South Village District Eligible for Historic Registeries
South Village District Eligible for State & National Register of Historic Places: As part of our ongoing campaign to preserve and honor the South Village, GVSHP has sought to place the proposed South Village Historic District on the State and National Register of Historic Places. Placement on the Register affirms an area's historic, cultural, or architectural significance, offers protections against state or federal actions or use of state or federal funds which could be harmful to the district’s historic character, and offers property owners grants and tax breaks for restoration or renovation of historic properties.
As a result, GVSHP has received a determination from the State’s Historic Preservation Office that the proposed South Village Historic District is eligible for listing on the State and National Register of Historic Places. The determination cites the area’s historic and architectural significance, including its immigrant history, extraordinary collection of intact tenements, and its rich traditions of cultural innovation. With about 750 buildings, the South Village Historic District is the largest district in Manhattan to be determined eligible for the State and National Register since 2000.
Formal listing on the register (such as was recently accomplished with the Meatpacking District) requires significant further documentation and will likely take several more years. However, with the determination of eligibility now in hand, the the area’s historic significance has clearly been affirmed by the State Historic Preservation Office, and the protections regarding state and federal actions and use of funds are now in effect. So, for instance, if NYU wanted to demolish historic buildings and build a new 26-story dorm in the area using State Dormitory Authority funds, they would not be able to do so without it being subjected to a review to determine if it would negatively impact the historic resources in the area.
GVSHP’s South Village Historic District proposal was funded by Preserve NY, a grant program of the NY State Council on the Arts and the Preservation League of NY State. Research for the the report was funded by the Kaplen Foundation; City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Council Member Alan Gerson through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; State Senator Tom Duane and Assembly Member Deborah Glick through the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and our generous members.
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