NEW YORK—The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held an emergency public hearing on Tuesday and voted the East 10th Street Historic District in Manhattan’s East Village as a historical landmark.
The emergency hearing was held because the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP) and various community groups alerted the LPC to an attempt by East Village developer Ben Shaoul to secure buildings permits for 315 E.10th St.
However, just a few hours prior to the LPC hearing, the city had already issued the permits to Shaoul.
“While we are glad the East 10th Street Historic District was designated today, we are deeply disappointed that the city dropped the ball and missed, by just a few hours, the opportunity to prevent permits being issued for 315 East 10th Street,” stated GVSHP Executive Director Andrew Berman.
“It’s truly a shame that these city agencies could not coordinate their efforts to prevent this from happening. We are losing more and more of the East Village every day. I hope this spurs the Landmarks Preservation Commission forward to redouble their efforts to protect this vulnerable and endangered neighborhood.”
A second slightly larger historic district called the East Village/Lower East Side Historic District, covering a few blocks in the southwest corner of the neighborhood is also currently under consideration for landmark designation by the LPC.
