As we have reported, the Landmarks Preservation Commission is in the process of dealing with the backlog of 95 items that have been on its calendar since before 2010, some for decades. That process took a big step forward Tuesday, with 30 sites remaining on the calendar as priorities for designation vote by the end of 2016. Five sites were removed from the calendar for lack of merit.
An aging loft building on Bowery between Houston and Stanton Street may bite the dust for an eight-story apartment building with retail. Morris Adjmi Architects just filed plans for the project at 258 Bowery, on the same block as the New Museum.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the New York City landmarks law, which empowered the Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate landmarks and historic districts in the five boroughs. With 2015 coming to an end, we thought it would be a good time to review what the commission has protected this year. Six individual landmarks and four historic districts were designated, adding up to protection for over 2,000 more structures.
JMH Development and Madison Estates just won Landmarks approval to transform the Brooklyn Heights Cinema into apartments, but their first project to rise in a historic district was the Townhouses of Cobble Hill, at 110-126 Congress Street. The development’s five new townhouses are inching toward completion, and renovations seem to have finished at the four 19th century Greek Revival homes.
Over the last few months, the Department of City Planning has lost the PR battle over the proposed Jerome Avenue rezoning. Residents and activists accused the city of trying to create a new neighborhood called “Cromwell-Jerome,” a reference to DCP’s initial plans for a zoning study, and in response, officials dropped “Cromwell” from the title. In reality, planning officials hope to revitalize a narrow, 73-block stretch around Jerome, from 167th Street to just south of Fordham Road. They want to improve parks, the streetscape, retail, community services, schools, and economic growth, instead of simply pushing through more housing development.