The demolitions would make new Pier building a free-standing structure, with four visible facades, and a new canopy that would allow for all-weather use of roof space. On August 4, 2015, representatives of the Howard Hughes Corporation appeared at the Landmarks Preservation Commission to propose revisions to their planned redevelopment of Piers 16 and 17 in the South Street Seaport Historic District. Landmarks in 2012 approved an application by SHoP Architects, after multiple hearings… <Read More>
Search Results for: Lower Manhattan, Manhattan
Redevelopment of Modernist Plaza Approved after Revisions
Plan will make plaza a more accessible and inviting space for public use, adaptively reuse lower levels of former bank building for retail use. On August 4, 2014, The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to allow alterations to One Chase Manhattan Plaza, an individual City landmark at 28 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan. The 1964 tower and two-and-half acre plaza were designed by the firm Skidmore Owings and Merrill, led by partner Gordon Bunschaft, … <Read More>
Breakfast Archive: Adrian Benepe and City Parks
On July 6, 2015 the Appellate Division, First Department voted unanimously to enjoin construction of a shopping mall and movie theater on the site of the former Shea Stadium in Willets Point, Queens. The suit was brought in part by advocates of New York City’s parks, the latest in a long history of actions by New Yorkers to represent their valued open spaces. On October 21, 2005 Adrian Benepe, then Commissioner of the Department of … <Read More>
Reconstruction of 19th century Fire Lookout Tower Approved
Because individual landmark will be accessible to the public, railings and other safety features will be incorporated into reconstructed tower, as well a stainless steel structural elements. On July 14, 2015, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and approved an application to reconstruct the Watch Tower in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park, an individual City landmark. The four-story octagonal tower, built around 1855, originally served as a fire lookout tower for Northern Manhattan. It is the only … <Read More>
Development of Willets Point Blocked on Appeal
Appellate panel found the authorization for private construction on parkland did not extend to a shopping mall. On October 9, 2013, the City Council approved Queens Development Group’s planned 10-story, 200-room hotel and 30,000-square foot mall complex on the Willets Point West site, formerly the location of Shea Stadium. The site was once the north end of Flushing Meadows Park until the state legislature authorized the stadium’s construction in 1961. The development would anchor further … <Read More>
NYLS Honors Four Leaders with Civic Fame Award
Civic Fame is the colossal, 25-foot tall gilded female figure in a flowing robe who stands barefoot on a sphere at the top of the Municipal Building overlooking City Hall. Civic Fame, created in 1913 by sculptor Adolph Weinman, carries a five-sectioned crown representing the five boroughs, and a shield and laurel branch representing victory and triumph.
On May 1, 2015, the statue also became the name of a new award by New York Law … <Read More>