Landmarks Preservation Commission

The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission voted on Tuesday to designate the Breuer Building on the Upper East Side as an individual and interior landmark, protecting the Brutalist icon before auction house Sotheby's opens its global headquarters there. Designed by innovative architect Marcel Breuer, the building at 945 Madison Avenue was home to the Whitney Museum of American Art from 1966 to 2014. Sotheby's acquired the building in 2023; Herzog & de Meuron are currently leading a renovation and restoration of the space.
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City landmarks duplex apartment in Paul Rudolph’s Modulightor Building

Exterior photo courtesy of the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture; interior photo courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission

May 6, 2025

City landmarks duplex apartment in Paul Rudolph’s Modulightor Building

The duplex apartment inside Paul Rudolph’s iconic Modulightor Building in Midtown East is officially a New York City landmark. On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate the third- and fourth-floor residence at 246 East 58th Street as an interior landmark, citing the significance of its "complex, multi-layered interior." With the designation of the Modulightor Building as an individual landmark in December 2023, the interior and exterior of the building are now both protected.
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City approves gate for Village townhouse to keep ‘Sex and the City’ fans out

66 Perry Street in 2022. Photo by Jim.henderson on Wikimedia

January 14, 2025

City approves gate for Village townhouse to keep ‘Sex and the City’ fans out

The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday approved an application to install a gate at the foot of a townhouse in the Greenwich Village Historic District. Not just any home, the property, located at 66 Perry Street, appeared as Carrie Bradshaw's apartment on the HBO show "Sex and the City." Despite being off the air for 20 years, the show's popularity continues today, leading tourists and TikTokers to visit the front stoop at all hours and film themselves on the famous steps. When a chain and a "no trespassing" sign at the base of the stoop failed to stop the mayhem, the brownstone's owner, Barbara Lorber, asked the LPC to approve a new gate for the landmarked property and commissioners agreed.
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Image via WikiCommons

December 17, 2024

Breuer Building up for individual, interior landmark designation

The interiors of the Whitney Museum's former Brutalist home may be preserved ahead of a planned renovation. The city's Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to calendar the Breuer Building at 945 Madison Avenue for consideration as an individual and interior landmark. Calendaring comes as the auction house Sotheby's prepares to relocate its headquarters to the Marcel Breuer-designed building; news of a renovation set to begin next year prompted preservationists to urge the agency to landmark the interiors.
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The duplex apartment in Paul Rudolph’s Modulightor Building may be landmarked

Exterior photo courtesy of the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture; interior photo courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission

December 12, 2024

The duplex apartment in Paul Rudolph’s Modulightor Building may be landmarked

A year ago, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Modulightor Building, a Midtown East building designed by renowned architect Paul Rudolph, as a New York City landmark. Now, the agency will consider landmarking the interior of the building as well. On Tuesday, the agency voted to calendar a duplex apartment on the third and fourth floors of 246 East 58th Street designed by Rudolph. According to the commission, the apartment is a "complex, multi-layered late modern residential interior unlike any in New York City."
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City landmarks Village row house with deep ties to Black history and theater

The 13th Street Repertory Company. Photo (left): Courtesy of Village Preservation. Current view of the building (right): Courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

October 22, 2024

City landmarks Village row house with deep ties to Black history and theater

A Greenwich Village row house, dating back to before the Civil War and closely tied to Black history and one of the city's first "Off-Off-Broadway" theaters, is New York City's newest landmark. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to designate the Jacob Day Residence at 50 West 13th Street. The 1845 row house was home to Jacob Day, one of NYC's most successful 19th-century African American businessmen, and the 13th Street Repertory Company, one of the city's oldest Off-Off-Broadway theaters.
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Historic Governors Island building to become year-round restaurant and event space

Rendering by OSD (Office of Strategy + Design)

August 5, 2024

Historic Governors Island building to become year-round restaurant and event space

A former military building on Governors Island will be transformed into a SHoP Architects-designed restaurant and event space. The Trust for Governors Island last week unveiled plans for Taco Vista, which has operated on the island seasonally since 2018, to run three distinct venues in Building 140, which was constructed in the 19th century as a munitions warehouse. The 10,000-square-foot space project restores the historic building and adds a cafe and bar, an indoor-outdoor restaurant with event space, and a reimagined Taco Vista.
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Two blocks of brownstones in Bed-Stuy now an NYC historic district

Photos courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission

June 25, 2024

Two blocks of brownstones in Bed-Stuy now an NYC historic district

New York City's newest historic district is a two-block stretch of homes in Bed-Stuy. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to designate the Willoughby-Hart Historic District, which includes two streets of intact 19th-century rowhouses between Marcy and Nostrand Avenues. Built primarily in the Neo-Grec style between the 1870s and 1890s, the 150-year-old homes are architecturally cohesive and reflect a period of Brooklyn's transformation from farmland to residential, according to the commission.
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Pre-Civil War Village row house with NYC theater and Black history ties may be landmarked

The 13th Street Repertory Company. Photo (left): Courtesy of Village Preservation. Current view of the building (right): Courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

June 18, 2024

Pre-Civil War Village row house with NYC theater and Black history ties may be landmarked

A nearly 180-year-old rowhouse in Greenwich Village that has been home to one of the city's first "Off-Off-Broadway" theaters and has significant ties to Black history may be saved from demolition. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to calendar the Jacob Day Residence at 50 West 13th Street, an 1845 rowhouse once home to one of NYC's most successful African American businessmen, a famous suffragist and Civil Rights leader, and most recently, to the 13th Street Repertory Company. Although preservationists were first told by the LPC the structure was not distinguished enough to warrant designation, further research proved the building's immense cultural and historical significance and now the rowhouse is one step closer to becoming a landmark.
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Policy

City landmarks Victorian atrium at The Beekman Hotel

The nine-story Victorian atrium at the Beekman Hotel is now a New York City landmark. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to designate the central atrium at 5 Beekman Street in the Financial District as an interior landmark, recognizing both its stunning architecture and the restoration project that returned the space to its 19th-century glory. Built as part of the commercial building Temple Court, and now the centerpiece for the converted Beekman Hotel, the space consists of eight tiers of galleries topped by a pyramid-shaped skylight.
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Landmarks receives $500K grant to protect historic flood-prone areas from future storms

Image courtesy of Sergei Gussev on Flickr

May 29, 2024

Landmarks receives $500K grant to protect historic flood-prone areas from future storms

With the start of hurricane season this weekend, New York City is bolstering its defenses against storm damage in its historic waterfront areas. The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday launched the LPC Climate Resiliency Initiative, an agency-wide effort that will make it easier for the city to respond to future climate-related weather events. LPC received a $500,000 grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to identify historic properties that may be flood-prone in case of severe weather.
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Policy

NYC’s gilded Crown Building is landmarked

Photo credit: Landmarks Preservation Commission

May 16, 2024

NYC’s gilded Crown Building is landmarked

One of Midtown Manhattan's crown jewels is finally a city landmark. The Landmarks Preservation Commission this week designated the Heckscher Building at 730 Fifth Avenue as an individual landmark, officially recognizing the tower's ornate French Renaissance style, influence on Midtown's iconic commercial corridor, and overall impact on the New York City skyline. The tower, built 100 years ago and renamed the Crown Building in the 1980s for its gilded appearance, is now home to Aman New York, a luxe hotel-condo with 83 hotel rooms and 22 residences.
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Landmarks approves rest hub for NYC delivery workers next to City Hall Park

Renderings courtesy of Fantastica Brooklyn

April 17, 2024

Landmarks approves rest hub for NYC delivery workers next to City Hall Park

New York City delivery workers will soon seek respite at a new "deliverista hub" in City Hall Park. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday voted to approve designs for a new hub that will give workers a place to rest during bad weather, charge their phones and e-bikes, and learn about e-bike and battery safety. Central to many delivery routes, the new structure replaces a vacant newsstand on the western edge of the park.
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Photo by James Russiello on Wikimedia

January 8, 2024

Plans to demolish landmarked West-Park Presbyterian Church on hold

A historic Upper West Side church lives to fight another day. The West-Park Presbyterian Church on Friday withdrew its request to the Landmarks Preservation Commission to demolish the 19th-century Romanesque Revival building at Amsterdam Avenue and West 86th Street. The congregation could not afford the estimated $50 million in urgent repairs needed at the 135-year-old property and sought permission from the commission to demolish the landmarked building with the hopes of selling it to a developer. The church’s application was withdrawn ahead of a vote by LPC scheduled for this Tuesday, but the congregation said it will resubmit in the future.
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Policy

Long-forgotten Bronx burial site of enslaved people designated as a landmark

Photo courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission

December 12, 2023

Long-forgotten Bronx burial site of enslaved people designated as a landmark

A Bronx park with unique New York City history is now a landmark. The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) on Tuesday voted to designate Joseph Rodman Drake Park and Enslaved People's Burial Ground, a colonial-era burial ground in Hunts Point that contains the long-forgotten site of a cemetery for enslaved people, as an individual landmark.
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Policy

Morris Adjmi’s 100-unit Soho project approved by LPC, the first under rezoning

Rendering courtesy of Morris Adjmi Architects

November 2, 2023

Morris Adjmi’s 100-unit Soho project approved by LPC, the first under rezoning

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday approved plans for a 13-story mixed-use building with 100 housing units at 277 Canal Street, a landmarked three-story building atop the Canal Street subway station. Developed by United American Land (UAL) and designed by Morris Adjmi, the project is the first development to be approved for the historic district following the Soho/Noho rezoning that passed in 2021.
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New Developments

Paul Rudolph’s modernist Modulightor Building may become NYC landmark

Photo © Joe Polowczuk, Archives of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation

October 3, 2023

Paul Rudolph’s modernist Modulightor Building may become NYC landmark

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to calendar an iconic building in Midtown East designed by renowned modernist architect Paul Rudolph. Located at 246 East 58th Street, the Modulightor Building was built between 1989 and 1993 to house the lighting company of the same name Rudolph founded with German physicist Ernst Wagner. Rudolph designed the duplex apartment on floors three and four, which is the only Rudolph-designed space regularly open to the public.
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Architecture And Design

Two Bronx parks with fascinating NYC history may become landmarks

Joseph Rodman Drake Park and Enslaved African Burial Ground. Photo courtesy of the Landmarks Preservation Commission

August 16, 2023

Two Bronx parks with fascinating NYC history may become landmarks

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday voted to calendar two Bronx parks with unique New York City history for possible landmark status. The Joseph Rodman Drake Park and Enslaved African Burial Ground is a colonial-era burial ground that includes the long-forgotten site of a cemetery for enslaved people. The Old Croton Aqueduct Walk is a popular walking path on top of the famous aqueduct that brought the city its first direct source of water in 1842.
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Policy

Public Design Commission temporarily extends ‘Fearless Girl’ statue’s stay on Broad Street

Photo by Ahmer Kalam on Unsplash

April 12, 2022

Public Design Commission temporarily extends ‘Fearless Girl’ statue’s stay on Broad Street

The New York City Public Design Commission (PDC) voted Monday to extend the iconic "Fearless Girl" sculpture's permit to remain at her current spot across from the New York Stock Exchange, but with the caveat that plans for a permanent location must be presented in six months, the New York Times reports. The city's vote extends the permit for 11 months, but asset management firm State Street Global Advisors, the statue's owner, and Kristen Visbal, the artist who created the statue, must meet with the city again in six months to determine where its permanent home will be.
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Events & Things To Do

Landmarks votes to keep ‘Fearless Girl’ statue across from the Stock Exchange for three more years

Photo by Ahmer Kalam on Unsplash

December 15, 2021

Landmarks votes to keep ‘Fearless Girl’ statue across from the Stock Exchange for three more years

New York City's Landmarks Preservation Commission agreed in a unanimous vote on Tuesday to keep the popular "Fearless Girl" statue in its home on Broad Street across from the New York Stock Exchange for three more years. As 6sqft previously reported, the statue’s permit with the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) expired on November 29. State Street Global Advisors, the statue’s owners, submitted a request for a ten-year permit last year, which will ultimately be addressed at a hearing before the Public Design Commission, which oversees the city’s art collection. The LPC vote was based solely on the statue's placement in a historically significant location.
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Events & Things To Do

Developer can close historic Tribeca clock tower to the public to make way for penthouse, court rules

Images of the 108 Leonard’s newly restored facade courtesy of Hundred Stories PR

April 1, 2019

Developer can close historic Tribeca clock tower to the public to make way for penthouse, court rules

Update 4/1/19: The New York State Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled against a group of preservationists who sued to stop developers from turning a historic clock tower into a penthouse. According to the judge, the LPC does not have the authority to give access to the building and the agency's plan to make the 19th-century clock run electronically is reasonable. Developers had big plans for the luxury condominiums they were creating at the block-long former site of the New York Life Insurance Company at 346 Broadway (also known as 108 Leonard Street) since purchasing it from the city in 2014. The new residential project would hold 140 units starting at $1.5 million, capped by a stunning penthouse that would be priced at over $20 million. The one snag in this golden opportunity: The building's iconic Clock Tower–sometimes called New York's 'Big Ben,' which sits atop the building and was designated an interior landmark in 1987. The clock must be wound by hand, a process which requires access through, as the New York Times reports, the future penthouse. A case against the developers' plan and a subsequent appeal were both won by the opponents, saying the LPC couldn't unwind the clock's landmark status–but an appeal in the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, is still pending.
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February 13, 2019

Landmarks approves Snøhetta’s new designs for Phillip Johnson’s 550 Madison Avenue

In December, 6sqft reported that architecture firm Snøhetta had unveiled a preservationist-friendly revision to a controversial design for an updated AT&T building at 550 Madison Avenue; last month brought more details from the firm's proposal that was submitted to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). The most recent design is one of several revisions, each followed by controversy over being seen by preservationists as diverting too much from the building’s original design by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. Yesterday LPC approved the new preservation-friendly designs–with some modifications. The office tower is now on track to reopen in 2020.
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January 14, 2019

Get a closer look at Snøhetta’s new designs for Phillip Johnson’s 550 Madison Avenue

In December, 6sqft reported that architecture firm Snøhetta had unveiled a preservationist-friendly revision to a controversial design for an updated AT&T building at 550 Madison Avenue. Now you can get a look at the full details of the Certificate of Appropriateness proposal that will be presented to the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) tomorrow. The latest design is one of several revisions, each followed by controversy over being seen by preservationists as diverting too much from the building’s original design by Philip Johnson and John Burgee. In addition to comparisons to the original, new designs must consider the subsequent revamp that made it the Sony building in 1994, which replaced the building’s open Madison Avenue arcade with “Sony Experience” storefronts and covered a rear public arcade with a glass roof.
Compare the new with the old

December 5, 2018

Snøhetta reveals more preservation-friendly redesign for Philip Johnson’s 550 Madison