Council rebuffs request to alter designation report. On July 19, 2006, the City Council approved the Weehawken Street Historic District and the Greenwich Village Historic District Extension, which together extended the Landmarks Law’s protections to an additional 59 buildings in the West Village. Landmarks had unanimously designated both districts on May 2, 2006. 3 CityLand 78 (June 15, 2006).

At the public hearing before the Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses, the resident and owner of 689 Washington Street, a house constructed in 1980 that emulates the neo-Georgian facades of surrounding historic homes, requested that her property be carved out of the district’s proposed boundaries. Alternatively, the owner asked that the designation report denote its modern construction date in order to allow Landmarks or other land use agencies some leeway in approving alterations.

In response, the Subcommittee members explained that the Subcommittee lacked the power to alter the designation report, but offered to provide the owner with a letter certifying her testimony and hearing transcripts to use as evidence with future permit applications. The Subcommittee and full Land Use Committee approved before sending it to the full Council, which voted for final approval on July 19, 2006.

Council: Greenwich Village Historic District Extension (July 19, 2006); Council: Weehawken Street Historic District (July 19, 2006). CITYADMIN