DUMBO Historic District marker unveiling group shot. From left to right, Doreen Gallo, president of the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance; LPC Executive Director Sarah Carroll; Christina Davis, Co-Chair New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation; Basil Walter, Co-Chair of the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation; and Council Member Stephen Levin. Image credit: LPC.

Marker celebrates importance of manufacturing history of the district. On August 24, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation, and the DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance, announced a historic district marker to promote and commemorate the 2007 designation of the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) Historic District. The marker is located mid-block on Jay Street, between Water and Plymouth Streets, highlighting the boundaries of the district and its historic importance. To read CityLand’s prior coverage on the DUMBO Historic District, click here and here. (more…)

Rendering of development at 119-121 Second Avenue. Image credit: LPC.

Public speakers and commissioners sought to ensure that deaths in 2015 catastrophe suitably memorialized. Landmarks considered an application to build a new development on two lots at 119-121 Second Avenue at its July 10, 2018, meeting. The empty lots are the site of a 2015 explosion, caused by an illegal gas set-up, which killed two people, caused multiple injuries, and destroyed three buildings. The site lies in the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District.  The site’s developers, Nexus Development Group, acquired the property in 2017. (more…)

Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorates the life of Dr. King and the work of the African-American civil rights movement in the United States.   As one of the oldest cities in America, New York City has been a location for many significant milestones of African-American history, for better and for worse.  In celebration of the holiday, we have created a list of historic places that have a connection to the civil rights community.  Some of these site have even been designated national landmarks.

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Current view of Brinckerhoff Cemetery lot. Credit: John Weiss (2012).

Owner of the vacant former cemetery site claimed she purchased the lot to build a home for herself, not knowing of the property’s history, and was not competently represented throughout the landmarking process. On December 6, 2012, the New York City Council’s Land Use Committee voted to recommend approval of the designation of the Brinckerhoff Cemetery as a New York City Landmark.  The property, at 69-65 182nd Street in the Fresh Meadows neighborhood of Queens, was designated by Landmarks on August 14, 2012. The full City Council is expected to vote on December 10, 2012 to approve. (more…)

Brinckerhoff Cemetery. Credit: LPC

Property owners want to develop site; claim cemetery no longer contains human remains. On May 15, 2012, Landmarks held a public hearing on the potential designation of the Brinckerhoff Cemetery at 69-65 182nd Street in Fresh Meadows, Queens as an individual City landmark. Landmarks held a public hearing to consider the site in December 2000, but never voted on the proposed designation. The family cemetery is named for the Brinckerhoff family, who were among the first Dutch settlers in Queens. According to Landmarks, the cemetery was used from 1736 to 1872, and accommodated at least 76 burials. There are no visible grave markers, and it is unclear whether human remains are still buried at the site.

The City in the 1950s foreclosed on the cemetery site and sold it to Joseph DeDomenico. Problems arose when the DeDomenico family considered developing the property and it was discovered that the site had been used as a cemetery. In 1999, the Queens Historical Society and descendants of the Brinckerhoff family sued to reclaim the site, (more…)