From the front lines of the New York City preservation wars, one landlord is trying to convince the Landmarks Preservation Commission to allow him to demolish two of his landmarked buildings on the Upper East Side – something the commission has only approved 11 times for the 27,000 landmarks it … [Read more...]
Links
1. PlaNYC 2.0 may try to tackle off-street minimum parking requirements for new development, though Transportation Alternatives and Tri-State Transportation Campaign are skeptical.2. The TLC has been cracking down on illegal livery cab street hails as the Bloomberg administration considers … [Read more...]
Another historic preservation district fail
The other day I got some pushback from my weird (non-)historical preservation example, with some people saying that it wasn't a great example of what's wrong with preservation districts – the thing got built, after all! And of course I was being coy – that building was obviously going to pass the … [Read more...]
From the comments: “Architects always ask, with a haggard look in their eyes…”
In response to yesterday's post about landmark districts, one commenter said that it wasn't a good example of landmarking gone awry, since the project was approved, apparently without controversy. Of course, he's right – even the Landmarks Preservation Commission isn't going to turn down an … [Read more...]
Historical landmark districts in two pictures
Ralph Lauren had to get permission from the NYC Landmarks Commission a few years ago to tear down this:...in order to build this: … [Read more...]
Links: A private cable car line for Hamburg, a private downtown for Quincy, Mass., and no adaptive reuse for Brooklyn
1. Hamburg's newly-revitalized port could get a completely privately-funded cable car line, if the city allows it.2. Quincy, Mass., a few T stops away from downtown Boston, is getting a new downtown from a private developer, replete with infrastructure and dense development. It's unique, … [Read more...]
More weekend links
1. Cuban dissident blogger (as in, living in Cuba) Yoani Sánchez describes the state of the Cuban real estate market, and discusses new rules that apparently legalize buying and selling houses, though she has her doubts that the government will allow the overt displays of inequality that would … [Read more...]
NYC & DC links
New York City1. A while ago I wrote about how Manhattanville's blight, and therefore Columbia's ability to use eminent domain, was the fault of bad zoning. The nearby neighborhood of West Harlem looks like it's learned that lesson, and is seeking to protect itself against encroachment from … [Read more...]