On Tuesday, hundreds of buildings became protected when the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Riverside-West End Historic District Extension II. Basically, every building between West 94th Street and West 108th Street between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue has been added. That’s 344 new buildings, bringing the combined number of protected buildings to 1,255.
The Stonewall Inn, located at 51-53 Christopher Street, has been designated an individual landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The unanimous vote took place Tuesday shortly before noon and was greeted by a roar of applause. This unusual move gives the bar’s history as part the LGBT rights movement the official city recognition many say it deserves.
The half-century-old Landmarks law has played a valuable role in protecting the historic fabric of New York City’s neighborhoods, but it also limits the production of housing—particularly affordable housing—in neighborhoods with large historic districts.
On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted to designate two Brooklyn sites as individual landmarks. They are the Henry and Susan McDonald House and M.H. Renken Dairy. That means their exteriors cannot be modified and demolition may not occur without the commission’s approval.
Brooklyn Heights Cinema has gotten the final nail in its coffin. The existing nearly double height single-story structure at 70 Henry Street, which dates back to 1896, will be subsumed by a five-story building designed by Morris Adjmi, thanks to approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission on Tuesday.
