LPC hearing today on controversial development proposed for NoHo Historic District Extension

The Landmarks Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing today at 3:30 p.m. on a proposal to build a 220-foot-tall, 228-foot-wide apartment building on the corner of Lafayette and Great Jones Streets in the NoHo Historic District Extension.

This NE corner has been an Edison parking lot since the early 1970s. While no one (except maybe car owners) may miss the lot, the project's size has raised concerns from preservationists and local elected officials.

According to Crain's this past November, Edward J. Minskoff Equities and Edison Properties are behind this "luxury rental project," which would span between roughly 260,000 and 300,000 square feet with 238 residential units and 10,000 square feet of retail space."

Minskoff, the developer behind 51 Astor Place/Death Star, closed on a 99-year ground lease for the property in June, per Crain's. 

Here's a look at the proposed building, per a recent presentation...

The current proposal shows 200-210 residences over in the two-building complex with 50-53 deemed "affordable units" for people who make 60% of the area's median income — roughly $77,000 annually for a two-person household.

District 2 City Councilmember Harvey Epstein told Gothamist he wants to see more affordable housing attached to this project. (The Times has more here.)

According to Village Preservation, the proposed building's bulk and design raise concerns. In a statement about the plan, the group said that "the massive scale and monotonous design are overwhelming and need to be substantially reconfigured."

Village Preservation added that while the site will likely be developed, the details matter: "This parking lot site will be developed, but what that development looks like matters, and it's the job of the Commission to ensure it's done right."

Last month, Community Board 2 passed a resolution that, in part, recommended: 

A. Denial of the application unless meaningful changes are made to reduce the actual bulk, keeping the minimum size necessary to preserve the proposed square footage for affordable housing apartments; and

B. Unless materials and detailing referencing historic design principles to reduce the perceived height and flatness and present a more harmonious appearance with the historic buildings adjacent, across the street, and in the neighborhood...

 To date, no work permits have been filed for the address, 375 Lafayette St./20 Great Jones St. Crain's noted that the developers hope to break ground next year. 

Crain's also pointed out that this project is "an example of both the promise and pitfalls of New York's contentious affordable housing tax break 485-x." 

The developers had once considered putting an office building on the site, but the 2021 SoHo/NoHo rezoning — which opened the door to more residential projects — along with the 2024 485-x affordable-housing tax break reportedly made an apartment development far more appealing. 

Today's hearing on this item is estimated to be at 3:30. Village Preservation has info on attending in person or remotely here.

2 new stories and 8 residential units proposed for historic 7th Street church

There are proposed plans to convert and enlarge the historic church at 121 E. Seventh St. between Avenue A and First Avenue. 

As the property sits in the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District, the developer needs the approval of the Landmarks Preservation Commission. Tonight, Community Board 3's Landmarks Committee will hear about the proposal. (PDF here.) 

An overview: 

The project entails converting and enlarging the existing church to a mixed-use building. Proposed are 8 residential units within the existing structure, including a new two-story vertical enlargement above and a Community facility space at the cellar level. 

We are seeking support of a Certificate of Appropriateness for the vertical enlargement with proposed modifications to the entrance for the residences & community facility, windows at the street facade, restoration of masonry street facade & decorative arch trim at the window openings, stepped gable cornice replacement, cornice at the belltower roof, exterior lighting and modifications to the rear facade.

Last used by CityLight Church, the structure has been on the sales market. At the moment, we're unclear who owns the property. According to the CB3 website, the applicant is Garbo & Company, a real estate firm specializing in investing and operating real estate development. 

No. 121 started its life here as a house in 1843. 

Here's more history via Daytonian in Manhattan: 

...on May 10, 1902, The New York Times reported that the Hungarian Reformed Church had purchased the dwelling. The group hired architect and builder Frederick Ebeling to convert the structure to a church building. 

The building was consecrated in 1903. Within the next year, Ebeling extended church to the property line and incorporated a central bell tower characteristic of a Hungarian country church. The quaint little church had a comfortable overall charm. And yet there was little to hide the fact that this was a house-turned-church. 

In 1961, when St. Mary's American Orthodox Greek Catholic Church purchased the building, the congregation thought it a good idea to modernize the structure by encasing Ebeling's stone façade in "Naturestone," an artificial stone material.

It was not a good idea. 

Despite the offensive makeover, the little house-turned church retains its charm; a relic of a time when foreign-speaking immigrants drew together in a new land to worship together. 

And a look at it in the 1940s via the Museum of the City of New York ...

The Landmarks Committee meeting starts tonight at 6:30 at the Chinatown YMCA/Houston Street Center — 273 Bowery, classroom 1.

A campaign to landmark the building that housed A Gathering of Tribes on 3rd Street

Steve Cannon founded A Gathering of Tribes at 285 E. Third St. between Avenues C and D in 1991. Through the years, A Gathering of the Tribes evolved into a salon of sorts in Cannon's apartment for artists to meet and exchange ideas.

There's now a campaign to landmark the federal-style building that housed the arts and cultural organization. 

Here's more via the Gathering of Tribes website:

The Landmarks Preservation Commission recently made a commitment to "ensure diversity and inclusion in historical landmark designations, to make sure that we are telling the stories of all New Yorkers." 

Let’s hold them to it. Currently, the vast majority of historical landmarks in NYC honor the accomplishments of white, cis/het men from affluent backgrounds. 

Landmarking A Gathering of the Tribes would honor Steve Cannon’s legacy of radical inclusion, and protect a space that served as a second home and one-of-a-kind creative hub to countless diverse, revolutionary NYC artists for decades. Landmark status would protect this already historic building from demolition now, and in the future.

The organization, with the help of Village Preservation, is collecting letters of support for the landmarking through this Wednesday. (A previous effort to landmark the building was not successful in 2011.) This link has a sample letter and info about where to send a letter.

Cannon, a blind poet, playwright, and novelist, was evicted from the building following a lengthy legal battle in April 2014. Cannon died in July 2019 at age 84. 

A Gathering of Tribes continues on today, providing "a platform for diverse, traditionally under-represented artists and writers, amplifying the emerging and established revolutionary voices of our time." 

Image via