Old Saint James Episcopal Church Designated

City’s second-oldest surviving religious structure designated an individual landmark. On September 19, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate the Old Saint James Episcopal Church at 86-02 Broadway in Elmhurst, Queens as an individual City landmark. Completed in 1736 for the Anglican community in the town then known a Newtown, the timber framed meeting hall featured a single tower and wood shingling. In 1848, the building was converted to a parish hall as … <Read More>


West Village Development Roundly Criticized by Area Residents

Project would entail the demolition of two former service station buildings, and the erection of a new six-story-plus penthouse corner structure with residential and commercial uses. Landmarks considered an application for a new development spanning two lots at 536 and 544 Hudson Street on July 25, 2017. The site, at the corner of Charles Street, lies within the Greenwich Village Historic District. The property’s developer is William Gottlieb Real Estate.


Two-Story Addition Approved Over Community Opposition

As part of a zoning application, both facades of through-block cast-iron building will be restored and maintained. On May 9, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposal for the construction additions and facade restoration to 121 Chambers Street in the Tribeca South Historic District. The through-block building also faces 103 Reade Street. The Italianate-style structure dates to 1861, and is characteristic of the cast-iron and masonry store-and-loft buildings that … <Read More>


Comprehensive Plan for Waldorf-Astoria Renovation Approved

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. … <Read More>


Proposed Development Raised Community Ire, Deemed Out-of-Scale by Commissioners

Commissioners asked for revisions to proposal, which would see two garage buildings converted− one to an apartment building and the other into two townhouses. On March 28, 2017, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal for two adjoining lots at 536 Halsey Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District. The midblock site is occupied by two early-20th-century utilitarian buildings; a three-story Queen Anne-style structure built in 1904 and a one-story building. Both were … <Read More>


Waldorf-Astoria Interiors Designated Ahead of Residential Conversion

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 … <Read More>