Council Member Ritchie Torres. Image credit: NYCC/William Alatriste

UPDATE: On May 10, 2017, the City Council voted 45-4 to approve the extension of the moratorium on hotel-to-condo conversions within the Borough of Manhattan. Council Members Daniel Garodnick, David Greenfield, Steven Matteo, and Paul Vallone all voted in the negative. The Committee on Housing and Buildings previously voted 11-0 on May 8, 2017. The bill will now go to the Mayor’s desk for his signature.

City Council Committee heard testimony in considering an extension on the Manhattan moratorium on hotel-to-condo conversions. On May 2, 2017, the Committee on Housing and Buildings held a hearing on a bill to continue for two years a limitation on conversions of hotels to condominiums. The Manhattan hotel industry alone generates about $11.8 billion in economic activity and generates more than 65,000 jobs throughout the City. The industry contributed $1.8 billion in tax revenue to the City in fiscal year 2015. (read more…)

Rendering of the Waldorf-Astoria after proposed cleaning and minor modifications. Image Credit: LPC

Plan would see some small additions, cleaning and restoration of facades, a new residential entrance, re-opening of historic interiors, and replacement of unsympathetic later elements. On April 25, 2017, Landmarks considered and approved applications to renovate the exterior and interior of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The 1931 Art Deco hotel’s exterior was landmarked in 1993, and continuous interiors on the first three levels were designated earlier in 2017. The iconic block-sized hotel has been acquired by Chinese investment firm Anbang, who have closed the hotel in anticipation of extensive renovations. The new owners intend to convert a substantial portion of the hotel to residential use. (read more…)

The Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Image Credit: LPC.

Interior landmark is composed of contiguous spaces over three floors, including the Main Lobby and Grand Ballroom. The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel Interiors at its meeting on March 7, 2017. The exterior of the Hotel, at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan, has been an individual City landmark since 1993. The hotel was purchased by Chinese investment firm Anbang in 2014. Anbang has closed the hotel for renovation, and intends to partially convert the building to condominium use. (read more…)

The Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Image Credit: LPC.

Speakers at hearing on designation lavish praise on quality and significance of hotel’s opulent Art Deco interior spaces. On January 24, 2017, Landmarks held a hearing on the potential designation of certain interior spaces in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan. The exterior of the hotel, with its block-sized footprint, was designated an individual landmark in 1993. Landmarks officially added the interiors to its calendar on November 1, 2006.  The specific interiors in the potential designation were identified by Landmarks staff as the most important spaces, as well as the corridors that connect them. The hotel was designed by the firm Schultze and Weaver, with partner Lloyd Morgan overseeing the project. (read more…)

Waldorf-Astoria Interior. Image Credit LPC.

Art Deco lobbies, galleries, staircase, a ballroom and their connecting spaces over three floors of iconic hotel to be considered for interior landmark status. On November 1, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission added interior spaces of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel at 301 Park Avenue to its calendar, the first formal step in the path to designation. The 1931 hotel, designed by the firm Schultze and Weaver, is already an individual City landmark, but its interiors are unprotected. The proposed designation encompasses select spaces on ground floor, first floor, and third floor, as well as the connecting spaces between them. (read more…)