Landmarks to change designation procedure

Landmarks must promulgate rules that encourage a more timely and transparent processing of landmark nominations. Upon receiving a Request for Evaluation, or an official landmark nomination submitted by the public, Landmarks’ Request for Evaluation Committee would screen the nomination to determine if further consideration was appropriate. If further consideration was warranted, the Committee would send the nomination, a photograph, a statement of significance, and the Committee’s recommendation to each Landmarks Commissioner for comment. When all … <Read More>


Bed-Stuy designation heard

Home on Alice Court. Image: LPC.

Positive hearing for 36-building residential enclave near Atlantic Avenue. On September 16, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony regarding the potential historic district designation of Alice and Agate Courts in Bedford- Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Comprised of two cul-de-sacs off Atlantic Avenue between Kingston and Albany Avenues, the neighborhood was developed by Swiss-born Florian Grosjean, owner of a successful kitchenware company. Grosjean named Alice Court after his daughter while Agate Court refers to … <Read More>


Bowery SRO not a hurdle to designation

Whitehouse Hotel. Photo: Kristin Daggan.

Council votes to include Bowery SRO in NoHo historic district extension. On September 4, 2008, the City Council voted to approve the proposed NoHo historic district extension and ended the debate over whether the Whitehouse Hotel should be included within the district. The approval adds 56 more buildings, all between Lafayette Street and Bowery, to the district. Landmarks voted to designate the area in May after hearing testimony from residents … <Read More>


Landmarks devotes meeting to potential designations

Landmarks provides forum for accord and controversy during numerous hearings. On June 24, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on eight potential City landmarks, as well as one historic district extension. According to spokesperson Lisi de Bourbon, Landmarks grouped the designation hearings on one day to demonstrate certain themes and priorities like post-war architecture, public libraries, and the Commission’s recent review of architecture in the West Village.

The proposed extension of Queens’ Douglaston Historic to encompass 22 … <Read More>


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 considers West Chelsea District

Proposed West Chelsea Historic District. Image: LPC.

New York Terminal Central Stores, Real Estate Board, and Cedar Lake Ballet testified against proposed designation. On May 13, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on a proposal to designate a seven-block portion of West Chelsea as a historic district.

Located between West 25th and West 28th Streets, from the West Side Highway to Tenth Avenue, the proposed West Chelsea Historic District would protect brick industrial buildings dating as far … <Read More>