Welcome to CityLand‘s fifth annual top ten stories of the year! We have selected a range of our most popular and prominent stories, and guest commentaries concerning New York City land use in 2016. Our fifth year as an online publication was marked by the fight to pass the Mayor’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing plan, proposed reforms to the building code to prevent illegal home conversions, and capped by the passage of state laws prohibiting Airbnb advertising in New York City. We at CityLand are excited to continue providing in-depth coverage of the latest land use projects, cases, and legislation in 2017 and look forward to seeing what the year will bring. Thank you for all of your support and have a happy new year!
(read more…)
Proposed Morningside Heights Historic District. Image Credit: LPC.
Designation of 115-property district widely supported by community and elected officials, though Columbia University and religious organizations opposed the inclusion of their properties within boundaries. On December 6, 2016, Landmarks held a hearing on the potential designation of the Morningside Heights Historic District. The potential district consists of 115 properties and is bounded by Riverside drive to the west, with 119th Street and 109th Street as its rough northern and southern boundaries. Landmarks officially added the potential historic district to its calendar at its September 13, 2016, meeting.
The area was a latecomer in Manhattan’s history of residential development. In the 19th century, the future neighborhood was dominated by two large institutions, the Leake and Watts Orphan Asylum and New York Hospital’s Bloomingdale Insane Asylum. Residential development was further hindered by the lack of public transportation, and its location on a rocky plateau surrounded by steep cliffs. (read more…)
Gregory Dietrich.
Gregory Dietrich, Principal of Gregory Dietrich Preservation Consulting, works as one of the small number of privately practicing historic preservation consultants. His vocation brings him into close contact with regulatory bodies, developers, land use agencies, advocacy groups, non-profit organizations and more. This gives him a unique perspective, and requires a wide range of expertise he continues to broaden. In conversation, his intellectual versatility becomes readily apparent, as he discussed his work, his background, and his thoughts on development and preservation in the City.
(read more…)
11 Jane Street Rendering. Image Credit: David Chipperfield Architects.
Proposal met with strong opposition from community members, elected officials and preservationist organizations. On June 21, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and heard testimony on an application to replace a 1921 garage building with a new residential structure at 11-19 Jane Street. The site lies within the Greenwich Village Historic District. The garage at the site is two stories tall, and it once replaced two townhouses. (read more…)
Rendering of 70 Henry Street Project. Image Courtesy: Gerner Kronick & Valcarcel Architects P.C.
Ridgeton Poultry Inc. proposed to demolish heavily altered, mid-19th-century one-story building, and develop new five-story mixed-use structure. On November 27, 2012, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal for the demolition of a one-story building at 70 Henry Street in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District, and the construction of a new mixed-use building on the property. The building, located on the corner of Orange and Henry Streets, is now occupied by the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. The Cinema would retain space in the proposed structure.
Preservation consultant Gregory Dietrich, retained by the applicants, testified that the existing building was constructed in 1895, and was originally a poultry and butcher shop. Prior to the designation of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District in 1965, the building was repeatedly subdivided and reconfigured, with multiple changes being made to the storefronts. In 1971, the building was converted into a movie theater with further significant alterations approved by Landmarks. Portions of the existing cornice are original, but are in poor shape, and would need to be replaced if the building is retained. Dietrich argued that the building’s architecture was so compromised throughout the years as to have lost any associations with Brooklyn Heights’ commercial development and lacks the requisite integrity to convey historical significance.
(read more…)
