Building is bold expression of mid-twentieth century engineering. On June 28, 2005, Landmarks designated the former Jamaica Savings Bank located on a diamond-shaped parcel at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 56th Avenue in Elmhurst, Queens. The unique building, constructed in 1966-68, features a 116-foot long curved copper-clad roof that rises from a low floor-to-ceiling height to a 43-foot height at the Queens Boulevard facade. At the public hearings, North Fork Bank, the owner, strongly … <Read More>
Search Results for: Landmarks
Two designations despite owners’ objections
The Windermere and Dickey House designated. Despite strong opposition by current owners, on June 28, 2005, Landmarks designated the Windermere Apartments in Manhattan’s Clinton section, and the Robert Dickey House in Lower Manhattan.
The Windermere, constructed in 1881, is a visually compelling three-building complex located at 400-406 West 57th Street and Ninth Avenue. Its design, attributed to Theophilus G. Smith, features distinctive cornices and polychromatic brickwork. At the public hearings, the owner strongly opposed the … <Read More>
Sanitation’s four marine transfer stations approved
Council unable to override Mayor’s veto. The proposed sites of three marine waste transfer stations were approved after the City Council failed to get sufficient votes to override Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto.
The Department of Sanitation had sought separate site selection approvals through ULURP applications to construct four new marine transfer stations. The four transfer stations were a component of Mayor Bloomberg’s 20-year Solid Waste Management Plan, which at the time of the applications was … <Read More>
Signs ok’ed for Rockefeller Center’s new observation deck
Full Council approved zoning amendment granting special authority to Planning Commission Chair. On June 23, 2005, the City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the zoning resolution allowing the Chair of the Planning Commission to authorize the use of illuminated signs in lots occupied by a landmark. The amended zoning resolution applied only to the Fifth Avenue Subdistrict of the Special Midtown District, and impacts the New York Public Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. … <Read More>
Court dismisses late challenge to Museum’s renovation plans
Opponents filed claim 31 months too late. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which leases the land in Central Park from Parks under an 1871 directive of the state legislature, proposed to renovate the museum in 2000 and presented a detailed plan to Parks and Landmarks. The plan called for a new loading dock, the addition of public cafeterias and new auditoriums. Parks Commissioner Henry Stern signed off on the plan in December 2002, noting that … <Read More>
Bunche House designated
Home designated cultural landmark, but community demands full historic district. On May 17, 2005, Landmarks held a public hearing and immediately voted to designate the neo-tudor style, single-family home at 115-24 Grosvenor Road in Kew Gardens as a cultural landmark since it was the home, from 1952 until his death in 1971, of Dr. Ralph Bunche. Dr. Bunche was appointed to the committee that oversaw the partition of Israel following the United Nations’ formation and, … <Read More>