Early 20th century rooming house heard

Owner of renaissance-style building willing to accommodate landmark status. On December 18, 2007, Landmarks heard testimony on the Allerton 39th Street House, built between 1916 and 1918 at 145 East 39th Street in the East Side of Manhattan. The building was one of six Allerton Houses in the City, a chain of residences and clubs that served young middle-class men until the mid- 1920s. Arthur Loomis Harmon, who later worked on the Empire State Building, … <Read More>


Council OKs Eberhard Faber Pencil Hist. Dist

Historic district includes buildings from Brooklyn’s bygone industrial age. On January 30, 2008, the City Council voted to approve Landmarks’ designation of the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company Historic District, located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, between West and Kent Streets along Greenpoint Avenue. The factory buildings serve as an example of the German Renaissance Revival style, with some buildings dating as far back as the 1880s. In 2005, the Department of Buildings issued permits … <Read More>


Maritime school to move to Governors Island

New York Harbor School will occupy former Army barracks. Landmarks voted to approve the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation’s plan to move New York Harbor School, a Brooklyn-based public high school with a strong maritime focus, into a former military barracks building located in the Governors Island Historic District.

GIPEC is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation created to develop civic spaces on Governors Island after the federal government handed control of … <Read More>


Modern townhouse to replace brownstone

Rendering for 34 E. 62nd St. Image courtesy of Preston T. Phillips, Architect.

Approval included changes in response to Commissioners’ comments. On October 16, 2007, Landmarks voted to issue a certificate of appropriateness to allow construction of a five-story townhouse at 34 East 62nd Street, located between Madison and Park Avenues in the Upper East Side Historic District. The approved building will replace an 1882 townhouse that was destroyed in 2006 by a gas … <Read More>


Sunnyside Gardens landmarked

The new historic district becomes the largest in Queens. On October 29, 2007, the City Council approved Landmarks’ proposal to designate Sunnyside Gardens, making it the seventh largest historic district in the city.

In June, Landmarks voted to designate Sunnyside Gardens despite it being zoned as a Special Planned Community Preservation District, which requires local homeowners to apply to the Planning Commisssion for a special permit before altering their building or landscaping. 4 CityLand 92 … <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>