The Demarest Building, at 339 Fifth Avenue. Image Credit: Google Maps

Landmarks decisions should not be made behind closed doors. Yet they are when the Landmarks Preservation Commission refuses to hold a hearing as it recently did with the Demarest Building. (read more…)

Rowhouses along 50th Street in Sunset Park 50th Street Historic District. Image Credit: LPC.

The four historic districts contain the most cohesive intact concentrations of high-quality architecture in Sunset Park, representing its primary periods of development. On June 18, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate four areas of Sunset Park, Brooklyn as historic districts: Sunset Park North, Sunset Park South, Central Sunset Park, and Sunset Park 50^th Street. Sunset Park North, South, and Central Sunset Park Historic Districts are areas where coherent historic streetscapes continue across several blocks and together create a strong sense of place. The Sunset Park 50^thStreet historic district contains two complete rows of browstones designed by Henry Spicer and Thomas Bennet and is the most consistent block in Sunset Park. The district boundaries were determined following extensive analysis of over 4,000 buildings between 40^th and 60^th Streets and 4^th and 7^th Avenues. Landmarks calendared the districts on January 22, 2019, and held a public hearing on May 7, 2019. (read more…)

Five of the seven buildings designated as individual landmarks on June 11, 2019. Image Credit: Google Maps

Commissioners commented on the importance of communicating the benefits of landmarking to the public. On June 11, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate seven buildings as individual landmarks on Broadway south of Union Square. The buildings are located at 817 Broadway, 826 Broadway, 830 Broadway, 832 Broadway, 836 Broadway, 840 Broadway, and 841 Broadway. The seven buildings were constructed between 1876 and 1902. The buildings housed garment manufacturers, book publishers, and even a movie studio and reflected a time when Manhattan was continuing to grow north. (read more…)

The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York Headquarters at 215 East 71st Street in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC.

Although the original landmarking proposal also included an application to designate the Headquarter’s interiors, the Colonial Dames Society withdrew their support for that application. On June 11, 2019, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Headquarters of the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York as an individual landmark. The four-story Headquarters building is located at 215 East 71^st Street in Manhattan, between 2^nd and 3^rd Avenues. The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York commissioned Richard Henry Dana Jr. to design the building in 1928 to serve as the Society’s headquarters and a house museum displaying colonial residential architecture and interior design. Dana, a specialist in colonial revival architecture, designed the Headquarters in the Georgian Revival style, using as inspiration a variety of colonial homes along the eastern seaboard, with the 1750 Colonel John McEver House as his primary reference. (read more…)

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

Residents divided between bureaucratic concerns and a desire for a larger historic district. On December 4, 2018, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held public hearings for the individual landmark designation of seven buildings on Broadway south of Union Square. The buildings are located at 817 Broadway, 826 Broadway, 830 Broadway, 832 Broadway, 836 Broadway, 840 Broadway, and 841 Broadway. (read 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.  (read more…)