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Category: Advocacy Efforts

Remembering When: Skidmore House Landmarked

On August 18, 1970, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated landmark status to the grand Greek Revival house at 37 East 4th Street. The house was built in 1844-45 by Samuel Tredwell Skidmore, a relative of Seabury Tredwell, who lived with his family a few doors away at 29 East 4th Street, known today as the […]

Landmark Designation of the Ottendorfer Library 1st Floor Interior

On August 11, 1981, the interior first floor of the Ottendorfer Library received landmark designation from the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission. The building is a prime example of work commissioned for and utilized by the primarily German population of the late 19th and early 20th century, when the East Village was known as […]

Greenwich Village Height and Density Map Now Available on GVSHP Website

Aaron Hill, a dedicated Greenwich Village resident and New School Assistant Professor of Data Visualization, has compiled an interesting new map for GVSHP. This interactive map is sortable by the height and age of every building in the Greenwich Village Historic District. The map also provides the date built, square footage, number of units, number of […]

Happy Birthday MacDougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District

If you have ever noticed the beautiful row houses along MacDougal Street and Sullivan Street between Houston Street and Bleecker Street, these are part of the MacDougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District. There are 22 houses included in the district. The addresses are 74-96 MacDougal Street and 170-188 Sullivan Street. The houses were built in 1844 (MacDougal […]

Could Redevelopment Finally Be Moving Forward at P.S. 64?

East Village activists were surprised to learn recently that the city’s Department of Buildings had issued new work permits for 605 E. 9th Street, the former public school that served as the CHARAS-El Bohio community center for two decades, until it was sold by the Giuliani administration to a private developer in 1998. Since 2001, […]

What was here before the West Coast (95 Horatio Street)?

We received several emails from readers asking about the history of their building following our post about Bagatelle. 95 Horatio Street, aka “The West Coast” is a 320-unit rental property that takes up almost a full block from Horatio Street to Gansevoort Street and Washington Street to West Street. This property encompasses nine lots that were […]

Navigating Historic Districts: NYCityMap

NYCityMap is a user-friendly portal containing various ways to access the wealth of information it contains. Users can locate specific buildings – with links to relevant websites for each facility – as well as use it as an single-access entry point to find many of the numerous location-based applications on NYC.gov (including: online property, building, […]

A New Plan to Preserve the Small Businesses We Love and Need

Think about the neighborhood where you live, whether West Village or East, Astor Place or University Place. Regarding your retail shopping options, if you could pick one of the following as your reality, would it be: Status quo: both independent businesses and chain stores open and close in response to current market conditions Chain stores […]

Village Awardee — James and Karla Murray

This is the final post on the 2015 Village Awards. Previous posts highlighted Barbara Shaum, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, David Rothenberg, The Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation and the 201 East 12th Street Renovation. Join us tomorrow as we honor these awardees at the 2015 Village Awards. Today we look at the 2015 Regina Kellerman Award Winner – James and Karla Murray.

Happy Birthday, Shirley Hayes

Shirley Hayes is a pioneering figure in the preservation of the Village and the fight against Robert Moses’ planned Lower Manhattan Expressway through Washington Square Park.  She was born on June 15, 1912 and would have been 103 today.  Back in the year 2000, GVSHP had the honor of interviewing Mrs. Hayes as part of […]

Village Awardee — 201 East 12th Street Renovation

Off the Grid is highlighting the winners of GVSHP’s 2015 Village Awards, in the lead up to our June 17th Annual Meeting & Award Ceremony. Previous entries include Barbara Shaum, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, David Rothenberg, and The Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation. Today we will look at the amazing renovation job at 201 East 12th Street.

Welcome Aboard, Lauren Snetiker

Today we welcome Lauren Snetiker, the newest member of our staff, who joins the GVSHP team as our Development and Communications Manager. Lauren is looking forward to managing the individual membership program, initiating and maintaining website and interactive features, and creating print materials for special events. She is excited to be part of the important […]

Welcome Aboard, Matthew Morowitz

Today we welcome to the GVSHP staff Matthew Morowitz, GVSHP’s new Administrative Assistant, replacing Meaghan Collins.  We’re very excited to have Matthew on board, who will be involved in everything from GVSHP’s advocacy initiatives, to our educational programs, to our member services. You’ll see Matthew at many of our upcoming programs, as well as at […]

2015 Village Award Winner David Rothenberg

Off the Grid is highlighting the winners of the 2015 Village Awards in the lead up to the June 17th Annual Meeting & Award Ceremony. Previous entries include Barbara Shaum and Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks. Today we will look at the many notable accomplishments of Villager and Fortune Society founder David Rothenberg.

What the Preservation Movement Needs Now

If you’ve been involved in a movement for going on 40 years, you probably have a few things to say about it. And if you’re as observant and educated about the movement as Anthony C. Wood is about preservation in New York City, those things are probably worth considering.  Make that definitely, in Wood’s case. […]

2015 Village Award Winner: Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks

This is the second of six posts highlighting 2015 Annual Awards recipients. Visit here for more information on the 2015 Village Awards and Annual Meeting. The first blog post highlighted Barbara Shaum. Our second Annual Award winner is Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks. Bonnie Slotnick has lived on West 10th Street since 1976 and has been the owner of Bonnie Slotnick […]

2015 Village Award Winner: Barbara Shaum

With our Annual Awards coming up on June 17th, over the next few weeks on our blog we will present a little more information about each of our 2015 Annual Village Award Winners. Visit here for more information on the 2015 Village Awards and Annual Meeting. Today we will highlight 2015 Village Award Recipient Barbara Shaum, […]

Finding Out More About New York City Buildings Research

An Off the Grid reader contacted us to ask for more background information and history about the buildings mentioned in last week’s e-newsletter “Pushing the Envelope in the West Village“. Fortunately, with the resources available on GVSHP’s website, finding out more information on buildings in our neighborhood is generally pretty easy to do — we’ll walk […]

100 Years of Preservation: A Conversation with Anthony C. Wood

Last week, GVSHP had the honor of hosting a public program “100 Years of Preservation: A Conversation with Anthony C. Wood”, founder of the New York Preservation Archive Project and author of Preserving New York: Winning the Right to Protect a City’s Landmarks. GVSHP East Village & Special Projects Director Karen Loew led last Thursday’s intimate […]

This Day in History: NYU Incorporated

Today is the 184th anniversary of the incorporation of NYU. Originally chartered as the “University of the City of New-York”, in 1831 admission was open to all during a time when most universities only admitted members of the privileged classes. The founders of NYU imagined a non-denominational center of higher learning that would be open to all […]

Business of the Month: B&H Dairy

Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — and we need your help selecting the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village or NoHo: just click here to vote for your favorite.  Want to help support small businesses?  Share this post with […]

Celebrating & Remembering Margot Gayle

The New York City Landmarks Law turns 50 years old this month! In the spirit of this important anniversary, we have decided to revisit our 1996 Oral History Interview with NYC Landmarks Law activist and historic preservationist Margot Gayle. Born in 1908, Gayle became involved in preservation efforts by her mid-forties while working at the New York City […]

The Small Business Spring of 2015

It was just shy of a month ago, on March 5, that a forum called “Solutions to Save Small Businesses, Art and Cultural Institutions” was held at Judson Memorial Church, sponsored by The Villager and Village Independent Democrats. It was attended by an audience fed up with seeing treasured independent businesses driven out by high […]

Tragedy in the East Village

Last Thursday an explosion and fire led to the destruction of three buildings at 119, 121, and 123 Second Avenue in the East Village. Tragically, two lives were lost, more than a dozen people were injured, and many people lost their homes, businesses, and livelihoods. Like many of you, we here at GVSHP were shaken, […]

Press Conference Raising Objections & Calling for Changes to Citywide Rezoning Plan

The Mayor’s proposed citywide rezoning proposal, ‘Zoning for Quality and Affordability’ will weaken neighborhood zoning protections. The proposal as currently structured includes many benefits for market rate developments, with some additional very generous benefits for developments that may include only a relatively small fraction of affordable or senior housing. Elected officials, neighborhood groups, and community […]

Village Preservation Brokers Partnership Comedy Night

A limited number of tickets are still available to Village Preservation’s Brokers Partnership Comedy Night. Tonight’s event is a fundraiser to support the Rebecca Ritter Daniels Scholarship. Rebecca was a great supporter of Village Preservation and the Brokers Partnership. Her presence has been missed. In her honor, Rebecca’s friends and family have developed a scholarship […]

Business of the Month: bookbook

Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — and we need your help selecting the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village or NoHo: just click here to vote for your favorite.  Want to help support small businesses?  Share this post with […]

Preservation Alert

PRESERVATION ALERT: New City Proposal Would Slash Neighborhood Zoning Protections; Hard-Fought-For Height Limits Would Be Lifted, Now and In the Future Dear friend,   The City has just released a citywide rezoning proposal which would lift hard-fought-for neighborhood zoning protections and height limits for new development –by as much as 20 to 30%! The proposal […]

The Kinks: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Met Preservation

Preservation and rock ‘n’ roll are rarely mentioned in the same breath, it seems fair to say – with at least one notable exception. When the great British rock band The Kinks, one of the most influential groups of the 1960s and beyond, released a concept album in 1968, they didn’t call it “The Village […]

What’s in Store for 237 Bleecker Street

If you love walking our Village streets, chances are you’ve come across the neglected little building at 237 Bleecker Street. Once a stagecoach house when it was built c. 1835, the wood structure is a cherished piece of Village history, yet it’s fallen on hard times. A proposal to reconstruct most of the facade and […]

Remembering Edith Lyons

Eighteen years ago, GVSHP had the privilege of recording an oral history  interview with early preservationist, Edith Lyons, the co-founder of the Joint Emergency Committee to Close Washington Square Park to Traffic. Lyons and the JEC led a seven year battle against Robert Moses’ plan to extend Fifth Avenue through the park. Thanks to Lyons […]

A Landmark of Hypocrisy?

You never know what you might stumble upon when walking around the neighborhood. Recently I discovered that NYU had installed a sign on the grounds of the I.M. Pei-designed Silver Towers complex touting its landmark designation by the City in 2008.  The signage appeared to indicate that the NYU administration was proud of the landmark […]

The Origins of Historic Preservation in Academia

Having recently completed my undergraduate degree in architectural and urban history, I have been exploring options for further education in the discipline. During my research in the academic backgrounds of notable persons in the profession, I was particularly struck by Jane Jacobs’s lack of qualified training in city planning. This revelation sparked a curiosity in […]

Welcome Aboard, Sam Moskowitz

We here at GVSHP are pleased to welcome Sam Moskowitz aboard, whose first day as GVSHP’s Director of Operations is today.  Sam replaced longtime GVSHP Director of Operations Sheryl Woodruff, who left GVSHP at the end of 2014.

Preservation Includes Community Gardens, and More

Not so long ago, there were 57 community gardens sprinkled along the streets of the East Village and Lower East Side – registered with the Parks Department’s GreenThumb program, that is; in total there were even more. Now there are 46. A coalition of gardeners, advocates and officials has just taken action to ensure that […]

Business of the Month: La Bonbonniere

Your input is needed! Today we feature our third “Business of the Month” — and we need your help selecting the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village or NoHo: just click here to vote for your favorite. Marina Cortez Arrieta, 56, came to America from Peru three decades […]

Community Board Public Hearing on GVSHP’s University Place/Broadway Corridor Rezoning Proposal Jan. 14

Community Board #2 will be holding a public hearing next Wednesday, January 14th at 6:30 pm at Grace Church High School, 46 Cooper Square (Bowery/East 6th Street), 3rd floor regarding GVSHP’s proposed contextual rezoning plan for the University Place and Broadway corridors. Anyone who is interested in the future or preservation of this area is […]

Zoning Does Matter: Townhouses, or A Tower?

ZONING MATTERS: REZONED WEST VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT SITE WOULD HAVE ALLOWED HUGE TOWER, NOW MARKETED FOR TOWNHOUSES ~ Hearing Jan. 14 on Univ. Pl./B’way Rezoning Proposal It has recently been reported that the two-story duplex co-op apartments at 8 Charles Lane/151-157 Charles Street are being marketed for sale and redevelopment. What’s so noteworthy, however, is that […]

Village People: Jane Jacobs

(This post is part of a series called Village People: A Who’s Who of Greenwich Village, which will explore some of this intern’s favorite Village people and stories.) During the Great Depression, Jane Jacobs moved with her sister to Brooklyn, and then to Greenwich Village, to which she took an immediate liking. She studied at […]

Historic Preservation, In Context

As a student of architectural history at NYU and having lived in New York for the past four years, it is still such a delight to be able to walk around and see such an eclectic mix of buildings in the same neighborhood; to see the old and the new nestled together either in congruent […]

2014 Year In Review: GVSHP Programs

As we near the end of 2014, we thought we’d look back on the several dozen exciting lectures, book talks, exhibitions, walking tours, forums, panels, and community meetings conducted by GVSHP over the past year.  All are shown on our Past Programs page, and many have links to video or photos of the events, in […]

In the News: 49 Years Ago Today

Much of the Village Voice from the 1950s to the mid-2000s is available to view online via a Google digitization project. The huge trove of scanned newspapers helps reveal the changes that have occurred over fifty years to the architecture of the neighborhood, to music and culture, to local businesses, to politics, to the concerns […]

Building (801) Broadway: McCreery’s Cast-Iron Gem

For today’s Building Broadway post, we thought we’d take a look at the former McCreery’s Dry Goods Store at the corner of Broadway and 11th Street. Featuring this building is particularly timely because it was one of four “calendared” buildings in our neighborhoods that was, until very recently, scheduled to be “de-calendared” by the Landmarks […]

The Beauty of the University Place & Broadway Corridors

Last week’s community meeting about the need to better preserve and protect the Village’s University Place and Broadway corridors was a great success.  Well attended, participants at the meeting were extremely engaged and enthusiastic, and there appeared to be a very strong consensus about the need to change the current state of affairs which allows […]

Small Business EVERYday

A week ago we were surrounded by ads for “Black Friday,” a day many people spend doing their holiday shopping at the big box stores. A few years ago, “Small Business Saturday” was created, to promote the independent retailers and other businesses. That’s nice, but maybe one day is not enough. How about “Small Business […]

World AIDS Day, 2014

Since 1988, December 1 has marked a day of awareness for the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS. World AIDS Day is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), and to commemorate those who have […]

University Place and Broadway in the Crosshairs

BY ANDREW BERMAN  |  Imagine a young developer from a big New York real estate family wants to make a name for himself. He decides to do so by developing a luxury high-rise tower in the heart of Greenwich Village that will be one of the tallest, if not the tallest, structures ever erected in the […]

Landmarked Lampposts

We often hear of historic districts, individual landmarked buildings and State and National Register sites. But did you know that there are sixty-two lampposts and four wall bracket lamps that have also achieved designated landmark status in New York City? (Of course, there are several more that are protected within historic districts or are on […]

Business of the Month: Makari

Your input is needed! Today we kick off our new “Business of the Month” feature on independent stores in Greenwich Village, the East Village and NoHo. Tell us which store to highlight next: just click here to vote for your favorite. Behind an understated storefront on busy Third Avenue near 14th Street lies a charming […]

121 Charles Street, from Yorkville to the Village

By now, many of you have heard about the controversy over the little house at 121 Charles Street, at the corner of Greenwich Street. If you haven’t, ERG Property Advisors listed the house for sale as a development site for “a developer or user to execute a wide variety of potential visions, from boutique condominiums, […]

Forging a Path Through the Village

A couple of weeks ago we looked at a variety of buildings in our neighborhoods that at one time served as horse stables, but have since been repurposed. This week, we thought we’d take a look at a building type that is sometimes related to stables and horses (but is also hard to find in […]

Saving Sacred Spaces

After a nearly half-century wait, last week the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission finally voted to approve landmark status for the 150-year old religious building located at 334 East 14th Street, now the Tifereth Israel Town & Village Synagogue, and prior to that a German Baptist and a Ukrainian Autocephalic Church. Ironically, the Commission’s decision was followed soon […]

Then & Now: 117 7th Avenue South

Earlier this month the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) approved a revised design for a new building at 192 7th Avenue South, corner of West 11th Street. It will replace a one-story structure. This is the second of two new buildings that the LPC has approved on 7th Avenue South this past year, no. 130 being […]

Commemorating a Favorite Concert Hall, the Fillmore East

GVSHP will officially unveil a new historic plaque at the former Fillmore East at 105 Second Avenue on Wednesday, October 29 at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but we appreciate reservations at rsvp@gvshp.org. About the place I first learned the name “Fillmore” from Grateful Dead bootleg tapes, which, among […]

NYU Expansion Plan; Not Over, But Still Outrageous

Last week’s news that the First Department Panel of the Appellate Division struck down Supreme Court Justice Donna Mills’ ruling halting much of the NYU expansion plan was disappointing to say the least.  But, as we have reminded people, it is not the end of the story by any means.  Working with our co-plaintiffs and […]

One-third of South Village still not landmarked

  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 […]

Ideas for Preserving Our Small Businesses and Creative Spaces

Many Gotham dwellers just about have their spirit broken from all the eclectic, only-in-New-York kinds of places that have been “developed” into achingly boring, everywhere-on-the-globe kinds of places. Unique theaters, gardens, community centers, shops, restaurants: Now they’re chain banks and drugstores and luxury dwellings. It’s enough to make a heartbroken New Yorker give up. Not […]

White Brick in the South Village

Thinking of white glazed brick buildings can conjure images of boxy post-war high rises on the Upper East Side, but almost fifty years before they came into vogue, white brick homes were sprouting in the South Village. In addition to the well-known Mills House on Bleecker Street, five unique tenements designed by Louis A. Sheinart […]

Happy Birthday Neighborhood Preservation Center

This Wednesday, we here at Off the Grid are looking forward to celebrating the 15th birthday of the Neighborhood Preservation Center. The Center will be hosting its annual birthday party fundraiser at the landmark Webster Hall, and GVSHP will be there to commend the Center for all it does for the preservation community. The Center […]

An Object Lesson in Lack of Government Oversight

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 […]

State’s ‘Path Through History’ Remains a Mystery

The Hamilton Fish House is a stately home located on lovely Stuyvesant Street in the East Village.  It is owned by Cooper Union and serves as the president’s official residence.  Should you go there, you can read one plaque designating it a National Historic Landmark, and another one denoting it as a New York City […]

The Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua

This Thursday evening, September 25, we will present the third program in our series “OMG!: Churches and Synagogues of Greenwich Village.” Father Joseph Lorenzo, O.F.M., pastor at the Shrine Church of St. Anthony of Padua, will present a slideshow and history of the church and the parish. Our previous programs in this series were The […]

Landmarking 101: What Can They Do Here?

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 […]

A Historic New Home for St. Mark’s Bookshop

Now in its fourth home, the St. Mark’s Bookshop has become a kind of movable landmark, so it’s fitting that the two-month-old store on East Third Street is in a landmarked building: First Houses, the first federally-funded public housing complex in America. Whether or not they were aware of this historic significance, the customers browsing […]

A Happily Ever After for 43 MacDougal Street?

Many longtime residents of the Village have wondered about the fate of 43 MacDougal Street, which has sat vacant for decades. Located at the corner of King Street on the eastern edge of the Charlton-King-Vandam Historic District, 43 MacDougal is a Greek Revival style townhouse that was built as part of a row in 1846. […]

High Line, Part 3

Congratulations to our friends at The High Line! The third and final section of the park will open to the public this Sunday, September 21st. GVSHP has a special kinship with The High Line. I mean that is what historic preservation is all about! GVSHP was one of the earliest endorsers of the plan to […]

Wonderful Wednesdays: And Now for the Good News About Preservation

Are you shaking your head sadly again? You know, that doleful tut-tut about the sweet old building just torn down, or trusty independent business that closed its doors? Well, it’s time to take a break from all that, because there’s plenty of good news in our neighborhoods as well. Welcome to Wonderful Wednesdays. We’d like […]

Building (841) Broadway: A Majestic Terra-Cotta Beauty

It’s been a while since our last Building Broadway post, but that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped admiring all those stunning structures along that oh-so-famous thoroughfare. Today’s feature is 841 Broadway, originally known as the Roosevelt Building when it was constructed in 1893. Yes, it was named after those Roosevelts, powerful merchants in 19th century New […]

Map It! Manhattan Street

Last month reader Mike commented on our Lewis Street post that his aunt lived nearby on Houston, and that he remembered seeing a ‘Manhattan Street’ when he visited. I hadn’t heard of Manhattan Street, and since I love looking at old maps, I just had to investigate! Lo and behold, there it was on the […]