South Side of Bay Ridge Parkway in Brooklyn. Image Credit: LPC.

Historic district designation would ensure protections for the largely intact, over 100 year-old, block of limestone row houses.  On  March 26, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to calendar a proposed historic district in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn. The Bay Ridge Parkway – Doctor’s Row Historic District would be comprised of 54 row houses built in the early 1900s on Bay Ridge Parkway between 4^th and 5^th avenues. Constructed in the Renaissance Revival along with elements of Colonial Revival styles, the intact rows’ high degree of architectural integrity and aesthetic consistency gives them a strong sense of place and distinguishes them in the neighborhood. (more…)

Map of Sunset Park with the four proposed historic districts outlined in red. Image Credit: LPC.

Landmarks research staff spent several years researching the area, surveying and documenting over 4,000 buildings. On January 22, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to add to its calendar four areas of Sunset Park, Brooklyn for historic district designation. The proposals were presented to the Commission following years of extensive survey and analysis by the Landmarks research staff after a request for evaluation of the area from Sunset Park’s Landmarks Committee in 2014. The Sunset Park Landmarks Committee was established in 2012 by area residents and homeowners who were concerned with redevelopment changing the largely rowhouse-character of the area. To read CityLand coverage on the Committee’s efforts in building community support for designation in its early stages, click here. (more…)

The 1st Spanish Methodist Church was removed from the Landmarks calendar. Image Credit: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

Church removed from Landmarks calendar after complex history divides community members. On December 11, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a discussion about the 1^st Spanish United Methodist Church located at 163 East 111^th Street and Lexington Avenue in East Harlem. The Church was constructed in 1880 for the Lexington Avenue Baptist Church but was rebuilt in the mid-1960s after a fire destroyed most of the first floor. The Church was calendared in December 2017. (more…)

Houses on West 217th Street demonstrate the suburban character of the proposed historic district. Image Credit: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

The proposed historic district highlights homes with suburban characteristics rarely found in Manhattan. On September 25, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to calendar the proposed Park Terrace West-West 217^th Street Historic District in the Inwood section of Manhattan. The proposed historic district consists of fifteen houses along West 217^th Street between Park Terrace West and Park Terrace East and along Park Terrace West between West 215^th Street and West 218^th Street.  (more…)

Five of the seven buildings calendared for designation. Image Credit: Google Maps

The buildings feature various architectural styles and were home to garment manufacturers in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. On September 25, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously voted to add seven buildings to its calendar for consideration as individual landmarks. The buildings are located at 817 Broadway, 826 Broadway, 830 Broadway, 832 Broadway, 836 Broadway, 840 Broadway, and 841 Broadway. All of the buildings are south of Union Square in Manhattan.  (more…)