We are living in a bit of a renaissance for New York City-area bridges. New spans are under construction for the Goethals, Kosciuszko, and Tappan Zee bridges, and the deck of the Bayonne Bridge is being raised. The world’s busiest bridge, the George Washington, is also having work done.
A new report by one of the city’s prominent preservation groups shows how, in at least one neighborhood, new development and infrastructure improvements live side-by-side with historic preservation.
New building applications for single and multi-family residential developments in New York City saw a major slowdown in 2016, as the fading boom following the changes that occurred at the Department of Buildings in 2014 began to slack further. Numbers have plunged by over half since 2014, and by 38 percent since 2015. The full report with spreadsheets covering every new building application is available at the research store.
A decade ago, the New York City Housing Authority emptied out 22 decaying tenement buildings on the south side of 114th Street in central Harlem, sending residents to public housing elsewhere in the city. Those long-vacant buildings, part of Randolph Houses, have now been renovated and filled with residents, and workers have begun revamping 14 brownstones on the north side of the block.
2015 marked the 50th anniversary of the New York City landmarks law. There were occasions to celebrate, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated six individual landmarks and four historic districts. 2016 was considerably busier for the commission. It designated 40 individual landmarks and two historic districts, including 12 new Midtown East landmarks and 26 sites from its backlog. Here are all of them, for you to take in as the year comes to a close.
