Last day to vote for your favorite NYC 'historic places'

Today is the last day to vote in the Partners in Preservation contest in which 40 New York landmarks are competing to win grants (awarded based in part on the number of online votes each organization can gather).

Per the news release about all this: "The program will infuse $3 million in grants to preserve the city’s historic buildings, icons and landmarks."

And there are two East Village historic places in the running...

• DMAC - Duo Multicultural Arts Center on East Fourth Street
Project: Restoration of 6 murals, decorative tin ceiling

• St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery
Project: Restoration of the portico

Supporters can vote for the place of their choosing at the Partners in Preservation website.

Previously.

Meet your new neighbor! What an East Village townhouse builder wants removed

An EV Grieve reader passed along this gem of a discussion from StreetEasy...

Hello, I'm hoping that someone here knows about street renovation work. Specifically, how does one go about getting a large smooth stone removed from in front of a building? I'm referring to the type of tan stone, possibly granite, that you see in front of older buildings. They are potentially very dangerous, especially when wet or icy. The reason I ask is that we're considering building a townhouse in an historic neighborhood like the East Village and one of the properties has this type of slippery stone in front of it on the sidewalk. From what I understand, property owners can be held liable if a resident or passerby slips and falls. We hope to add a few extra storeys to the top of our home as rental apartments and don't want our residents nor our children getting hurt. Is there a city agency that deals with this sort of thing or can we have a contractors dig up the sidewalk? We have yet to decide on the exact lot, but have looked at different locations and if this is a complicated process it would add to our costs which could already be high if they include removing an old automotive shop or entrenched rental occupants. Also, how does one deal with patches of old cobblestones? There is potentially the same problem with them on the street and I've heard of instances of them being removed by the city for the safety of residents.

Given the date, we'd almost say this was a hoax....except that she posted this two weeks ago....

Candidates for the John Varvatos Preservationist of the Month Club

From the Times today:

The 21-story Cooper Square Hotel may be an imposing presence on the Lower East Side, but its interiors have an intimate scale more evocative of neighborhood buildings. In fact, the hotel was built around one of them, a 19th-century tenement that was not torn down because two tenants refused to move. “It would have been much cheaper to demolish,” said Carlos Zapata, center in picture, the designer, but in the end “the tenement had a positive effect” on the design, inspiring smaller, more livable interior spaces. The first two floors of the tenement became the hotel’s library and offices; the third and fourth house the two tenants, who have their own entrance.

For guests, who will pay $375 to $1,000 a night ($7,500 for the penthouse), “the hotel means to be a home away from home,” said Klaus Ortlieb, left in picture, who developed the $115 million project with Matt Moss, right in picture, his partner at MK Hotels. Among other things, that means there is no formal check-in desk in the lobby, above right: The registration process will take place out of sight, while guests are greeted by a hostess bearing drinks.

Previously on EV Grieve:
“This used to be an area where people got their start. Now it’s a place to land once you’ve made it.”


[Photo: Rebecca McAlpin for The New York Times]