GVSHP | Detail

Historic South Village Landmarking Vote this Tuesday 12/17; Celebration at 6pm!

The long-awaited vote on “Phase II” of GVSHP's proposed South Village Historic District will take place this Tuesday, December 17th at the Landmarks Preservation Commission (time TBD)! We are optimistic that the Commission will vote to approve, although the final boundaries of the district will not be determined until the vote.

The proposed district includes about 250 buildings on more than a dozen blocks (map below), and a vast array of sites connected to the South Village’s history as a center of immigrant struggle and cultural, artistic, musical and literary innovation. Once the Commission votes, landmark designation takes immediate effect!

This designation is the result of years of hard work; GVSHP and our allies have been lobbying for this designation for more than ten years, and activists going back to the 1960s, including Jane Jacobs, sought landmark protections for this threatened and historic area.

In 2010, the City landmarked “Phase I” of GVSHP’s proposed South Village Historic District, and earlier this year agreed to move ahead with “Phase II” after GVSHP waged a campaign demanding landmark designation of the South Village if neighboring Hudson Square was rezoned. The City initially excluded from the proposed landmark district several sites including some low-rise, contextual NYU buildings which could become future development sites — one has zoning which would allow a 300 ft. tall dorm! But after a campaign by GVSHP, these sites were included in the proposed district, which will be voted upon on Tuesday.

GVSHP is continuing to fight for the third and final phase of our proposed South Village Historic District, which the City agreed to “survey” before the end of the year but did not make a commitment on designating. Last week, GVSHP's nomination of the entire South Village for the State and National Registers of Historic Places received approval (see map here and more info here).

Buildings added to proposed historic district boundaries.

HOW TO HELP:

Write to the Landmarks Preservation Commission and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn NOW to urge that the entire proposed South Village Historic District be designated, and that "Phase III" be landmarked as soon as possible > >
Come to the celebration after the vote on Tuesday, December 17th from 6 to 7 pm at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street (Sullivan/Thompson Streets), in what we expect will be the new South Village Historic District. The event is free and open to the public; no RSVP required.
Join us for this historic vote on Tuesday at the LPC, at which the public can observe but not speak. The scheduled time of the vote won't be posted until late Friday; respond to this e-mail to indicate you wish to attend, and we will share the time and other details with you when available.

The monumental former Mills House No.1 (1896, Ernest Flagg) was the home of the historic Village Gate for many decades, which is also the location of Tuesday night's South Village landmark celebration.

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