NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

September/October Newsletter 2023

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September/October 2023 Newsletter

Inside This Issue

Commemorating Manida Street Historic District

Historic Preservation Grant Recipients

LPC’s Business Express Service Celebrates One Year Helping NYC’s Business Owners

Breaking Ground for a Reimagined Delacorte Theater

One Wall Street Receives Mayoral Citation and NYLPF Plaques

Historic Headstone Unveiled in Washington Square Park

LPC in the Community

Looking Ahead

In Case You Missed It: LPC in the News

The Latest from City Hall

Commemorating Manida Street Historic District

For decades, the residents of Manida Street have worked together to preserve their neighborhood’s historic character amid widespread disinvestment in the South Bronx, demonstrating a remarkable commitment to their block – and to their community.

On October 10th, that acclaimed community spirit was on full display as Manida Street residents joined LPC Chair Sarah Carroll, Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Jr., New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation Chair Tom Krizmanic, and THE POINT President Maria Torres to unveil a pair of historic district markers commemorating the designation of Manida Street Historic District.

You can read more about the unveiling of the Manida Street Historic District markers here.

Historic Preservation Grant Recipients

On October 24th, LPC announced the seven latest grants provided through its Historic Preservation Grant Program to help low-to-moderate-income homeowners and non-profit organizations make needed repairs to their landmark properties. The grant recipients include six homeowners from historic districts in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn and one not-for-profit organization in the Central Harlem Historic District.

LPC also announced that work has officially been completed on one of the designated properties that received funding in the previous round of grant awards: 841 Manida Street, part of the Manida Street Historic District.

More information about the Historic Preservation Grant Program can be found on LPC’s website.

LPC’s Business Express Service Celebrates One Year Helping NYC’s Business Owners

Last month marked the official one-year anniversary of LPC’s Business Express Service, which serves as a one-stop shop for business owners in landmark buildings, including a dedicated hotline and team of preservationists who offer pre-application consultation and focused application review to businesses located in the City’s designated buildings and historic districts.

In just its first year, LPC’s Business Express Service has won positive reviews from owners, consultants, and architects who have used it, with many noting the responsiveness of staff and speed with which applications were approved.

More information on Business Express Service can be found on LPC’s website.

Breaking Ground for a Reimagined Delacorte Theater

First photo: LPC Chair Sarah Carroll and LPC Commissioner Stephen Chu

Third photo (L-R): Council Member Gale Brewer, LPC Chair Sarah Carroll, actor Liev Schreiber, NYC Parks and Recreation Department Commissioner Sue Donoghue, actor Sam Waterston, Council Member Keith Powers, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander

On October 17th, Chair Carroll stood alongside representatives from The Public Theater, the Central Park Conservancy, NYC Parks Department, elected officials, and some of the most celebrated actors in New York City theater for a groundbreaking ceremony at the famed Delacorte Theater, located in the heart of scenic landmark Central Park.

In January 2022, LPC reviewed and unanimously approved the proposal to renovate and reimagine the theater – a project designed by lead architect Steven Chu at Ennead Architects, who has since joined the agency as a Commissioner. At the time, LPC noted the importance of the plan’s emphasis on increasing accessibility and improving the visitor experience, and applauded its sensitive approach to maintaining the intimate, rustic character of the Delacorte while updating and expanding it to meet the needs of modern audience today.

One Wall Street Receives Mayoral Citation and NYLPF Plaques

First photo: LPC Chair Sarah Carroll and NYLPF Chair Tom Krizmanic

Second photo: Macklowe Properties Founder and Chair Harry Macklowe and LPC Chair Sarah Carroll. Photo courtesy of Tony Garces (Olympus Luxury Group)

September 27th was a big day at One Wall Street – an individual landmark that began life as one of New York’s iconic historic Art Deco office buildings, and recently completed extensive renovations to become the City’s largest office-to-residential conversions.

Chair Carroll was on hand to confer a Mayoral Citation on the building, and then joined New York Landmarks Preservation Foundation Chair Tom Krizmanic and Macklowe Properties Founder and Chair Harry Macklowe to unveil a pair of bronze plaques celebrating the building’s landmark status and celebrated history.

Creating more housing citywide has been a priority for the Adams Administration, and Chair Carroll praised the efforts of all who contributed to the success of this project, noting that One Wall Street “highlights the critical role that preservation can play as this City evolves, repurposing our historic buildings so they can continue to thrive and provide much-needed housing for New Yorkers.”

Historic Headstone Unveiled in Washington Square Park

Standing (L-R): Washington Square Park NYC Parks Administrator & Conservancy Executive Director Will Morrison, Manhattan Community Board 2 Chair Susan Kent, Archaeologist Joan Geismar, Village Preservation Executive Director Andrew Berman, Council Member Christopher Marte, Irish Consul General Helena Nolan, LPC Chair Sarah Carroll, NYC Parks Art & Antiquities Director Jonathan Kuhn, NYU Professor Marion Casey

Seated (L-R): Singers Guen Donohue and Clare Martin

On September 22nd, LPC joined NYC Parks Department, local elected officials, the Consul General of Ireland, and the Washington Square Park Conservancy for the official unveiling of the James Jackson headstone in Washington Square Park.

The 224-year-old headstone was discovered by archaeologists during renovations of Washington Square Park, which at one time served as a potter’s field, or burial ground for impoverished residents. Mindful of that history, LPC and NYC Parks partnered during the planning stages to ensure that archaeology was included across every stage of work, and any artifacts uncovered were preserved and protected.

The James Jackson headstone is now on permanent display near the Sullivan Street entrance to the park.

LPC in the Community

District 27 Community Convention

Second Photo (L-R): LPC Director of Community and Intergovernmental Affairs Steven Thomson, LPC Commissioner Wellington Chen, LPC Senior Landmarks Preservationist/Outreach & Grant Coordinator Caroline Pasion

The LPC team got the chance to meet local residents, answer questions, and demonstrate some of LPC’s great digital tools (like our Discover NYC Landmarks map) at the District 27 Community Convention, hosted by New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh on October 15th.

As a bonus, our staffers got a surprise visit from LPC Commissioner Wellington Chen, who was attending the event and stopped by the LPC table to say hello!

You can check out our Discover NYC Landmarks map here.

Annual NYC M/WBE Procurement Fair

LPC Procurement Officer Pam Howard and LPC Director of Financial Management Akeem Bashiru

LPC joined fellow NYC agencies for the annual NYC M/WBE Procurement Fair at the Barclays Center on October 2nd – a great opportunity to connect with small businesses to expand the opportunities available to certified minority and women-owned businesses.

More information on becoming a certified M/WBE vendor doing business with the City and LPC can be found on our website.

Looking Ahead

It’s been a busy fall for the Commission, which calendared several sites in October for consideration as potential NYC landmarks:

Barkin, Levin & Company Office Building

The Modulightor Building

Tremont Branch of the New York Public Library

Calendaring is the first formal step in the designation process. Once dates have been set for the public hearings for these newly-proposed landmarks, that information will be posted on the hearings page of LPC’s website.

In Case You Missed It: LPC in the News

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to preserve 3 sites linked to the history of jazz

WABC-TV, September 20

'This block was always different.' Landmarks Preservation Commission names Manida Street in the Bronx city's 150th historic district

News12 Bronx, October 10

Central Park's Delacorte Theater celebrated as it takes a pause for renovations

WCBS New York, October 17

Amazon opens ‘tech hub’ on landmark NYC retail site

Chain Store Age – September 18

The Latest from City Hall

It’s official: New York City’s economy has bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic in a big way, setting new records for total jobs citywide.

Just 17 months after the Adams administration released its “Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: A Blueprint for New York City’s Economic Recovery” – and nearly one year ahead of earlier projections – new economic numbers released on October 19th showed that New York City has recovered all the private sector jobs lost during the pandemic, adding back nearly a million private sector jobs and surpassing the previous record for total citywide jobs set in January 2020.

Click here to read more about milestone moment and the Adams Administration’s plan to drive continued economic success for all New Yorkers.

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