Commission debates legalization of illegal addition

Architect testified that Buildings’ database failed to indicate that West 68th Street property was located within landmarked district. At its April 14th public hearing, Landmarks considered the legalization of a one-story, fifth-floor addition to a residential building at 12-14 West 68th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The 506 square-foot addition was built onto a 1925 studio building, itself built as an addition at the rear of the main 1895 Queen … <Read More>


Park W. Village permit upheld

Local residents claimed that all open space on a multiple building zoning lot must be accessible to all occupants of the zoning lot. 808 Columbus Avenue LLC obtained a permit from Buildings to construct a 29-story, mixed-use building within Park West Village on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The new building would share a zoning lot with three 16-story residential buildings located on a superblock bounded by West 100th Street on the north, Columbus Avenue on … <Read More>


Designation hearing held on Chelsea rowhouses

Lamartine Place/West 29th Street. Photo: Lacy J. Redwine

Proposed district among the few documented underground railroad stops in New York City. On January 13, 2009, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of Lamartine Place as a historic district. Lamartine Place is comprised of 12 buildings at 333 through 359 West 29th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Manhattan. Built in the 1840s, the Greek Revival rowhouses were commissioned by Cyrus Mason, a New … <Read More>


Court affirms DOI’s subpoena power

Preservationist allegedly altered contents of letter from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. In 2006, Landmarks held a hearing to consider the designation of the Dakota Stables, a building on the Upper West Side. Shortly before the hearing, the owner of the Dakota Stables pulled permits and began stripping the facade of the building. 3 CityLand 157 (Nov. 15, 2006). At the hearing, Virginia Parkhouse, a Landmarks West! volunteer, read a letter from Borough President Scott … <Read More>


Additional space for the Whitney Museum approved

Downtown satellite would anchor southern end of High Line. On August 11, 2008, the City Planning Commission approved the Whitney Museum’s plan to build a six-story, 175,000-sq.ft. building at 555 West Street in the West Village of Manhattan. The proposal includes 50,000 sq.ft. for new indoor exhibits, 97,400 sq.ft. for museum support facilities, and 27,600 sq.ft. for a maintenance and operational facility at the southern terminus of the High Line elevated park. The site is … <Read More>


Council negotiates modifications to 125th Street rezoning

Council Members Dickens and Jackson defend plan despite vocal opposition from local residents. On April 30, 2008, the City Council modified the Department of City Planning’s plan to rezone the 125th Street corridor, a 24-block area in the Harlem section of Manhattan.

The plan will rezone large portions of the east and west ends of the corridor to encourage arts, entertainment, and retail uses. The plan will also impose height limits, street wall continuity requirements, … <Read More>