The Graybar Building at 420 Lexington Avenue. Image Credit: LPC
Hearing were held on twelve buildings over two meetings, with vary degrees of opposition— Citicorp Center Complex will be voted on separately at a later date. On November 22, 2016, Landmarks voted to designate eleven buildings in the Midtown area as individual City landmarks. Public testimony on the buildings was considered at two meetings on July 19 and September 13 of 2016. Landmarks undertook the surveying of the area as part of a mayoral program to strengthen and revitalize East Midtown as a commercial core. The initiative is expected to entail zoning for greater density, improvements to public spaces and mass transit, and commitments to economic-growth plans.
Landmarks staff identified three periods of significant development in the area; the pre-Grand Central terminal era; the period of intense development following the construction of Grand Central and other transit improvements; and the modern, post-World War II era. (read more…)
