By Mary Chandrahasan and Ananth Sampathkumar One bright sunny morning in March, we headed out for an early morning stroll in the Village equipped with our latest virtual toy called LABYL (or Learn About Buildings you Love). We set out to find and share under-appreciated architectural constructs both old and new. LABYL is a free
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Then & Now: Scenes Around Greenwich Village
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP This iconic landmark was almost destroyed in 1958 after the city and courts decided to vacate it. Through the concerted efforts of Village activists, a new Public Library branch was opened after restoration of intricate brick and stonework by architect Giorgio Cavaglieri from 1962-1967. More restoration was done in
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Then & Now: Scenes Around Greenwich Village
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP If it’s not obvious, this circa-1910 view looking north up 5th Avenue was taken from atop the Washington Arch at Washington Square Park. On the near right is Washington Mews behind the townhouses of Washington Square North, which was known as Waverly Place back then. On the near left
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Senior Share Apartments: Now Renting
By George Capsis I recently got a call from what sounded like a very nice senior lady who read my February 2018 front-page proposal to build connected apartments with seniors on one side and young people on the other. The young occupants would be just out of college and would want to live in the
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New Fence for the Jane Street Garden
By Barry Benepe A new cast iron picket fence, similar to the one now surrounding Abingdon Square Park, will be erected around the Jane Street Garden before the end of the year. The entrance to the garden will be relocated from Jane Street to 8th Avenue to conform to New York City Parks & Recreation
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Tenements As Urban Living Typology
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP The Grid of 1811 Tenements are simply defined as multi-family, rental apartment buildings for three or more families, with independent cooking facilities and sleeping quarters. (Originally, they had no indoor plumbing.) At a time when only the lower-income class dwelt in multi-family buildings, tenements were cheap to build, cheap
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Then & Now: Scenes Around Greenwich Village
By Brian J. Pape, AIA, LEED-AP In the depths of the Great Depression, 1936, Berenice Abbott was hired by the Federal Art Project (1935-1943) to photograph NYC, including this fascinating view in the West Village, standing near Hudson Street and looking west down Christopher Street. Front and center is the 9th Avenue Line—an elevated commuter
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God at the Drafting Board
By George Capsis If God sat down at the drafting board to design a perfect solution for seniors now living alone in a five-story walk-up, with an ancient dog that has to go four times a day, what would He come up with? He would have a nice, fresh-faced youngster offer a strong arm to
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Can a Landmarked Church Be Turned Into Condos?
Hi, Andrew. I know this happens. I know of two examples. But I don’t know exactly how a developer can fill a landmarked church exterior with condos, even though it’s been done. Do you have knowledge of this? I am writing an article for WestView on the conversion of St. Veronica into a concert hall.
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A True Win-Win Solution
By Joseph Reiver The City is moving forward with plans to destroy the Elizabeth Street Garden. It has selected Pennrose Properties, LLC as the developer and sugarcoated the plans with as many sweet-sounding details as possible. The City calls this plan a ‘win-win’ scenario and has plopped a hollow, offensively ironic cherry on top by
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160 Leroy Adds Shimmering Excitement to West Village Skyline
By Karen Rempel 160 Leroy Street is a new neighbor in the West Village, and as with all new neighbors, we might view it with a hint of suspicious distrust and even fear what this change might bring. Will it obscure the light, block our views, and destroy the character of the neighborhood we love?
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A Stroll Around the Neighborhood: Recent and Planned Developments in the St. John’s Terminal Area
By Brian J. Pape, AIA West Houston Street is considered the southern boundary for the West Village, but let’s step over the line a bit into the Hudson Square neighborhood. As we’ve reported in earlier issues of WestView, major new construction at the St. John’s Terminal building is anticipated. (That is where the High Line
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West Village Houses Threat: Developer’s Takeover Bid Considered
By Brian J Pape, AIA In four recent issues starting in April 2017, WestView News has covered the West Village Houses (WVH)—a 420-unit cooperative (co-op), 380 of which are owned by WVH residents and 40 of which are investor-owned. The 42 buildings were built as four-to-five-story walk-ups with the Mitchell-Lama subsidized affordable housing program in
