Council votes to include Bowery SRO in NoHo historic district extension. On September 4, 2008, the City Council voted to approve the proposed NoHo historic district extension and ended the debate over whether the Whitehouse Hotel should be included within the district. The approval adds 56 more buildings, all between Lafayette Street and Bowery, to the district. Landmarks voted to designate the area in May after hearing testimony from residents such as artist Chuck Close, elected officials, and preservationists. 5 CityLand 42 (April 15, 2008).

Of the six property owners who initially opposed designation, only Metro Sixteen Hotel LLC, owner of the Whitehouse Hotel at 342 Bowery, remained opposed when the issue reached Council. Metro planned to demolish the existing four-story building, which operates as an SRO and is one of the few remaining Bowery “flophouses.” Once demolished, Metro proposed to build a nine-story luxury hotel. (more…)

363 Lafayette Street Rendering. Image Credit: LPC.

Commissioners asked for further refinement to asymmetrical development composed of stacked rectangular forms. On July 12, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application to develop a vacant lot at 363 Lafayette Street in the NoHo Historic District Extension. The lot extends the width of the block, also fronting Bond and Great Jones Streets. The northern portion of the lot is much wider than the southern section. The proposed new building would be used for commercial purposes with a showroom on the ground floor. The building would adjoin a co-op at 20 Bond Street at the southern portion, and a taller building now under construction at 25 Great Jones Street. (more…)

Rendering of proposed building at 27 East 4th Street. Image Credit: SRA Architecture and Engineering.

Applicants responded to public testimony, which focused on potential damage to the adjoining landmarks, by detailing the excavation, construction and monitoring plans for the new building. On March 12, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission continued a hearing on a proposed new building at 27 East 4th Street, in the NoHo Historic District Extension. The proposed building is adjacent to the Merchant’s House, an individual exterior and interior landmark and museum at 29 East 4th Street.

At the first hearing on September 11, 2012, elected officials, representatives of the museum, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, which owns the property, Manhattan Community Board 2, and members of the public, all expressed strong concern about the potential negative impact of the project on the Merchant’s House. (See CityLand’s past coverage here). The hearing was cut short due to the quantity of public testimony and without an opportunity for the applicants to respond to the criticism or for Commissioners to comment on the application.

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Landmarks declines to exempt Metro Sixteen Hotel from district. On May 13, 2008, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate the NoHo Historic District Extension, increasing the number of protected buildings from 167 to 223. The extension is bounded by Lafayette Street to the west, Bowery to the east, East 4th Street to the north, and Bond Street to the south.

The extension includes a historically commercial neighborhood characterized by mid-19th century loft buildings and tenements built to house workers. Following a decline in manufacturing after World War II, artists such as Chuck Close began to convert abandoned lofts into studios and living spaces in the 1960s. (more…)