New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission | The New York Observer

Penn Club, Once the Yale Club, On Track To Become Landmark

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:24:00 -0400

The Penn Club is on the road to become a New York City landmark.

Today, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission was expected to add the University of Pennsylvania’s club at 30 West 44th Street to the agency’s calendar, an act that starts the landmark process and typically results in designation.

The building, an 11-story Tracy & Swartwout-designed structure, was built in 1901, originally opening as the Yale Club. Yale then moved to...

Look Mag Building Likely To Be Landmarked as LPC Continues Modernist Spree

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:09:07 -0400

Mayor Bloomberg apparently likes Modernist buildings.

The Modernist, multitiered 488 Madison Avenue, once the home of Look Magazine, is on the road toward landmark status as the Bloomberg-controlled Landmarks Preservation Commission is expected Tuesday to begin the designation process for the 1949 building. The move is the latest in a series of designations of Modernist buildings around the city, including the white brick Manhattan House; the International-style, S.O.M.-designed One Chase Manhattan Plaza in Lower...

New Landmarks: 275 Madison, Harlem Libraries

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:24:21 -0500

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission today approved five new landmarks including the 79-year-old, 43-story midtown skyscraper 275 Madison Avenue, owned by Aby Rosen's RFR Realty, and two libraries on 125th Street.

The full list of approved landmarks, per a spokeswoman from the LPC:

275 Madison Avenue (Built 1931) New York Public Library, George Bruce Branch, 518 West 125th Street (Built 1915) New York Public...

Underground Railroad Homes in Chelsea Up for Landmarking

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:37:20 -0500

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has put a set of 19th-century Chelsea row houses used in the Underground Railroad on track to become landmarks, as the agency is slated to consider the properties at a hearing tomorrow.

The buildings, which create a new “Lamartine Place” historic district, run from 333 to 359 West 29th Street, between Eighth and Ninth avenues. Neighbors in the area have devoted considerable attention to the buildings,...

Can Ciprianis Convince City To Landmark Rainbow Room?

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:14:11 -0500

A postscript to our story in this week’s print edition on how the Ciprianis, who run the art deco-themed Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, are trying to give the Tishman Speyer-owned space a restrictive landmark status, rounding up public and political support for the move.

Ultimately, the decision rests entirely with the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (which has been the recent target of an apparent crusade by The New York Times,...

Pei-Designed Silver Towers Win Landmark Status

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:40:34 -0500

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission today voted to landmark the I. M. Pei-designed Silver Towers, giving the set of NYU-owned apartment buildings known as University Village a protective status.

The action comes in connection with NYU’s plans to expand its space in the city by 6 million square feet in the next two-plus decades, as the university agreed to the landmarking in an early concession to the community.

Extell Plans 15-Story Apartment Building on West 20th

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:32:48 -0400

Gary Barnett's Extell Development Co. is seeking to build a 15-story apartment tower on West 20th Street, a planned project that will be heard by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission tomorrow.

The site, 19-25 West 20th Street, is in the Ladies' Mile Historic District, and any new construction would need consent of the commission. The new building would include a three-story addition to an existing garage on the site,...

Landmarks Panel Approves Library's Shrine To Steve Schwarzman

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:37:35 -0400

Today the Landmarks Preservation Commission unanimously agreed to put the New York Public Library’s biggest private donor in history, Steven Schwarzman, on a pedestal--or, more accurately, allow his name to be inscribed on the two most prominent stone pedestals flanking the main entrance on Fifth Avenue and three other B-list locations.

What, you were expecting some giant crab claw statues instead?

We think they made the right move. Who knows what the repercussions would...