Council reverses 16-year-old Bd. of Estimate vote

Council re-designated buildings despite owner’s offer to tenants. On February 1, 2007, the City Council voted unanimously to overturn one of the final actions of the Board of Estimate. In 1990, Landmarks designated the entire 15-building complex called the First Avenue Estate that occupies the block bounded by East 64th and East 65th Streets and York and First Avenues. At its final meeting, the Board of Estimate carved out two buildings from the designation to … <Read More>


Plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park Withstands Challenge

Citizens group challenged inclusion of private residential development. In 2002, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki created the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation as a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation and charged it with the responsibility to design and build a proposed park on Port Authority land along Brooklyn’s East River waterfront. The 2002 agreement required that no less than 80 percent of the acreage be park space, all revenue generated from commercial uses … <Read More>


DeNiro hotel fails to qualify for brownfield tax credits

Construction of DeNiro’s luxury hotel at 377 Greenwich Street nears completion. Photo:Morgan Kunz.

Developers sought brownfield credits, but had excavated and remediated site before DEC denied claim. 377 Greenwich LLC, developers of a seven-story luxury hotel and restaurant at Greenwich and North Moore Streets, conducted soil tests on the site and discovered two 550-gallon unregistered underground storage tanks. The developers applied in 2004 to the state Department of Environmental Conservation to have the site recognized … <Read More>


Cell-phone antennas approved for church spire

Telecommunications equipment will not be visible from street. Landmarks issued the final permit to allow the construction of six telecommunication antennas within the steeple of the Woodrow United Methodist Church, an individual landmark in Staten Island. The work required removal of wood framing, clapboards, and vinyl siding from the spire and construction of an equipment cabinet in the rear of the site with conduits running from the rear cabinet to the church spire antennas. Landmarks … <Read More>


Hearing held on 1860 cast-iron building

Owner opposed, claiming that building was a “knock off” of famous cast-iron pioneer. Landmarks held a public hearing on the proposed designation of 63 Nassau Street, a cast-iron building in lower Manhattan that Landmarks’ research staff attributed to the pioneer of castiron construction, James Bogardis. The building, thought to be constructed in 1860, contains carved medallions of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin that are similar to those on the Bogardis building at 85 Leonard Street, … <Read More>


Testimony taken on three West Village buildings

Wide support voiced for landmarking of three 19th century Far West Village buildings. On November 14, 2006, Landmarks held hearings on the possible designations of 159 Charles Street, the Keller Hotel, and the Edwin B. Brooks House, all located in the Far West Village.

The merchant Henry Wyckoff built the Greek Revival row house at 159 Charles Street in 1838 on the site of the former Newgate Prison. Wyckoff built eight houses in the area, … <Read More>