Two Federal row houses designated as landmarks

Despite homeowner objections, rare residences designated unanimously. Landmarks designated two Federalera row houses at 486 and 488 Greenwich Street as individual landmarks on July 24, 2007. The two-and-a-half story houses, built in 1823 for German tailor and developer John Rohr, now contain commercial establishments on their ground floors. The houses retain their peaked dormered roofs, stone lintels and sills, and essential identity as three-bayed row houses despite numerous alterations over the years. The buildings’ survival … <Read More>


Eberhard Faber factory cluster heard by Landmarks

Nearby demolition and development lent urgency to potential designation. On July 24, 2007, Landmarks heard testimony on the proposed Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District. The proposed historic district comprises five buildings dating from the 1880s to the 1920s relating to the former Eberhard Faber pencil factory. The company moved to this Brooklyn location after a fire at its Manhattan plant in 1872 and remained there until 1956. The buildings feature stone lintels and terra … <Read More>


Landmarks approves 20-story condo for Midtown district

LPC approves this glass facade condo for a historic district along Fifth Avenue. Image courtesy of Beyer Binder Belle.

Construction will require the demolition of a non-contributing townhouse. On May 15, 2007, Landmarks approved an application by developer Brandolini Companies to demolish an existing building and construct a new residential condominium at 224 Fifth Avenue in the Madison Square North Historic District. The approved 20-story building, designed by architectural firm Beyer Blinder Belle, features a … <Read More>


Federal row houses near Holland tunnel heard

Support voiced for designation of two homes built in 1823. Landmarks heard testimony on the 486 and 488 Greenwich Street houses on April 10, 2007. Built in 1823 for German-born tailor John Rohr, the two-anda- half story, Federal-style row houses feature dormered peaked roofs, brick cladding, and stone lintels and sills. Rohr built a group of five row houses at the corner of Greenwich and Canal Streets, and 486 and 488 Greenwich remain the only … <Read More>


Queens house designated despite severe alteration

Landmarks re-designates home struck from district by court order. Following a lengthy public hearing, Landmarks voted unanimously on April 3, 2007 to re-include the single- family home at 41-45 240th Street back into the Douglaston Hill Historic District.

Landmarks originally included the home within a December 2004 designation, but a court struck down the home’s inclusion, ordering Landmarks to hold a second hearing focused on the owners’ claim that the home dated to 1920 rather … <Read More>


Potential Sunnyside Gardens district proves divisive

Opposing sides report neighborhood friction, allegations of spying and harassment. On April 17, 2007, in front of an audience exceeding the hearing room’s capacity, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of a Sunnyside Gardens Historic District. Sunnyside Gardens, a planned community built between 1924 and 1928, features a mixture of single-, double-, and multi-family dwellings arranged around large, landscaped open courtyards. Funded by a limited dividend company, the development provided high-quality housing for the … <Read More>