New seven-story building in vacant SoHo lot approved after changes in architect and height. On August 6, 2013, Landmarks approved the issuance of a certificate of appropriateness for the construction of a new residential building at 74 Grand Street in the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. The site was previously the location of a six-story 1886 neo-Grec store-and-loft building. The building was demolished with Landmarks’ approval in 2009 after it was destabilized by nearby … <Read More>
Search Results for: Lower Manhattan, Manhattan
Historic Tenure: NYC Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn
For anyone considering sticking their hand in the colossal cookie jar that is New York City’s government, Rose Gill Hearn has a message for you: “we are watching.” With her usual stern glance, Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn tells me she demands a “standard of excellence.” In her 12 years at DOI, Gill Hearn has met that standard, amassing arrests and recovering taxpayer dollars in record numbers. When she assumed her office, the … <Read More>
Proposal for New Seven-Story Building Stirs Controversy
Application seeks to replace one-story structure with new residential, ground-floor retail building. On July 9, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on a proposal to demolish a building at 130 Seventh Avenue South in the Greenwich Village Historic District, and build a new seven-story building at the site. According to Landmarks’ district designation report, the existing building was constructed in 1937 after the southern extension of Seventh Avenue, to the … <Read More>
New York City’s Parking Odyssey: A Play in Several Acts
Traffic congestion in 2013 stems in large part from how the City has allocated street space among motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, CitiBike stations, pedicabs, and horse-drawn carriages. While changes to address street space allocations can be anticipated, the logic and purpose of the allocations have changed over time.
Act I – Suffocation on the Streets
Facing public streets “choked” with cars, the City in 1950 amended the 1916 Zoning Resolution to require developers of residential buildings … <Read More>
Wide Support Voiced for Designation of Carnegie Library [UPDATE: Seward Park Library Designated]
See below for update.
Testimony supporting designation of 1909 library focused on institution’s importance to generations of Lower East Side’s immigrant communities. On April 2, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the potential landmark designation of the Seward Park branch of the New York Public Library. The branch, located at 192 East Broadway, is a Renaissance Revival building that was completed in 1909 to designs from the firm of Babb, … <Read More>
Union Square Restaurant Put on Hold by Judge [Update: Appellate Division Rules in Favor of Planned Restaurant]
See below for update.
Neighborhood coalition sued Parks over proposed plan to open restaurant in Union Square. Union Square is comprised of 3.6 acres of dedicated municipal parkland, stretching three blocks in length and one block in width. Union Square Park’s pavilion has hosted a myriad of political events and recreational activities for over a century. In 2004, the City announced its plans to open a restaurant in the pavilion. In April 2008, the Union … <Read More>