Perhaps you’ve noticed or heard about the new public Wi-Fi kiosks being installed around the city, often replacing payphones? Well, they’re called Links (the operation is LinkNYC) and the plan is for many many more. Before they are installed in historic districts, the Landmarks Preservation Commission must rule, and a public hearing on the issue was held Tuesday.
Sometime next spring, the landmarked Bronx General Post Office, located in the borough’s Concourse Village neighborhood, will start a new life as retail, office space, and a restaurant. Interior demolition work is underway and we got a peak inside last week, with Brendan Murray, vice president at Hollister Construction Services, and he pointed out an incredibly creepy aspect of the building’s history.
Last year, residential development in the South Bronx was booming. This year, builders are looking at their future tax bills – without the 421-a tax break – and realizing that it’s safer and cheaper to build hotels than apartments.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s backlog, which had been reduced from 95 items to 30 items in February, has taken another big step towards being cleared. On Tuesday, the LPC designated eight new city individual landmarks, and they span all five boroughs.
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.