Proposed district among the few documented underground railroad stops in New York City. On January 13, 2009, Landmarks heard testimony on the potential designation of Lamartine Place as a historic district. Lamartine Place is comprised of 12 buildings at 333 through 359 West 29th Street, between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Manhattan. Built in the 1840s, the Greek Revival rowhouses were commissioned by Cyrus Mason, a New … <Read More>
Vornado exploring new development options for current site of Hotel Pennsylvania. On January 27, 2009, the Department of City Planning held a public hearing on the draft scope of an environmental impact statement for the proposed developments at 15 Penn Plaza in Manhattan. Bounded by Seventh Avenue to the west, West 33rd Street to the north, and West 32nd Street to the south, the Vornado Realty Trust-controlled property currently houses the 1700-room Hotel Pennsylvania.
In … <Read More>
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>
200-year-old church receives wide support, though pastor ambivalent. On March 18, 2008, Landmarks heard testimony on the possible designation of St. Michael’s Church, Parish House, and Rectory located on West 99th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. The church and rectory were designed by Robert W. Gibson, an architect known for his work on the West End Collegiate Church on West 77th Street. The parish house was built in a similar Romanesque Revival-style. The complex’s … <Read More>
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>
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>