The New York Observer » Landmarks Preservation Commission

Pier A Sinks Without $1 Million for New Foundation

At 126-years-old, Pier A could be doing worse—at least it has not totally fallen into the waters of the harbor like so many of its peers. Read More

Those Criminals! N.Y.P.D. May Have Violated Landmarks Laws at Tribeca Stable

Forget Occupy Wall Street protestors—after removing part of a brick wall at a historic former police station, the N.Y.P.D. has to deal with a new set of idealistic hippies: the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Read More

‘Vornado and Landmarks Sitting in a Tree’ Sings Local Media

While there's no official word yet on whether or not there has been any "K-I-S-S-I-N-G," it seems like some pouty lips are being puckered by both parties on the matter of Vornado's ongoing renovations of 510 Fifth Avenue, the former Manufacturer's Hanover Trust building. Read More

Downtown Brooklyn Skyscraper District Gets Unanimous Approval From Landmarks

The Landmarks Preservation Commission just approved the controversial preservation of 20 buildings in Downtown Brooklyn. Known as the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District, it had been opposed by local landlords and a co-op board who feared it would make renovations and new storefronts expensive to construct and maintain. Read More

Twisted! High Line Gets Another Swank Neighbor

The architecture magnet that is the High Line is still attracting those big steel-and-glass gems. The Standard, the Whitney, Diane Von Furstenburg's place, Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Neil Denari and his crooked HL23—all are there, and so is Morris Adjmi. He already has the XXX-rated High Line Building, and he has been hard at work wooing the Landmarks Preservation Commission with his designs for 837 Washington Street. Yesterday, the commission approved the project 8-2. Read More

A Landmark Lawsuit Over Park51

Whatever the motivations, a lawsuit against the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission over the proposed Park51 Islamic center is indeed historic. The conservative American Center for Law and Justice and former firefighter Timothy Brown brought the suit, alleging that the commission erred in not designating 45-47 Park Place a landmark last August. That decision that would Read More

Nice Piece of Glass… But Where’s the Sculpture?!

What is a landmark?

Determining that is the job of the city commission bearing that name, and yesterday it decreed that 510 Fifth Avenue, built in 1954 as a five-story marquee bank branch for Manufacturers Trust (later Manufacturers of Hanover, later Chase Manhattan), was so worthy of preservation that not only should its exterior be saved Read More

Apple’s Next Stop? Grand Central

Apple has begun a super-secret quest for a store in historic Grand Central Terminal, potentially creating a hive of buzzing techies in the glamorous Beaux Arts landmark.

Reliable sources tell The Observer that the maker of ubiquitous iGadgets--from computers to cell phones--hopes to open a store in the transportation and retail hub, though it has yet Read More

Will the West End Avenue Historic District Kill the Upper West Side?

Steven Spinola, the all-powerful head of the Real Estate Board of New York, seems to think so.

He told the Post that "landmarking the entire city does not leave opportunity to grow," and he has a point that there won't be much of the Upper West Side left that is not protected by Read More

Renovate This: Inside Robert De Niro’s ‘Controversial’ Greenwich Hotel Penthouse

To see the changes the Landmarks Preservation Commission required of Robert De Niro and his team at the Greenwich Hotel is rather surprising. To the untrained eye, the copper mansard roof the commissioners insisted be stripped away looks pretty harmless. But, as with so many things, the devil is in the details of this Read More

Hive Mind: Morris Adjmi Loves His Alien Additions

Yesterday was indeed a busy one at the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Not only were Paul Rudolph and Robert De Niro there, but so was Morris Adjmi, defending yet another wild addition to one of the city's historic buildings.

Last week it was that torquing High Line neighbor at 837 Washington Street, which the Read More

The Tier Hunter: City Approves Robert De Niro’s Mansard-less Tribeca Penthouse

Celebrities--they're just like us, even when it comes to the city's interminable buildings bureaucracy. Even a local legend like Robert De Niro can't escape the Landmarks Preservation Commission's grasp, though in the end he got what he wanted. Then again, when doesn't the Godfather of Tribeca?

In 2004, the commission approved designs for De Niro's Greenwich Hotel, Read More

The Coolest Townhouse in Town Becoming a Landmark

The Observer has already sung the praises of the Brutalist architect Paul Rudolph, and the Landmarks Preservation Commission is poised to follow suit, turning perhaps his greatest project into an official city landmark tomorrow.

Until Rudolph moved in in 1961, 23 Beekman Place on the Upper East Side was simply another stately townhouse. Built a Read More

Silver Sliver Showdown: NYU Files for Village’s Tallest Building

We've had fights for midtown's skyline and downtown. Now, let the battle for the Village's commence.

Earlier today, New York University filed plans with the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the Grimshaw-designed fourth tower at I.M. Pei's Silver Towers site, the centerpiece of the campus' 2030 expansion plan. After sweet talking locals for the Read More

Is That Much Really Missing From the Morningside Historic District?

You can almost hear the folks at the Landmarks Preservation Commission sighing.

After 15 years, the commission finally gave the residents of Morningside Heights the historic district they've been begging for. But now they're unhappy that the 63-building district will be much smaller than proposed, including, well, pretty much Columbia University. The new district would Read More