


Variance for office tower next to High Line granted

 

BSA grants Romanoff Equities’ variance application for a ten-story glass tower next to the High Line. See story on page 8. Image: Courtesy of James Carpenter Design Associates (JCDA).

Property owner claimed that a complying development was difficult because the High Line crossed the lot. Romanoff Equities applied to BSA for a variance to construct a twelve-story, 215-foot tall office building at 437 West 13th Street, a site occupied by a portion of the … <Read More>


Ridgewood North Historic District designated

Ridgewood North Historic District designated. Photo: LPC.

District’s “Mathews Model Flats” attracted German immigrants living in Bushwick, Williamsburg, and Lower East Side. On September 15, 2009, Landmarks voted to designate 96 buildings in Ridgewood, Queens as the Ridgewood North Historic District. G.X. Mathews Company and Louis Allmendinger designed and developed the area in 1908 and 1911, setting the standard for future tenement construction. The area is characterized by three-story tenement buildings featuring yellow and orange … <Read More>


Williamsburg residential rowhouse district designated

Fillmore Place Historic District. Image: LPC.

Built as housing for working-class waterfront laborers, neighborhood remains remarkably intact. Landmarks designated the Fillmore Place Historic District on May 12, 2009. The district, primarily located on Fillmore Place between Driggs Avenue and Roebling Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was privately developed during a period of rapid growth in Williamsburg during the 1850s. Although different developers likely had hands in Fillmore Place, the 29 rowhouses maintain cohesiveness in scale and … <Read More>


Leonard Wasserman Discusses Economic Development

Early in his adult life, Leonard Wasserman thought he would pursue a career in urban planning. His perspective changed, however, when he realized he was “better with words than colored pencils.” After college, Wasserman spent a little over a year at the Housing and Development Administration (the agency that later split into Buildings and HPD), but decided to take a leave from the ranks of the employed to attend Brooklyn Law School to focus on … <Read More>