New York Public Library Main Reading Room Officially Enters Designation Process [UPDATE: Designation Approved]

UPDATELandmarks voted to designate the interior at its meeting August 8, 2017. Commissioner Adi Shamir-Baron spoke of the “rare condition of two block’s worth of interior space,” with 50-foor ceilings. She said the interiors remind us of the meaning of civic space, as a place that “honors and elevates the spirit of the individual and the collective.”

Chair Meenakshi Srinivasan stated that designation as an imperative step in Landmarks’ mission, that would preserve <Read More>


West Village Development Roundly Criticized by Area Residents

Project would entail the demolition of two former service station buildings, and the erection of a new six-story-plus penthouse corner structure with residential and commercial uses. Landmarks considered an application for a new development spanning two lots at 536 and 544 Hudson Street on July 25, 2017. The site, at the corner of Charles Street, lies within the Greenwich Village Historic District. The property’s developer is William Gottlieb Real Estate.


Residential Redevelopment of Two Garage Buildings Approved After Revisions

Revised application reduced scale and visibility of rooftop bulk, and modified windows and other details to better relate to historic architecture. On July 17, 2017, Landmarks approved an application to redevelop two lots owned by Brookland Capital in the Bedford –Stuyvesant/Expanded Stuyvesant Heights Historic District. The adjoining lots, at 536 Halsey Street, are currently occupied by utilitarian buildings constructed in the 20th century, most recently used as parking garages. The larger 1904 … <Read More>


Support Voiced for Designation of Library’s Main Reading Room

Main reading room and catalog room of New York Public Library’s main branch lauded for both architecture and social significance. On July 18, 2017, Landmarks held a public hearing on the potential designation of the Main Reading Room and Catalog Room of the main branch of the New York Public Library as an interior landmark.  The Carrere & Hasting designed library, whose exterior is designated an individual City landmark, stands at 476 Fifth <Read More>


Commission Addresses Demolition of Fire-Damaged Individually Landmarked Synagogue

Commissioners allowed demolition to proceed, but mandated that any material that can be retained or salvaged must be preserved. On July 12, 2017, Landmarks decided on application filed by the owners of the Beth Hamerdash Hagodol Synagogue, an individual City landmark, at 60 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side.  The building was severely damaged by a fire in May of 2017, believed to have been set by a teenage arsonist who gained access … <Read More>


39-Unit Affordable Development Approved in Harlem Historic District

Seven-story building would have dance studio space at the ground floor. On June 27, 2017, Landmarks considered and approved a proposal for a new development on a vacant lot at 841 St. Nicholas Avenue, at the corner of 152nd Street, in the Hamilton Heights/Sugar Hill Northwest Historic District. The site was acquired by BRP Development Company from the Dance Theater of Harlem in 2016. A deed restriction on the property, limiting its … <Read More>