Village Preservation strongly opposes the design for a proposed new six-story building at 15 Greenwich Avenue in the Greenwich Village Historic District, which will be considered by the Landmarks Preservation Commission next Tuesday, July 20. The monotonous, single-pane windowed, concrete paneled design bears no relationship to the surrounding historic buildings or district, and should not be approved.  

HOW TO HELP:

If you’d like to testify in person at the hearing, click here for information on how to do so (approximate time of hearing for this item on the Tuesday calendar won’t be available until Friday).

At the height of the COVID epidemic in 2020, the City allowed bars and restaurants to utilize outdoor space to accommodate customers who could not safely congregate inside. Several months ago, that order was extended for a year, and now the de Blasio administration is proposing to make it permanent.

We at Village Preservation feel that outdoor dining was an appropriate response to a health emergency limiting indoor gathering, and presents some appealing possibilities for longer-term changes to our cityscape and streets. But the City’s across-the-board, one-size-fits-all approach is wrong, and fails to address real concerns about the impact of noise, smoke, etc. on nearby residents; health, safety and sanitation concerns; pedestrian flow; the privatization of public space (sidewalks); and aesthetics.

We believe the COVID pandemic has opened all of our eyes to new ways of doing things, and think that done right and in the right locations, outdoor dining can create wonderful opportunities for the public and businesses. But the blunt-tool approach the City is taking doesn’t take other necessary considerations into account, and should be rethought.

Here is our letter to City officials about this last fall. We are communicating these concerns to Community Boards 2 and 3, and you can, too. You can learn more about the City’s proposal here. It will have to be voted upon by all five borough presidents and approved by the City Planning Commission and City Council.  

This September will mark 20 years since the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center. Few New Yorkers were left untouched by this devastating assault, which shattered our city, our sense of safety, and our sense of selves. Residents of our neighborhoods of Lower Manhattan were particularly hard hit — from losing loved ones and neighbors, to watching the towers fall, to living through the dark and devastating aftermath.

To help us all remember, we’re calling upon the public to share with us your own images connected to 9/11, to add to a special collection of our historic image archive. These can be images of September 11th, the aftermath, or the World Trade Center before it was destroyed. Many of you have already sent us such images, but all are welcome. They will find a permanent home in our historic image archive, which consists largely of donated images.

Send all images to info@gvshp.org or email us to arrange transfer. High resolution is appreciated, and we accept prints and negatives, although digital images are preferred when possible. 

Your input is needed! Today we feature our latest Business of the Month — help us to select the next. Tell us which independent store you love in Greenwich Village, the East Village, or NoHo: click here to nominate your favorite. Want to help support small businesses? Share this post with friends.

In the rusticated brownstone ground floor of a 19th-century tenement on West 10th Street lies a serene and sublime surprise. Té Company has developed a reputation for some of the smoothest teas and most delicious desserts in New York, all inspired by the Far Eastern upbringing of its entrepreneurial creator.

Read more here…

Here is a map of all our Businesses of the Month: