Building owners denied certification may not significantly alter their buildings for five years. On October 12, 2018, the de Blasio Administration announced the application of the Certification of No Harassment (CONH) Pilot Program, which seeks to expand tenant harassment protections. The program will require buildings to meet certain criteria to certify that no previous tenant-harassment has occurred prior to obtaining construction permits for significant alterations to their property. CONH currently applies to more than 1,000 buildings, totaling to approximately 26,000 units protected under the program. (read more…)

Image credit: LPC.

Some commissioners lamented loss of Music Room and house museum character, but acknowledged those issues were outside of Landmark’s purview, and found impact on the exterior fell within bounds of appropriateness. On June 26, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to award the Frick collection a certificate of appropriateness to allow for an expansion that will improve circulation, increase exhibition, education and conservation space, and create a café. The individual City landmark was built for industrialist Henry Clay Frick by Carrere & Hastings in 1914. After the deaths of Frick and his wife, the mansion at 895 Fifth Avenue, was converted into a museum based around Frick’s art collection. The conversion and expansion were overseen by architect John Russell Pope, and include the construction of a library adjoining the museum. (read more…)