Making the case to landmark this unique church on 4th Street

Village Preservation is making a case to landmark the San Isidoro y San Leandro Western Orthodox Church of Hispanic Mozarabic Rite at 345 E. Fourth St. between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Tonight, officials from Village Preservation will request support for the reconsideration of landmark designation for the church before Community Board 3's Landmarks Committee.

In response to information submitted by Village Preservation, the building was determined eligible for listing on the State and National Register of Historic Places in 2017. The group then submitted a request to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to consider landmarking the church. The LPC declined.

This fall, Village Preservation provided an extensive history of the church, which was built in 1891-92, on its blog Off the Grid. Here are excerpts...

This remarkably intact Gothic Revival church’s form, design, details, and history reflect the kaleidoscope of immigrants and ethnic groups which called the Lower East Side home and shaped New York over the last century and a quarter — making it not just architecturally significant but an embodiment of New York City’s and the East Village’s immigrant history.

and...

This structure was originally built in 1891-92 and designed by Edward Wenz for the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, serving the surrounding Slovak and Hungarian immigrant community. The church was the first national Slovak parish for the Slovak and Hungarian Catholics of New York and Brooklyn. Later the building was bought by the Russian Greek Orthodox National Association and became the Carpathian Russian Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas.

It served the emerging Russian immigrant community in the early and mid-twentieth century, as evidenced by the royal seal of the Russian Czars located on the church’s front gates. After 1975, the church housed San Isidoro y San Leandro Western Orthodox Catholic Church of Hispanic Mozarabic Rite, a highly unusual Western Orthodox Catholic Church – seemingly one of the very few in America, and one of the few or perhaps only to practice the Mozarabic Rite.

And...

Churches and synagogues such as these, located on single lot sites filling the space of what was once a single home, were once found throughout the East Village and Lower East Side. They were reflective of the incredibly modest resources but bold ambitions of the immigrant communities they served. Increasingly few such structures survive today. The East Village remains woefully under-landmarked and therefore valuable historic resources such as these churches and synagogues are vulnerable to insensitive alteration and demolition.

The three-story building arrived on the sales market in the fall of 2017 with a $6 million price tag. Per the listing at the time: "A new development (of 9,232 SF) could be residential single family/multi-family or Community Facility." There were air rights too.

LoopNet shows that the listing was deactivated in April 2018.

According to public records, Patricio Cubillos Murillo (there are several variations of this name) is the building's owner, with a deed dating to September 1975. The document on file with the city shows that this building changed hands for $6,000 that year. I do not know when the church last held any type of mass here.

Here are two photos of the interior that I took in 2011 during one of the weekend rummage sales held in the space...





... and here's an interior shot via the Cushman & Wakefield marketing materials from 2017...



Tonight's Landmarks Committee meeting is at 6:30 in the JASA/Green Residence, 200 E. Fifth St. at the Bowery.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Unique 4th Street church on the market for development

[Updated] Proposed addition for 827-831 Broadway is back in front of the LPC today

A revised proposal to add a (slightly smaller) four-story glass addition to the landmarked buildings at 827-831 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street returns to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) this morning.

Back in January, LPC commissioners told the design team to return with a revised proposal, as Curbed reported. (Find a PDF of the new proposal here.)

Last November, the LPC voted to landmark the circa-1866 cast-iron buildings where artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Paul Jenkins, among others, lived and worked. That decision spared the address from demolition. As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel in 2015 for $60 million.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) campaigned for more than 18 months to help preserve these buildings. Read more about their efforts here.

Updated 2 p.m.

The LPC rejected the plans, per the GVSHP...

Great news! @nyclandmarks again rejects plan for out of context glass topper for 827-831 Broadway, 1866 former de Kooning studios we fought to get landmarked and save from wrecking ball!@CarlinaRivera @DeborahJGlick @bradhoylman @LizKrueger pic.twitter.com/JnYEV78kUc

— GVSHP (@GVSHP) April 24, 2018

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway

Report: LPC rejects glassy addition for landmarked 827-831 Broadway

Report: LPC chair to step down

The head of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Meenakshi Srinivasan, plans to resign, Crain's has learned https://t.co/kIqgkbE3wy pic.twitter.com/bLxVlreLGv

— Crain's New York (@CrainsNewYork) April 19, 2018

Meenakshi Srinivasan, chair of the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), will end her four-year tenure on June 1, according to published reports.

As Crain's reported:

Land-use attorneys who guide clients through the landmarking process were dismayed to learn of Srinivasan's decision to leave, saying that she had been a respected arbiter of the rules with some serious policy wins.

"She is an exemplary public servant," said Mitch Korbey, chair of Herrick, Feinstein's land-use and zoning practice. "She has the courage to make the right choices and find balance between the commission's core mission of preservation and the need for occasional flexibility."

But members of the preservation community have bristled at Srinivasan's proposed changes to the commission's application rules — with some even calling for her ouster — and said that she was too lenient with developers and not focused enough on the core mission of preserving the past.

"The orientation of the landmarks commission seems to have shifted after the Bloomberg administration," said Simeon Bankoff, head of the Historic Districts Council, "becoming a little less responsive to community-driven applications and more oriented toward implementing city policy."

Most recently, the LPC unveiled several proposed rule changes aimed at streamlining the application process. However, the changes would mean limiting the opportunity for testimony and public comment on the application, a move that angered some local elected officials (Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, among them) and preservationists. (Read more background here at Curbed.)

LPC spokesperson Zodet Negrón said that the resignation "was not in response to any backlash, and she has been planning an exit for some time after 28 years in the public sector," as 6sqft noted.

Mayor de Blasio appointed her head of the LPC in 2014 after her stint as chair and commissioner of the Board of Standards and Appeals.

The mayor released this statement:

"Meenakshi Srinivasan is a talented, dogged public servant and a leader with know-how, and she’s proved that time and again. At the helm of the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission, she slicing through decades of regulatory red tape and modernized the commission. We congratulate her and thank her for the important reforms she instituted, and we wish her well in her future pursuits."

In an op-ed at the Daily News in February, Eric Uhlfelder — author of “The Origins of Modern Architecture” — wrote that "the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the last line of defense for protecting historic New York, is rolling over rather than pushing back."

The Landmarks Preservation Commission under Mayor de Blasio's watch

In the Daily News today, Eric Uhlfelder — author of “The Origins of Modern Architecture” — contributes an opinion piece titled De Blasio vs. NYC’s historic buildings.

As he writes, even properties within historic districts are at risk of redevelopement ... and "the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the last line of defense for protecting historic New York, is rolling over rather than pushing back."

Two key players are responsible for LPC contradicting its own mandate: Chairwoman Meenakshi Srinivasan — who openly questions the LPC’s right to tell architects what to do — and Mayor de Blasio, who is promoting redevelopment at the cost of the city’s architectural heritage.

A recent study commissioned by the New York Landmarks Conservancy showed the Landmarks Commission in a typical year approved more than 99.5% of all applications in historic districts.

De Blasio named Srinivasan chair of the LPC in 2014 after her stint as chair and commissioner of the Board of Standards and Appeals, "an agency known for granting zoning variances to expand development rights."

In the East Village, Uhlfelder notes how "the LPC ignored requests by preservationists to landmark a group of Beaux-Arts apartment buildings, permitting development of a new graceless hotel." This would be the incoming Moxy hotel on 11th Street between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue.

Report: LPC rejects glassy addition for landmarked 827-831 Broadway

[DXA Studio]

On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) nixed the reflective, four-story addition proposed for 827-831 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street.

Curbed has coverage here. A few excerpts:

The Commission’s verdict followed hours of public testimony, where most people spoke in opposition to the project describing it as “overwhelming,” “grotesque,” and “atrocious,” among other descriptors.

But not everyone hated the proposal.

There were many who came out in support of the four-story rooftop addition too, most notably a number of art gallery owners, who praised the design and the aesthetic.

“This is a great homage to the existing building,” said Arnie Zimmerman, an art gallery owner.

“This impresses me in that the scale is exciting,” said Sally Wasserman, who lives in a building that neighbors the project.

Commissioner Michael Devonshire reportedly praised architect Jordan Rogove, though thought that this particular addition "may have been more appropriate as a de Kooning museum out in a field in East Hampton."

The LPC ultimately told the design team to return with a revised proposal, as Curbed reported.

This past November, the LPC voted to landmark the circa-1866 cast-iron buildings where artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Paul Jenkins, among others, lived and worked.

That decision spared the address from demolition. As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel in 2015 for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights, which would be put to use for a 14-floor office building.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) had campaigned for more than 18 months to help preserve these buildings.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway

There's a proposed addition for the recently landmarked 827-831 Broadway

[EVG photo from August]

Last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved a proposal to landmark the circa-1866 cast-iron buildings at 827-831 Broadway between 12th Street and 13th Street.

This decision spared the buildings from demolition. As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel between 12th Street and 13th Street last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights, which would be put to use for a 14-floor office building.

Back to the developer's plans in a minute.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) campaigned the past 18 months to help preserve these buildings where artists Willem and Elaine de Kooning and Paul Jenkins, among others, lived and worked.

Per Curbed:

The [LPC] vote represents an unusual kind of designation for the commission that takes into special account the cultural history of the site. (Similar designations include the Stonewall Inn and Tammany Hall.) "The building itself, regardless of the destination, is worthy of designation," said Commissioner Frederick Bland. "What happened in it, regardless of the building, is worthy of designation."

According to the GVSHP, the developers said that if the buildings were landmarked, they would return with a claim of "hardship" to get out of landmarking or a proposal for an addition.

On Monday night, Community Board 2's Landmarks Committee will hear the developer's new proposal (find it here) "to construct a multiple story setback addition on the roof."

And the rendering:



The addition, at first glance, looks as if it blew in from the set of "Geostorm." However, the reflective façade is meant to represent Willem de Kooning's rural and pastoral landscape phase as well as his urban landscapes.

In an email, the GVSHP stated: "[T]his proposed 4-story addition is overwhelming in comparison to the building, and would nearly double its height."

The CB2 meeting is Monday at 6:30 p.m., NYU Silver Building, 32 Waverly Place, Room 207. The meeting is open to the public, who can ask questions and provide feedback on the proposal. CB2 will issue an advisory opinion and then the proposal will be scheduled for a hearing and vote with the LPC at a later date. Find more info here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

Broadway buildings draw support for landmark designation

The proposal to landmark 827-831 Broadway received unanimous support during a public hearing with the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) back on Tuesday.

As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel between 12th Street and 13th Street last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights.

So those plans for a 14-floor office building on this property may be permanently on hold.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) has campaigned the past 18-plus months to preserve these buidlings.

Here's part of a report they sent out yesterday:

GVSHP was joined by Councilmember Rosie Mendez, neighbors, and scores of supporters on for the public hearing on our proposal to landmark 827-831 Broadway. The 1866 lofts, formerly home to Willem de Kooning and other art world luminaries, had faced the wrecking ball. Read GVSHP’s testimony here.

Members of the LPC, who will decide the building’s fate, also expressed strong support for designation, and stated that a vote would take place on Oct. 31 (time TBD). Once the LPC votes to designate, the building is landmarked and protected, though temporary protections are in place now.

An attorney for the developer ... stated that the owner opposed landmark designation, and asserted that he would have a hardship case if the building were designated and he were not allowed to develop the site (the law enables owners of private property to be relieved of landmarks requirements if they can demonstrate, through a public hearing process, that they cannot make a “reasonable return” on the property while abiding by landmarks requirements).

The owner’s lawyer also said that, if the building is landmarked, they would seek approval from the LPC to build some sort of addition to the building in order to make a reasonable return (this too would require a public hearing and review process).

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman co-authored an op-ed at the Times in early August, providing more history of the addresses and making the case for why they should be landmarked.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

City moves to potentially landmark 827-831 Broadway

City moves to potentially landmark 827-831 Broadway

[EVG photo from August]

Plans to demolish 827-831 Broadway for a 14-floor office building are on hold for now as the City has decided to begin the formal process of considering them for landmark designation.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission moved yesterday to calendar the pair of cast-iron buildings built in 1866 here between 12th Street and 13th Street. "That means the commission will ultimately hold a public hearing on the buildings’ designation and subsequently vote on it (one way or the other) within one year from now," as Curbed reported.

As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel between 12th Street and 13th Street last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights.

In the late 1950s, Willem de Kooning had a studio in No. 827, one piece of the history of these buildings uncovered by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP), who has campaigned the past 18 months to preserve these buidlings.

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman co-authored an op-ed at the Times in early August, providing more history of the addresses and making the case for why they should be landmarked.

The buildings were designed by Griffith Thomas, called “the most fashionable architect of his generation” by the American Institute of Architects.

You can read more about the buildings and the next steps in the landmarking process at the GVSHP website here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

An appeal to landmark these buildings on Broadway

Three buildings at 827-831 Broadway (pictured above) and 47 E. 12th St. may be demolished to make way for a 14-floor office building.

As previously reported, Quality Capital and Caerus Group bought the parcel between 12th Street and 13th Street last summer for $60 million. The deal reportedly included 30,000 square feet of air rights.

In the late 1950s, Willem de Kooning had a studio in No. 827, one piece of the history of these buildings uncovered by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP).

GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman co-authored an op-ed at the Times this past week, providing more history of the addresses and making the case for why they should be landmarked:

Despite protests by preservationists, elected officials and neighbors, two developers, Quality Capital and the Caerus Group, intend to demolish it and build a 14-story tower. (Caerus is the Greek god of opportunity and luck who seizes favorable moments.)

In August 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected an application to protect 831 Broadway and its next-door twin, 827. According to its director of research at the time, the commission decided that New York already had enough buildings with “earlier cast-iron facades” and that “there are buildings on Broadway of a similar date, type and style” to represent this era of development in New York.

Fortunately, the commission has recently agreed to reconsider that decision, and the developers have agreed to withdraw their application for a demolition permit pending the reconsideration. Now the commissioners must decide whether to take the first formal step toward considering the buildings for landmark status and vote to “calendar” them — put them on the docket for active consideration for designation — which would be followed by a public hearing and a vote.

You can read more about these buildings at the GVSHP website here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Report: 14-story building planned for 827 Broadway

A 'Stop the Demolitions' rally tomorrow on 7th Street

[EVG photo from September]

Last week, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) announced that they will not consider a row of pastel-colored residences on Seventh Street between Avenue C and Avenue D for landmarking.

Preservationists hoped to have the buildings, which date to the 1840s, landmarked ... in part to spare the demolition of 264 E. Seventh St. for some unspecified new development. (In early September, a permit was filed with the DOB to demolish the 3-level house.)

Tomorrow at noon, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is organizing a rally outside the buildings on Seventh Street. Via the EVG inbox...

In September, GVSHP and allied groups reached out to the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission to urge them to landmark 264 East 7th Street, and the adjacent houses at 258, 260, 262, and 266 East 7th Street. Once part of what was known as “Political Row”, these five ca. 1842 houses, located between Avenues C and D, have rare and beautiful intact Greek Revival ornament, and are linked to the history of the early development of New York’s waterfront and to critical political figures of the 19th and early 20th century in New York.

In spite of this fact the Landmarks Preservation Commission recently responded saying they did not consider the buildings worthy of landmark designation.

Sound familiar? Earlier this year the City also refused to landmark five 19th-century Beaux Arts tenements at 112-120 East 11th Street, between 3rd and 4th Avenues.

One small positive note: due to the 2008 East Village rezoning which GVSHP and other groups fought for, the height of any new development on this block of East 7th Street is limited to 75 feet in height after setbacks. Previously there were NO height limits for new development on this block.

Visit here to send a letter to the Mayor online.

The rally starts at noon tomorrow (Friday)...



Previously on EV Grieve:
City says no to landmarking row of 7th Street homes, clearing way for demolition of No. 264

[Updated] City says no to landmarking row of 7th Street homes, clearing way for demolition of No. 264

[EVG photo of No. 264 from last month]

In early September, a permit was filed with the DOB to demolish the 3-level house at 264 E. Seventh St between Avenue C and Avenue D.

Preservations rallied to try to have the string of pastel-colored residences here considered for landmarking. However, yesterday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) rejected the request. As Patch first reported: "The city's official reasoning was that there was no precedent for them to designate historic districts when the buildings cover just one side of the street."



For his part, Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, cited "at least eight examples of past historic designations by the LPC that covered just one side of the street, including a row of buildings on East 10th Street that's just a few blocks away."

In 2008, LPC said that the row of houses, from No 258 to 266, "appear to be an LPC-eligible historic district," as Patch pointed out.

Felicia Bond lived in the Garden Duplex when she illustrated the renowned children's book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" in the mid-1980s.

According to public records, Norris Chumley and Catherine Stine Chumley sold the property to Globalserv Property One, LLC, for $3.775 million.

In 2011, the home hit the market. Here was the broker pitch:

This incredible East Village three unit townhouse has great bones and endless possibilities! Currently set up as a parlor floor duplex with back yard and two floor through apartments, this classic townhouse is a great investment property or could be made into your own single family home!

[The backyard at No. 264]

Globalserv Property One, LLC has yet to make their intentions known for the-soon-to-be-demolished home.

Updated 10/29

Here's more about the homes via GVSHP:

Once part of what was known as “Political Row”, these five ca. 1842 houses, located between Avenues C and D, have rare and beautiful intact Greek Revival ornament, and are linked to the history of the early development of New York’s waterfront and to critical political figures of the 19th and early 20th century in New York.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Live in the house that inspired the art for 'If You Give a Mouse a Cookie'

[Updated] City approves East Village Historic District

From the EV Grieve inbox... from Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation...

I want to share with you the wonderful news that the proposed East Village Historic District was just approved with slight modifications by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, taking immediate effect! Three hundred thirty 19th and early 20th century buildings between the Bowery and Avenue A, St. Mark's Place and 2nd Street, now enjoy landmark protections.

Previously.

Updated 5:31 p.m.
A few more media outlets have filed stories... The City Room blog at The New York Times noted the The new East Village/Lower East Side Historic District (official name!) passed by a 6-1 vote.

Margery Perlmutter, the lone dissenter, "said before the vote that most of the tenements in the district were not worth preserving."

And per Curbed:

[Perlmutter] also questioned the characterization of the historical significance of the neighborhood, saying "What brought it to prominence is that Jack Kerouac lived there as opposed to the immigrants."

Per a commenter at Gothamist: "Thank goodness ... Toy Tokyo at 91 Second Avenue can now look like that forever!"

You can find coverage at Crain's here. ... and NY1.

Reminders: East Village/Lower East Side Historic District vote is today

The Landmarks Preservation Commission will vote this afternoon on designating portions of the neighborhood as historic districts (the areas outlined in red above).

By most accounts, this is expected to pass. Of course, not everyone is thrilled with the plan, such as church leaders who believe even simple projects like fixing a roof will become more expensive and bureaucratically time-consuming, as the Times noted in January.

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation has been helping lead this push. You can read all that they have to say about it here.

You can read our previous coverage of this here.

For other news coverage:
NY1
Gothamist
amNY

At yesterday's hearing for the proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District

By most accounts, yesterday afternoon's public hearing about a proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District was spirited, if anything. DNAinfo referred to it as "contentious and packed," drawing both critics and supporters of the plan. (Read Serena Solomon's report here. The Lo-Down has coverage here.)

An article from The New York Times back in January titled Preservation Push in Bohemian Home Stirs Fear of Hardship reported on the opposition to the landmark protection. Much of the concerns were repeated yesterday by several neighborhood religious leaders.

As Curbed's Arabella Watters summarized: "Basically, no matter what the LPC decides, someone in the East Village will be pretty angry."

East Village landmarking hearing set for this afternoon

This afternoon is the long-awaited public hearing with the Landmarks Preservation Commission on the proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District.

You can find the background information here via the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, who along with other organizations, have been working to document the neighborhood's historical significance.

Per the GVSHP website, "The proposed district is far and away the largest expansion of landmark protections ever considered in the East Village." The GVSHP also has photos here of some of the significant buildings in the proposed historic district.

Meanwhile, for an opposing view, Rob at Save the Lower East Side! doesn't support the landmarking. He lays out his four reasons in a post from earlier this month ... You can read his arguments here.

He also talks about how the housing market is forcing out "anyone who is devoted to the life of the mind or the creation of cultural products." And an excerpt:

Who remains? Increasingly the wealthy devoted to the life of consumption. The city is gradually becoming a monoculture of nightlife augmented by tourism, a huge nightclub for the rich and their gawkers and their servants. There is nothing in that economy that guarantees a place for the arts or intellectualism beyond the elite artists and elite intellectuals. We've seen it already in the East Village.

Info: The Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing room, One Centre Street (at Chambers Street), 9th floor

Landmarks Preservation Commission sets June date for East Village landmarking

From the EV Grieve inbox ... via the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation ...

A date has (finally!) been set for a hearing on the proposed East Village/Lower East Side Historic District and a vote on the proposed landmark designation of 128 East 13th Street, the former stable/horse auction mart that also served for years as a the studio of artist Frank Stella. Both will take place on June 26.

Not everyone wants landmark protection for the East Village

[Photo last week by Bobby Williams]

As you know, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) unanimously voted to create the East 10th Street Historic District* on Tuesday. (Perhaps we should include that name with an asterisk because of Ben Shaoul's last-second approval for a rooftop addition at 315 E. 10th St.)

Preservationists are now hoping that the LPC will give another swath of the East Village landmark status as well... an area that takes in some 330 buildings:

The LPC has not placed this item on their calendar just yet.

Today, in an article titled Preservation Push in Bohemian Home Stirs Fear of Hardship, The New York Times reports on the opposition to the landmark protection. Per the article by Joseph Berger:

Almost a dozen houses of worship, including the late-19th-century Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection and a crumbling century-old synagogue, argue that they are dependent on donations and that including them in a landmark district would make simple projects like repairing a window or fixing a roof more expensive and bureaucratically time-consuming.

Even worse, it would make their buildings and the valuable property on which they sit much less attractive since developers would be restricted in what they could do.

Now what?

[Updated] Report: City approves East 10th Street Historic District; but Ben Shaoul's buzzer-beater gives him the OK to alter historic building

[Image via Curbed]

Curbed has news from this afternoon's public hearing at the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) regarding the East 10th Street Historic District.

"The LPC voted unanimously to create the East 10th Street Historic District."

The East 10th Street Historic District comprises 26 buildings on the north side of East 10th Street between Avenues A and B that reflect the 19th and 20th century history of the East Village.

The vote also effectively ends developer Ben Shaoul's plan to add a fifth floor to the existing four-floor building at 315 E. 10th St.

Updated:

Well, then. Curbed added this to their earlier post:

"While the LPC moved quickly to prevent Shaoul from altering the building, the good mood among preservationists after the LPC's affirmative vote dimmed when it was learned that the DOB issued the developer his construction permits this morning, just hours before the LPC hearing and vote."

Here's the paperwork from the DOB...

The city gave Shaoul the OK to convert the building from nonprofit use to residential — plus an addition floor to the circa 1847 building ... appropriately enough, on Friday the 13th.

Updated:

The Lo-Down has more on this story, including a statement from Elizabeth de Bourbon, the LPC’s director of communications.

[T]he lawyer for the owner contacted us to say his client plans to meet with us to discuss suggestions for the design of the one-story addition and is willing to work with LPC staff as they move ahead on their grandfathered permit.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A bid to protect the integrity of 315 E. 10th St.

Landmarks Preservation Commission expedites hearing on East 10th Street Historic District

Hearing tomorrow for the East 10th Street Historic District

From the EV Grieve inbox...via the East Village Community Coalition

Six months after Community Board 3 unanimously supported it, the City's Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has scheduled a hearing for the East 10th Street Historic District. The proposed district runs along the north side of Tompkins Square Park between Avenue A and Avenue B.

Unfortunately, the LPC has yet to schedule a hearing date for the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. As the LPC waits, we risk losing more historic buildings in our community.

Please join us Tuesday, January 17th to testify in support of this district and urge LPC to move forward with the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District:


1:30 PM
LPC Public Hearing Room 1
One Centre Street (at Chambers)
9th Floor
-Please bring photo ID to enter the building

If you cannot attend the hearing, please email testimony to: comments@lpc.nyc.gov and copy EVCC at director.evccnyc@gmail.com or mail/fax to:

NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
One Centre Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10007
(f) 212-669-7960

Previously on EV Grieve:
A bid to protect the integrity of 315 E. 10th St.

Landmarks Preservation Commission expedites hearing on East 10th Street Historic District

Landmarks Preservation Commission expedites hearing on East 10th Street Historic District

Last Friday, we reported that Ben Shaoul's Magnum Real Estate Group bought 315 E. 10th St. from The Educational Alliance. Renovations continue to convert the building into residential use.

[Dave on 7th]

There is also a pending permit to add a fifth floor to the existing four-floor structure, which the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation believe dates to 1847.

The building is located within the calendared East 10th Street Historic District, though the Landmarks Preservation Commission had yet to schedule a date for a hearing.

However, last night, Lisi de Bourbon, the communications director at the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), told us that the LPC is expediting the date for a public hearing on its proposal for the East 10th Street Historic District.

"The reason we're scheduling the date earlier than we expected is that DOB notified the Commission's staff this past Sunday that the owner of 315 East 10th Street had filed an application for a permit to construct a rooftop addition that could potentially affect the character of the proposed district," she said.

The Department of Buildings has a mandatory maximum of 40 days to review its permit applications. When owners of buildings that are calendared — meaning under formal consideration for designation by the commission — file for DOB permits, LPC has 40 days to vote whether to landmark it.

The proposed East 10th Street Historic District comprises 26 buildings on the north side of East 10th Street between Avenues A and B that reflect the 19th and 20th century history of the East Village. (Read more about the Ben Shaoul rooftop additions here via the GVSHP.)

According to de Bourbon, The LPC has notified property owners in the proposed district that a hearing on whether to designate the buildings a historic district will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 17 — the earliest date a hearing can be scheduled.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A bid to protect the integrity of 315 E. 10th St.