Holyrood Episcopal Church-Iglesia Santa Cruz, one of the three sites calendared by LPC on January 19th. Image Credit: LPC

Support for landmarking included a push for further preservation of the area south of Union Square. On March 23, 2021, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held public hearings on two proposed landmarks located in Manhattan. The Holyrood Episcopal Church-Iglesia Santa Cruz at 715 West 179th Street in Washington Heights and the Educational Building at 70 Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village were two landmarks originally calendared as part of the Landmarks Preservation Commission’s new Equity Framework. The Equity Framework highlights the agency’s efforts for landmark designations that represent the city’s diverse and inclusive history. For CityLand’s prior coverage of the Equity Framework and calendaring, click here.  (read more…)

Tribeca Historic District signs like this one won’t be extended to neighboring blocks. Image Credit: Center for CityLaw.

Tribeca Trust sought to extend the Tribeca Historic District. In 2016, the Tribeca Trust filed a Request for Evaluation with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission which proposed that the Commission extend the borders of three historic districts in the Tribeca neighborhood.
The Commission denied Tribeca Trust’s Request and refused to advance the Request. The Commission reasoned that much of the area did not merit designation and there was already a preexisting high level of landmark protection in Tribeca. (read more…)

Rendering of proposed buildings on 51 and 53 West 19th Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. Image Credit: Smith-Miller and Hawkinson Architects.

While praising design of proposed new structure, commissioners generally agreed that demolition of contributing buildings in a historic district was inappropriate.  On April 1, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal to demolish two adjoining buildings in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District at 51 and 53 West 19th Street, and build a 14-story residential structure at the site. Both buildings, constructed for residential use in 1854, were significantly altered in the 1920s when the buildings were converted for commercial purposes. The applicants, Property 51, LLC, purchased the currently unoccupied buildings in 2013. (read more…)

Steven Spinola, President of the Real Estate Board of New York

The Landmarks Law, enacted in 1965 to preserve the city’s architectural, historical and cultural resources, contains few standards about what merits designation and few rules governing the process.  This has resulted in broad brush designations that are of questionable significance and that are impeding the City’s larger planning, economic development, and housing efforts.  It is time to amend the Landmarks Law to bring designations more in line with other city policies, provide more timely information on potential designations, and earlier guidance on design options for historic districts.

The Law has enabled the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to protect a wide range of noteworthy properties, such as Grand Central Terminal and Lever House, as well as a collection of buildings that represent a distinct section of the city, such as Greenwich Village and Brooklyn Heights.  The Law has also been used to landmark properties that have no architectural or historical merits, such as vacant lots, parking lots, and significantly-altered buildings.  Needless to say, these are not properties of what the Law envisioned protecting when it was established nearly 50 years ago. (read more…)