East 10th Street Historic District Designated, But Not Before City Issues Permit for Controversial Development
 Yesterday the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) held an emergency hearing and vote to designate the proposed East 10th Street Historic District. The hearing and vote were scheduled in response to GVSHP and fellow preservation groups alerting the LPC to plans by developer Ben Shaoul to build an addition atop 315 East 10th Street, an 1847 house in the heart of the nearly uniform and intact row of buildings on the north side of Tompkins Square which form the proposed district.
The good news: the LPC voted unanimously to designate the district, only the second in the entire East Village and the first since 1969. The bad news: the LPC did not act quickly enough to prevent the Department of Buildings from issuing permits to Shaoul for the new structure just minutes before the LPC hearing began.
The fumbling of this matter by the City is deeply disappointing, especially as many other historic buildings in the East Village have been lost or adulterated without intervention by the Commission. We use this occasion to call upon the Landmarks Preservation Commission to redouble its efforts to act in a timely manner to protect the vulnerable history and character of the East Village.
View a map and images of buildings in the new district and their histories HERE. See coverage of the landmark designation, and the granting of the controversial permits, in the New York Times, the New York Times Local East Village, the New York Post, the Epoch Times, The Real Deal, DNAinfo, The Lo-Down, and on Channel 5 News.
GVSHP wishes to thank City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, who not only has been steadfast in support of historic district designation and helped spur the LPC to act, but worked very hard to try to prevent the permits for 315 East 10th Street from being issued.
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