One-third of South Village still not landmarked Op-Ed BY ANDREW BERMAN, Executive Director, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation October 16, 2014 Word that an eight-story building is planned for 134 W. Houston St., next to the MacDougal Sullivan Gardens, has refocused attention on the unfinished fight to preserve the historic South Village, and […]
Working in historic preservation, you know that you win some and you lose some. The forces of real estate in New York are quite powerful, and as passionately as New Yorkers feel about the character and spirit of their city and their neighborhoods, there’s no denying the big money interests are going to win some […]
Op-Ed BY ANDREW BERMAN, Executive Director, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation October 2, 2014 The recent news that the Trump Soho Condo-Hotel is going into foreclosure and will be sold inspires some reflection. How did we get saddled with this 454-foot-tall eyesore anyway, and how was something so clearly wrong ever allowed to be […]
Perhaps one of the most frequent questions we here at GVSHP get from the public regarding landmarked sites or sites within designated historic districts is “what can they do here?” Sometimes it’s a neighbor wondering what might happen to a newly-purchased piece of property nearby. Sometimes it’s an owner or prospective owner wondering what they […]
GVSHP is proud to share a report we commissioned which examines some flaws in New York City’s landmarking system, and urges that changes be made to better protect historic structures. The report can be viewed here. It looks at the practices of the prior administration regarding the timing of landmarking properties and the notification given […]
The recent piece on PBS’ MetroFocus series about GVSHP’s book, Greenwich Village Stories (watch here) reminds me what a perfect end-of-summer read the book is (the book can be purchased here). Where else can you find sixty-six reminiscences about the Village and East Village from some of the great musicians, politicians, performers, artists, writers, actors, […]
These beautiful late summer days have got us thinking about sun and sky. Which has us thinking about that most iconic of Village architectural features, the artist’s studio. So we thought we’d use the occasion of these warm August days to conduct a brief survey of some of our favorite artist’s studio windows in the […]
Seven years ago today, on July 24th, 2007, two very lucky federal rowhouse survivors on Greenwich Street were landmarked, thus insuring their nearly 200 year run of good luck would continue.
Folk icon Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Guthrie was born July 14, 1912 in Okemah, Oklahoma, and died fifty-five years later of Huntington’s disease in his adopted hometown of New York City. In between, he spent a lot of time in Greenwich Village.
Happy birthday Kevin Bacon! The versatile actor/musician/philanthropist was born in Philadelphia to Ruth Hilda and Edmund Norwood Bacon on July 8, 1958. Of course Kevin Bacon is more than just a multi-talented artist of various media. He’s also the basis for the popular game which shows how interconnected we all are, Six Degrees of Kevin […]
On July 3, 1981, the New York Times ran a small story with perhaps one of the most foreboding and portentous headlines in modern history: “Rare cancer seen in 41 homosexuals.” Of course this was one of the very first published reports dealing with what has come to be known as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) […]
They’re next door neighbors, but they could not be more different. One is high-rise and concrete, the other low-rise and brick. One is modern and geometric, while the other is quaint and irregular. One is pre-planned and serene, the other — spontaneous, and buzzing with activity. Who is this odd couple? It’s Silver Towers and […]
GVSHP’s Annual Meeting and Awards are quickly approaching (this coming Monday night from 6:30 to 8pm at the New School’s Auditorium, 66 West 12th Street — RSVP here). This year we are proud to honor Kathy Donaldson, the longtime President of the Bedford-Barrow-Commerce Block Association, with our Regina Kellerman Award, named for GVSHP’s first Executive […]
The 1960’s was a turbulent decade marked by numerous notable murders, assassinations, and attempted assassinations (some of which, like the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination, the Bobby Kennedy assassination, and the murder of Kitty Genovese, have previously been chronicled on Off the Grid). But one may have shook downtown more deeply and personally than any […]
It’s not that often that we here at Off the Grid report on happenings on the Upper East Side. But a big preservation victory there earlier this month with broad implications for landmark protections throughout New York City is certainly worth reporting on, and it’s a victory we are proud to say GVSHP had a […]
We have two great birthdays in the world of punk to mark. The two celebrants straddle the East and West Village, and both sides of the Atlantic.
It was eight years ago today on May 8, 2006 that GVSHP was honored with the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Lucy G. Moses Award for organizational excellence. We were in great company that night at St. Bartholomew’s Church, including Evelyn and Everett Ottner, the Park Slope preservation pioneers, who received the Preservation Leadership Award, and […]
April 18 and 19 mark two incredibly important Far West Village preservation anniversaries — each from 2004. At that time, GVSHP and allied community groups were engaged in a heated battle to try to prevent the wholesale destruction of the Greenwich Village waterfront and Meatpacking District, both of which had recently become “hot neighborhoods” where […]
On April 2, 1968, the groundbreaking film “2001: A Space Odyssey” was released. The epic story of the man’s evolution, his limitations, and his future in the space age was considered by many a landmark of modern film, with its influence seen in everything from the other movies including ‘Gravity,’ to David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” […]
The Ramones sprung onto the scene in mid-1974, revolutionizing rock music and performance by reinjecting energy, simplicity, and humor into a genre which had become increasingly serious, self-important, and bloated. In the midst of presidential scandals and resignations, urban decay, and disintegrating social fabric, the Ramones called for a new order based upon three chords, […]
On March 22, 1968, the legendary rock band The Doors performed at the East Village’s fabled Fillmore East. The performance is considered one of the most iconic in the band and the theater’s career — which is saying a lot, considering the near-mythic status each enjoy. The Fillmore East had been open just two weeks; The Doors, while […]
On March 13th, 1964, Kitty Genovese was brutally raped and murdered in Kew Gardens, Queens. The crime, and Kitty Genovese’s name, became symbols of much more than this one savage act. Largely through reporting in the weeks that followed, the murder became a parable of sorts about the unravelling of society, increasing crime, racial fears, […]
…well, it almost happened that way. The Village and East Village have historically been home to all sorts of strange bedfellows. Today we look at one of the most unusual such pairings, two people whose paths crossed just around the corner from our offices at 208 East 13th Street. 208 East 13th Street is a […]
On February 24th, 1975, Led Zeppelin’s double studio album Physical Graffiti was unleashed upon the world. The band’s second most commercially successful album, it went sixteen times platinum in the United States, and spawned such classics as Trampled Under Foot, Boogie With Stu, and the east-meets-west magnum opus, Kashmir. The monster album also emerged roughly […]
GVSHP works to preserve the architectural and cultural heritage of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo in many different ways. Landmark designations and zoning protections, though challenging to secure, can at least ensure the perpetuation of that special physical fabric. But culture, while inevitably intertwined with that physical fabric, is more ephemeral; harder to quantify, and […]
Over the last several weeks GVSHP has been taking a look at the designation report for the new South Village Historic District which we fought ten years to achieve. As February is African-American History Month, now seems like an especially appropriate time to highlight the African-American history of the South Village, the subject of a […]
Over the past several weeks, we’ve been highlighting the recent designation of the South Village Historic District, which GVSHP fought ten years to achieve, as well as the treasure trove of information found in the newly-available designation report for the district, which in several cases cites research and materials provided by GVSHP. The South Village’s […]
We at GVSHP want to wish everyone a happy holiday season and best wishes for the new year. We’ll be posting intermittently for the next week or so until we pick up a normal schedule again at the beginning of 2014. It’s been a momentous year of course. What better way to end the year […]
On November 10, 1975, Patti Smith’s album ‘Horses’ was released. Simply put, music was never the same again.
They may not necessarily be a basis for landmark designation, but it’s always nice when the setting for a great album cover gets landmark protections, ensuring that it lives on for future generations to appreciate. The Village and East Village have inspired and launched the career of many musicians over the years. So it’s no […]
Some surprising good news today about the growth of chain stores in the Village, East Village, and NoHo. Like many, Village Preservation has been working to try to discourage the proliferation of chain stores in our neighborhoods, while encouraging the retention of small, independent businesses. Apparently the trend is finally going our way.
At this time of year, we’re thinking about the many things we’re grateful for, as well as the founding of our country. Both those bring us to the many Federal-era (1790-1835) houses in the Village, NoHo, and East Village, especially those we have been able to ensure will survive well into the future due to […]
The United States Senate’s historic passage yesterday of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, has deep roots in a house in the South Village at 186 Spring Street — a hotbed of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) civil rights activity in the post-Stonewall […]
As Election Day approaches, like many of you, we’re wondering what the future holds for New York City, as the Bloomberg Era will soon be coming to an end. Toward that end, all this Fall we have been looking back on what we have been able to accomplish over the last ten years, and thinking […]
With next Tuesday’s hearing on the possible landmark designation of the Tifereth Israel Town & Village Synagogue on East 14th Street — the nearly 150 year old former German Baptist and Ukrainian Orthodox Church which has been under consideration for landmark designation for almost fifty years — we thought we’d take a look at some […]
GVSHP is proud to share it’s new report “Ten Years – A Thousand Buildings – One Hundred Blocks: A Decade of Progress on Landmark and Zoning Protections in the Village, East Village, and NoHo.” As we come to the end of the Bloomberg era, this meticulously detailed and richly photographed report examines what GVSHP has […]
You don’t have to live in the Village to celebrate the birthday of John Lennon, who was born on October 9th, 1940. But Villagers, and those who love the Village, have a special reason to celebrate the birth of one of the greatest and most transcendent popular musicians of the late 20th century.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, one of the defining movies of the 1960’s, and defining movies about New York, was released on October 5, 1961. Long skinny black dresses were never the same again. It’s often understandably assumed that Holly Golightly and Paul Varjack lived in the Village, as the cast of unconventional characters which populated their […]
Karen Loew joins us today as GVSHP’s new Director of East Village and Special Projects. I hope you’ll join us in welcoming Karen to the GVSHP family.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, considered one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century and the chronicler of America’s jazz age of the 1920’s and its “Lost Generation,” was born September 24, 1896 in St. Paul Minnesota. He died a mere forty-four years later in Hollywood, California, of a heart attack, though alcoholism and tuberculosis may have […]
It was ten years ago this month that the city’s Independent Budget Office (IBO) released the landmark study confirming what many New Yorkers intuitively knew, but the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) has continually sought to deny — landmarking does not negatively impact property values, and if anything, tends to modestly increase the […]
On September 9, 2003, the Gansevoort Market Historic District was officially designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. The designation not only culminated a three-year effort to protect the increasingly endangered Meatpacking District from the very real prospect of mass demolitions and oversized new development (such as the Hotel Gansevoort, which preceded the […]
On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot while visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York; he died eight days later on September 14. Both the man responsible for the assassination, and the man who assumed the presidency as a result, had some interesting connections to our neighborhoods. McKinley was only the third […]
…what a long, strange trip it’s been. On August 26th, 1970, an electric lady was introduced to the rock and roll scene on 8th Street in Greenwich Village. Ushered in by none other than Jimi Hendrix, Electric Lady Studios at 52 West 8th Street was built to provide Hendrix with affordable studio space that would […]
On August 28th, 1963, one of the most iconic and transformative events of the civil rights movement took place, the ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.’ One of the largest demonstrations ever staged in our nation’s capitol, it featured Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech, and is credited with helping […]
On August 12, 1964, ground was broken for the construction of 505 LaGuardia Place (then known as 505 West Broadway), the first of the three towers which, along with the giant Picasso sculpture “Sylvette,” form what was called University Village. The entire complex was built by NYU, and two of the towers are owned by […]
As seen in: Don’t Believe REBNY’s Hype; Landmarking Can Help Affordability Read the full article in The Villager or Gotham Gazette BY ANDREW BERMAN | In July, the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) went on a media blitz, touting their latest report blasting landmark preservation in New York City. […]
Twentieth century pop art icon Andy Warhol was born on August 6th, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But his life as an artist and visual pioneer was very much about New York, largely downtown New York. Warhol certainly made his mark on the Village and East Village, and both, in turn, made their mark on him. […]
On August 1, 2000, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation convened the first meeting of the Save Gansevoort Market Task Force. This project of GVSHP eventually led to landmark designation for most of the Meatpacking District, State and National Register of Historic Places designation for the entire neighborhood, and two successful campaigns to prevent […]
Talking Point Read the full article here July 18, 2013 BY ANDREW BERMAN | In late June we learned that the state Assembly and Senate had passed legislation that, among other things, allows the sale of air rights from piers within the Hudson River Park for development one block inland, with the […]
For those who don’t know it, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Protection at 59 East 2nd Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, is one of the most striking and impressive ecclesiastical structures, not only the East Village, but all of New York (their website is here). While it has served as the […]
Yesterday the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and The Church of the Village unveiled a bronze historic marker now permanently affixed to the facade of this landmark church memorializing the first meeting of what came to be PFLAG, led by Jeanne Manford, at the church […]
The Landmarks Preservation Commission has recently begun creating on-line slide shows to showcase various history months as represented by some of the city’s roughly 31,000 landmarked properties. In March, they highlighted Women’s History Month, and in February, Black History Month. Now for the first time, the LPC has also created a “Gay Pride Month” slide […]
You don’t often hear “NYU” and “award” in the same sentence (at least not when GVSHP is giving the award). But a bold and unapologetic group of NYU faculty who have spearheaded the charge from within against the university’s massive Village expansion plans was a favorite of the GVSHP Awards Committee this year. Let’s find […]
On June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, as he left the ballroom after giving his victory speech following his win in the California Presidential Primary. Many believed his primary victory would lead to securing the Democratic nomination for President, and the Presidency. This was one of many assassinations […]
Just prior to yesterday’s rally and press conference to save historic Mary Help of Christians Church from demolition (see press release HERE and pictures HERE), GVSHP came upon information that the church and much of this block were actually built upon a long-forgotten 19th century cemetery, New York’s third, and at the time largest, Catholic […]
While we received some incredibly good news last week about possible future landmarking in the South Village, this week also marks the anniversary of some critical past victories in South Village landmarking efforts. Let’s see what good fortune mid-May has brought to us in years gone by…
Yesterday’s benefit house tour was a tremendous success. The weather was crisp, clear, and beautiful, the homes spectacular, and the reception at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise’s gallery at 620 Greenwich Street, with wine from Mark Trujillo, was a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone who supported the benefit, our intrepid Benefit Committee (especially co-chairs Cassie […]
Last November, we showed how — to our amazement — the City’s own “Community Profile” of Community Board #2 categorized the Trump SoHo “Condo-Hotel” as a residential property. This would make it illegal under the zoning, because when built, the zoning in Hudson Square did not allow any sort of residential development. We (and many […]
Op-Ed from The Villager newspaper, April 25, 2012 http://thevillager.com/2013/04/25/quinn-and-city-cant-omit-3-key-south-village-sites/ Quinn and City Must Not Omit Three Key Sites From South Village Landmarking (if you want to help, write the City and Speaker Quinn today — click HERE) BY ANDREW BERMAN | On April 15, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public meeting to present its […]
It’s disappointing but hardly surprising — NYU destroying a small but important piece of the Village’s architectural heritage and character. What is puzzling, however, is how utterly unnecessary the destruction appears to be. NYU is renovating its Brittany Hall dormitory at 55 East 10th Street, at the northwest corner of Broadway. The 15-story tower is […]
On April 17, 1423, an event took place which, implausibly enough, lead to the creation of the modern notion — or at least nomenclature — of ‘bohemia.’ ‘Bohemian,’ as commonly used in the West for the last two centuries, means a person who lives an unconventional lifestyle, often with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic, […]
Earlier in the week we looked at what sites the Landmarks Preservation Commission excluded from our proposed South Village Historic District in their draft proposed phase II designation. As promised, in anticipation of Monday’s night’s public property owner’s meeting on the draft proposal, today we are looking at what’s in. Hint: it’s some great stuff.
Last week the Landmarks Preservation Commission revealed their draft proposed boundaries for Phase II of our proposed South Village Historic District, and announced that the public “property owner’s” meeting to discuss the proposal would be held next Monday April 15th at 6:30 pm at the NYU Meyer Building, 4 Washington Place (at Broadway), rm. 121. […]
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. This ended the life of one of the 20th century’s most revered and influential figures. It also began a fifteen year campaign to make Dr. King’s Birthday a national holiday — the […]
GVSHP is proud to be working with PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and the Church of the Village at 13th Street and 7th Avenue to memorialize and celebrate Jeanne Manford. Jeanne died earlier this year at 92, but forty years ago this March she held the first meeting of what would […]
Last week we received written confirmation from the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) that they intend to hear and vote upon the remaining section of our proposed South Village Historic District north of Houston Street before the end of the year. To say this was a long time coming would be a vast understatement. GVSHP has […]
GVSHP has gotten many inquiries about exactly what the City Council vote last week on the Hudson Square rezoning, and the announcements regarding the proposed South Village Historic District, means for our neighborhood. To help answer those, we have put together a “Frequently Asked Questions” about the Hudson Square rezoning deal below which we hope […]
Yesterday, in anticipation of the vote on the Hudson Square rezoning, we took a look at some of the sites currently threatened or recently lost in the South Village. Today, we thought we’d take a look at some of the wonderful buildings which still survive in the area of the South Village not yet landmarked, […]
With the City’s Council’s vote this week on the Hudson Square rezoning, which will decide if the South Village is saved or its destruction accelerated, we thought we’d remind everyone of why the South Village is so special to so many people. Some wonderful individuals with strong connections to the South Village allowed us to […]
Neighborhoods like Greenwich Village contain many houses built for merchant families in the 19th century, converted to multi-family housing (usually for immigrants) decades later, and then converted back to single-family housing in more recent decades. However, a recent Department of Buildings filing may indicate what appears to be a first for the South Village, the […]
After many delays and revisions, the New York City Districting Commission has presented its final proposed new City Council district map to the City Council for approval. Every ten years, the City Council’s lines, like those of every legislative body in the country, must be changed to reflect changes in population as determined by the […]
From The Villager Newspaper, February 14, 2013 Op-Ed: Quinn Holds the Cards on Hudson Square Rezoning and South Village Landmarking http://www.thevillager.com/?p=10221 By Andrew Berman, Katy Bordonaro, Zack Winestine, Micki McGee, Richard Blodgett, Carl Rosenstein and Silvia Beam The Hudson Square rezoning currently before the City Council presents a rare case where a win-win is possible. Done […]
The Landmarks Preservation Commission’s (LPC) response to pleas to consider the entire proposed South Village Historic District for landmark designation, as LPC Chair Robert Tierney promised to do in 2009, has frequently been to say that they have spent enough time in the Village and have to look at other parts of the city as […]
Today we note the passing of Edward I. Koch, Mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989 and former Greenwich Village Congressman, City Councilmember, and Democratic District leader. A resident of Greenwich Village since the 1950’s, for the last several decades Koch lived in an apartment overlooking Washington Square Park at No. 2 Fifth […]
From the January 31, 2013 issue of The Villager. Noho and Soho’s firewall against N.Y.U. is at risk http://www.thevillager.com/?p=10030 By Andrew Berman, Executive Director, Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation The mantra from the New York University administration throughout the public approval process for the school’s massive expansion proposal was “We’re making our plans transparent […]
On Wednesday the City Planning Commission voted to approve the proposed Hudson Square Rezoning with some minor modifications, sending it to the City Council. The Council now has fifty days to hold a public hearing and make a final decision as to whether or not the rezoning will be approved, denied, or modified. While GVSHP […]
The High Line has become one of Manhattan’s most popular attractions, offering a unique opportunity to travel above the hub-bub of our city streets and gain a unique perspective on the surrounding cityscape. GVSHP was an early supporter of the effort to preserve the former elevated freight rail line and turn it into a […]
This Tuesday, Jeanne Manford died at the age of 92. Sometimes referred to as the “Mother of the Straight Ally Movement,” Jeanne’s may not be a household name in all quarters, but her legacy and impact upon our broader culture is enormous. And it has strong roots in Greenwich Village, and its early embrace of […]
Yesterday’s Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) hearing on NYU’s variance application for 730 Broadway was revealing in several ways. GVSHP urged the board to reject NYU’s application (read our testimony HERE) as did Community Board #2, the NoHo Neighborhood Association (NNA), and a representative of Assemblymember Deborah Glick. NNA and Assemblymember Glick are, by […]
Working in historic preservation you sometimes find yourself dealing with things you never expect. On this date in 2006, GVSHP wrote to Mayor Bloomberg regarding a 19th century abolitionist church graveyard that had been dug up and disturbed in the process of preparing for the construction of the Trump SoHo Condo Hotel. Sadly, the disturbance […]
CRITICAL PUBLIC HEARING TOMORROW ON PROPOSED HUDSON SQUARE REZONING AND IMPACT ON THE SOUTH VILLAGE Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 28th, the City Planning Commission will hold its SOLE public hearing on Trinity Realty’s proposed Hudson Square Rezoning.
Six and a half years ago, a pitched battle began against the scheme to construct a 454 ft. tall behemoth at 246 Spring Street which came to be known as the “Trump SoHo Condo-Hotel.” GVSHP and many neighbors and community groups opposed having this 46-story monument to ego and self-promotion in their midst, but unfortunately the zoning […]
As GVSHP recently announced, the Hudson Square rezoning application is now on the desk of the Manhattan Borough President, after Community Board #2 pointedly recommended it be turned down UNLESS the neighboring South Village is protected from its impacts through landmarking, allowable building heights in Hudson Square are reduced, and other changes made. Like GVSHP, […]
Just prior to Sandy’s devastation, we reported the disappointing news that the City Council had agreed to approve the upzoning of Chelsea Market and allow a developer to construct two large additions atop the historic complex. The deal, brokered by City Council Speaker Quinn and approved by the Council’s Land Use Committee, was headed to […]
Tomorrow will be our one and only chance to speak directly to the City Council before they decide whether or not to upzone Chelsea Market to allow two large towers to be built atop the historic complex. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am at the City Council Chambers in City Hall (map […]
It’s one of the quaintest and most intriguing streets in the West Village. It’s located just a block from the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement. And as Off the Grid favorite Jerry Seinfeld would say, it’s thin, clean, and neat. So in honor of Thursday’s National Coming Out Day, Off […]
Off the Grid will be going, well, off the grid for the holiday weekend. While we’ll be celebrating the last days of summer, we must note that this Monday not only marks Labor Day, but the 50th anniversary of the passing of quintessential Village poet ee cummings. To do so, we are re-posting our salute […]
As most everyone knows, we’re kind of map and statistics geeks here at Off The Grid. Thus it’s no surprise that a handy little tool put together by WNYC in the wake of the Republican National Convention, mapping the levels of Republican voter registration throughout New York City, caught our attention. The interactive map (below) […]
PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release August 22nd, 2012 EARLY GAY RIGHTS LANDMARK FACES DEMOLITION BUT CITY AND DEVELOPER REFUSE TO SAVE IT Gay Leaders and Preservationists Rally to Preserve Threatened 1824 House With Profound Role in Gay Rights and AIDS Activist History Manhattan – Today the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) was joined […]
Earlier this week, the world noted the passing of Gore Vidal, one of the great novelists, commentators, and agitators of the 20th century. Like almost every other figure to whom that description can be applied, Vidal had a Greenwich Village connection.
The New School recently “topped out” its new “University Center” at 65 Fifth Avenue at 14th Street. With the building now having reached its full height and bulk, and the facade beginning to take shape, it’s worth comparing this project, The New School’s ambitious look toward its future, with NYU’s proposed developments under its twenty-year […]
On April 28th, 1982, the landmark film Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance had its world premiere. A stunning, wordless, 86 minute visual collage featuring images of natural beauty, urban decay and renewal, pollution, nuclear proliferation, and the abstraction, alienation, and wonder of modern life, the film received critical acclaim and has demonstrated an enduring appeal […]
The World of Video at 51 Greenwich Avenue, the oldest and longest-running video rental store in the West Village, has been an important film archival resource for the public, the three major TV networks, and numerous notable filmmakers, because of its tremendous library of rare and classic films, as well as the matchless expertise and extensive […]
Many of us awoke to the sad news today of the passing of Charles Lockwood. Charles was an architectural historian whose book, “Bricks and Brownstones, The New York Rowhouse 1783-1929” was considered by many the bible of rowhouse histories.
February may be the shortest month, but that does not mean that there is any shortage of important things happening this month on the Village Preservation calendar. Far from it. Aside from our ongoing roster of programs, as anyone who has been following the battle over NYU’s massive 20 year expansion plan knows, this month […]
Tonight will be a critical first public hearing in the public review and approval process for NYU’s massive proposed twenty-year expansion plan. Come to Community Board #2’s Zoning Committee tonight to hear NYU present its raft of massive proposed zoning changes, and urge the board to REJECT IT! The meeting begins at 6pm at the […]
This is the latest installment of Off the Grid’s series, “My Favorite Things,” in which we showcase some of our very favorite spots around the neighborhood, highlighting the incredible architecture, history, people, and businesses of the Village, East Village, and NoHo; read more HERE. The Village and East Village have spawned so many remarkable and […]
In response to our recent post “A Sign That Tells More Than Just Street Names,” about the oddly ‘elevated’ street sign embedded above the third floor of 128 Charles Street, an Off the Grid reader also wondered about the rows of mysteriously “bricked up” windows along the Greenwich Street facade of the building. Well, dear […]
An Off the Grid reader asks: “Why is there a set of stone markers embedded between the third and fourth floors of the building at 128 Charles Street saying ‘Greenwich Street’ and ‘Charles Street’? It’s so high up you can barely see it — what good would it have possibly done?” Good (and timely) question, […]
