Pershing Square in Manhattan. Image Credit: LPC

Designations opposed by developers and hoteliers; transit advocates expressed concern that landmarking would prevent improved subway infrastructure and access. On July 19 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held hearings on the potential designations of five possible individual landmarks in the East Midtown area of Manhattan. Twelve items in total were identified by Landmarks as significant historic and architectural resources, as part of the mayoral administration’s Greater East Midtown plan. The plan to revitalize the area is intended to strengthen its position as a commercial district. The plan is expected to entail rezoning for greater density, improvements to transit and public spaces, and funding commitments for improvements and economic growth projects, in addition to the preservation of landmark-worthy fabric. Various stakeholders, including elected officials, business and real estate interests, and labor organizations are informing the plan, and a steering committee released a final report in 2015. (read more…)

15 East 75th Street. Image Credit: Stephen Wang + Associates.

Application would turn three adjoining rowhouses on the Upper East Side into one, one-family home. At its public hearing on April 4, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal for work related to the conversion of three rowhouses in the Upper East Side Historic District into one single-family dwelling. The rowhouses, at 11, 13, and 15 East 75th Street were originally constructed as part of a row of six Queen Anne-style rowhouses in the late 1880s. In 1923, the front facade at 11 East 75th Street was reconstructed in the neo-Federal style by architect Henry Polhemus. The remaining Queen Anne buildings have also undergone alteration, with their stoops removed and areaways modified. (read more…)

Image showing relationship between planned new tower and landmarked Robert and Anne Dickey House. Image credit: FXFowle Architects

Mixed-use development would restore Federal-era building to tenement period, adaptively repurpose for use as part of a new public school. On February 16, 2016, Landmarks considered an application for alterations to, and new construction above, the individually landmarked Robert and Anne Dickey House at 67 Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan. The work would be part of a mixed-use development by Trinity Place Holdings that would see the creation of a tower at the adjoining lot to the north of the landmark. The development would include retail space, a public school at the lower levels, and residential units in the upper floors. The Dickey House would be integrated with the new tower and serve as part of the school.

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Rendering of 1 Wall Street proposal. Image credit: Macklowe Properties/Robert A.M. Stern Architects/SLCE Architects

Robert A. M. Sterne-designed project would see the addition of several stories to an un-designated annex, and the creation of two additional window bays on south facade, among other work. On January 19, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal for alterations to the individually landmarked 1 Wall Street Building. The 1931, 50-story, Art Deco skyscraper in Lower Manhattan was built as an office tower by the Irving Trust Company to designs by architect Ralph Walker. An annex to the building was constructed in the 1960s, and is not part of the landmarked site. The current owners, Macklowe Properties, intend to convert the building to residential use, with ground-floor retail. (read more…)

Stone Avenue Branch, Brooklyn Public Library. Image Credit: LPC.

Library was the first in the nation devoted solely to the needs of children. On April 7, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the potential individual landmark designation of the Stone Avenue Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, at 581 Mother Gaston Boulevard in the Brownsville neighborhood. The Library completed in 1914, to designs by architect William B. Tubby, is one of 21 public libraries in Brooklyn whose development was funded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in the early 20th century. (read more…)

Revised rendering of Seaport’s Pier 17 redevelopment plan. Credit: SHoP Architects.

Modified plan would split redeveloped Pier 17 into two components, with signage added to roof and for the complex’s commercial tenants. On October 23, 2012, Landmarks agreed to amend a previously issued binding report for a plan to redevelop Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport Historic District.  Landmarks in May 2012 initially approved the Howard Hughes Corporation and the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s plan to demolish the existing Pier 17 structure and build a new, SHoP Architects-designed glass-clad complex with retail uses and public space. (See CityLand’s coverage of the approval here.)

ShoP Architects’ Gregg Pasquarelli described the revisions and new elements of the project. The complex had initially been designed as a solid mass with a notch carved out on the waterfront facade to recall that there were once two piers on the site. The notch in the pier will remain, but the complex will now be divided into two structures, which will allow more natural light into the ground floor and break up the interior massing. While the complex’s public rooftop space would no longer be contiguous, connections to each side will remain.

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