Chase Plaza, Silver Towers get hearing

Chase Manhattan Plaza and NYU’s Silver Towers considered as City Landmarks. On June 24, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of two iconic modernist sites, 1 Chase Manhattan Plaza in Lower Manhattan, and University Village in Greenwich Village.

Chase Plaza includes a tower office building, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, and a plaza, featuring a sunken Japanese rock garden and a sculpture by Jean Dubuffet. The entire complex occupies … <Read More>


Landmarks Calendars NYU Towers for Designation

Towers were part of Robert Moses’ urban renewal project to preserve housing for middle-income Manhattan residents. Landmarks launched public consideration on the designation of three towers, collectively known as Silver Towers or University Village, located on the block bounded by LaGuardia Place and Bleecker, Mercer, and Houston Streets. New York University uses two of the towers for student and faculty housing, while the third is owned by a private cooperative and protected under the Mitchell-Lama … <Read More>


Hearing held on oldest active synagogue in Queens

Elected officials urged Landmarks to designate Congregation Tifereth Israel. Photo: The New York Landmarks Conservancy.

Wide support for designation of 97- year-old synagogue. On January 15, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of the Congregation Tifereth Israel synagogue located at 109-18 54th Avenue in the Corona section of Queens. Tifereth Israel is an example of the vernacular style, common amongst Lower East Side synagogues, and characterized by Gothic, Moorish, and Judaic design elements. … <Read More>


Landmarks votes eight designations in one day

Designations include Lord & Taylor store and Eberhard Faber Pencil Co. complex. On October 30, 2007, Landmarks voted unanimously to designate seven individual buildings and one new historic district.

In Manhattan, Landmarks designated the Lord & Taylor flagship store in Midtown, the Manhattan House in the Upper East Side, and two federal-era rowhouses in the Lower East Side. The Lord & Taylor store dates back to 1914 and is an example of the Italian Renaissance … <Read More>


Hearing held on 1891 Victorian house and garden

Voelker-Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden. Image: LPC.

1891 house currently serves as a museum and bird sanctuary. On September 18, 2007, Landmarks held a hearing on the potential designation of the Voelker-Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary, and Victorian Garden in the Murray Hill section of Flushing. The museum consists of a house and garden built in 1891 by shopkeeper James Bouton. Conrad Voelker, a German-language newspaper publisher, purchased the property in 1899, which remained … <Read More>


EIS scoping hearing held for new Bronx 911 center

Center would enable citywide management of emergency services. On September 6, 2007, the NYPD held a public hearing on the draft scope of an environmental impact statement for the proposed construction of a second 911 center for the City. The proposal by the NYPD, the FDNY and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, consists of a 493,500- square-foot office building, along with an accessory parking garage with capacity for 500 vehicles. Designed to house … <Read More>