Designation of 280-Year-Old Church Building Proceeds Apace

No objections to designation raised at hearing; concerns about closeness of potential development on undesignated portion of lot to church building raised by Commissioners. On August 8, 2017, Landmarks held a hearing on the potential designation of the Old Saint James Episcopal Church at 86-02 Broadway in the Elmhurst section of Queens. Landmarks added the 1736 building to its calendar at its June 27, 2017, meeting. The building is the second oldest surviving religious … <Read More>


New York Public Library Main Reading Room Officially Enters Designation Process [UPDATE: Designation Approved]

UPDATELandmarks voted to designate the interior at its meeting August 8, 2017. Commissioner Adi Shamir-Baron spoke of the “rare condition of two block’s worth of interior space,” with 50-foor ceilings. She said the interiors remind us of the meaning of civic space, as a place that “honors and elevates the spirit of the individual and the collective.”

Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan stated that designation as an imperative step in Landmarks’ mission, that would preserve <Read More>


Residential Redevelopment of Two Garage Buildings Approved After Revisions

Revised application reduced scale and visibility of rooftop bulk, and modified windows and other details to better relate to historic architecture. On July 17, 2017, Landmarks approved an application to redevelop two lots owned by Brookland Capital in the Bedford –Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District. The adjoining lots, at 536 Halsey Street, are currently occupied by utilitarian buildings constructed in the 20th century, most recently used as parking garages. The larger 1904 … <Read More>


City Planning Approves 50 Nevins Street Rezoning; City Council Next to Consider

The City Planning Commission approved the expansion of a mental health treatment facility to include low-income affordable units for individuals and families. On July 26, 2017, the City Planning Commission issued a favorable report on an application for multiple land use actions to facilitate the enlargement and reconstruction of an existing eight-story building by integrating a 10-story horizontal expansion onto an abutting parking lot and three-story addition to the northern portion of the existing building. … <Read More>


Support Voiced for Designation of Library’s Main Reading Room

Main reading room and catalog room of New York Public Library’s main branch lauded for both architecture and social significance. On July 18, 2017, Landmarks held a public hearing on the potential designation of the Main Reading Room and Catalog Room of the main branch of the New York Public Library as an interior landmark.  The Carrere & Hasting designed library, whose exterior is designated an individual City landmark, stands at 476 Fifth <Read More>


39-Unit Affordable Development Approved in Harlem Historic District

Seven-story building would have dance studio space at the ground floor. On June 27, 2017, Landmarks considered and approved a proposal for a new development on a vacant lot at 841 St. Nicholas Avenue, at the corner of 152nd Street, in the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Northwest Historic District. The site was acquired by BRP Development Company from the Dance Theater of Harlem in 2016. A deed restriction on the property, limiting its … <Read More>