The Landmarks Preservation Commission held an emergency hearing today to in order to hear testimony from the public regarding the former Van Tassel and Kearney horse auction house at 126-128 East 13th Street.

A developer's dream.

Built in 1904, the building served as an auction house for well-heeled New Yorkers including the Belmont and Vanderbilt families to buy horses in the early 20th century. After the 20's, when cars replaced animals as the city's preferred mode of transportation, the building was turned into a machinery shop, and during World War II trained women in the industrial arts while the men were off in Europe fighting. Then, in 1978, artist Frank Stella housed his studio there, until the building was sold in 2005.

Representatives from various elected officials' offices came to voice concern over losing the building, including State Senator Tom Duane, Assemblywoman Deborah Glick and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Councilwoman Rosie Mendez pleaded for the building's landmarking in person. Other organizations with representatives that testified in favor of the landmarking included the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, the Municipal Arts Society, the Union Square Community Coalition, and the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America, along with several area residents.

The 11,777-square-foot building was sold in 2005 for $10 million, according to city records, with the owner listed as Isaac Mishan. At the L.P.C. hearing, when asked by The Real Estate, the alleged owner refused to identify himself, nor would he answer any questions. His attorney, in testimony to the L.P.C., said that the developer would prefer to work with the commission to find some sort of compromise, but if forced into a corner would consider seeking a hardship variance in order to demolish the extant building and build a seven-story condo building.

Johnathon Hayes, a 15-year area resident, told the L.P.C. at the meeting, "The space cries out for adaptive reuse .... We cannot live by luxury condominiums alone."

The L.P.C. tabled the matter as they have a 40-day stand-still agreement with the owner. It will be taken up again in the near future.

-Matthew Grace

On Sept. 19, the Landmarks Preservation Commission will be considering the designation of a Crown Heights North historic district. Tucked between Eastern Parkway on the south and Atlantic Avenue on the north, this neighborhood is smack-dab in the middle of Brooklyn's Caribbean-immigrant enclave. It's also got a rich history, according to the L.P.C.'s monograph on the 'hood:

Originally a rural area tucked inside the village of Bedford, at the eastern reach of the city of Brooklyn, most of the land was owned by the Lefferts family and worked by the family's slaves. The Leffertses started to sell their holdings in the 1850's, and by the 1870's wealthy folks started to move to St. Mark's Avenue.

After the Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, a large influx of people started to transform the rural area, and large-scale development started in the early to mid-1880's.

Having lived in the area ourselves, we can attest to the beauty of some of the large mansions in the area. We've got no pictures for as of now, but let's see what happens over the weekend.

-Matthew Grace

After much debate and ado, the L.P.C. extended a standstill agreement until June 21, when it would convene once again to discuss the future of the building.

The Real Estate had a chat with Mr. Singer today, who wanted to clear up some misconceptions about his project. According to Mr. Singer, there's been a misunderstanding regarding the allowable floor-area ratio (F.A.R.) of the building. It's been reported that he's seeking a larger F.A.R. of 6.5 through a community-facility-use bonus. But, according to Mr. Singer, a deed restriction mandates that the property be developed for community use (such as the planned dorm), and the F.A.R. is 6.5 as of right. Whew! Everybody understand that? We've got a call out to the Department of City Planning right now to confirm that. Check back later for updates.

We took the occasion to ask Mr. Singer about his Article 78 and seperate $100 million civil lawsuit against the city, and he said he's confident that he'll prevail in both. "We think we're going to win that, and so does the city, so they're trying to stop it" through landmarking, he said.

Mr. Singer said that the city's conspired to pressure schools to not commit to using his planned dorm. As Mr. Singer said, schools that might need cooperation from the D.C.P. or Board of Standards and Appeals for future projects will not cross the Mayor on this particular project. But, he said, he's confident that the dorm will be used once--and if--it's built. Possible candidates include N.Y.U., the New School and S.V.A. Asked what would happen if no school agreed to use the dorm after it's built, Mr. Singer said that it would be "our financial loss--eventually the lenders would take over."

Mr. Singer also cautioned against what he said would be a bad legal precedent if the push for landmarking P.S. 64 went through. He insists that he has a legal right to build the dorm, and if activists stop his project, the door will be open to the capricious whims of activists to stop projects that on paper a developer has every right pursue.

See our earlier coversage of P.S. 64 here.

-Matthew Grace

On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission designated three city properties as landmarks. The first, shown here, is the Loew's Paradise Theater interior, at 2405-2419 Grand Concourse, in the Bronx.

The John Eberson-design building was completed in September of 1929; it was one of five so-called "wonder" theaters, which served large population centers outside of Manhattan. It has 4,000 seats and was designed "to evoke the art and architecture of the late Renaissance or early Baroque period," as the L.P.C. puts it. Boston's Caproni and Brother produced many of the sculptures that grace the interior, along with artificial trees, vines and birds.

The theater was converted to a multiplex in 1973, then closed in 1993, before reopening as an entertainment center in October 2005.

The second landmarked property is the Estey Piano Factory, at 112-128 Lincoln Avenue, also in the Bronx.

Built in 1886, it's the oldest-known extant piano factory in the Bronx (which in years past had a large piano industry). Designed by A.B. Ogden and Sons, its facade consists of detailed terra cotta, patterned brick and contrasting stones.

The third, and final, property designated by the L.P.C. is the Theodore F. and Elizabeth J. De Hart House at 134 Main Street, on Staten Island.

Built circa 1850, the building is a throwback to when the village of Tottenville sat on the South Shore of the island. Before they died off--or were over-harvested--oysters played a key role in the economy of the South Shore, and several oyster barons lived in this property, which displays local building traditions with Greek and Gothic Revival elements.

-Matthew Grace

According to this week's Villager (article not yet online), Diane von Furstenberg forgot to go before Community Board 2 in her quest to combine and renovate two buildings--at 444 and 446 West 14th Street--before she went before the Landmarks Preservation Commission this past Tuesday.

While community boards serve in a strictly advisory capacity, the L.P.C. (and other city agencies) do listen to their input. The L.P.C. told Ms. von Furstenberg to go before the board before applying for a certificate of appropriateness again. Because the two buildings are in the Gansevoort Market Historic District, the L.P.C. must approve the plans.

Ms. von Furstenberg bought the properties in 2004 from meat wholesaler Gachot & Gachot for $10.5 million. She intends to convert them into a complex with theaters, event spaces, offices and an enclosed roof space, according to The Villager.

-Matthew Grace

On Tuesday, the Landmarks Preservation Commission declined to make a decision regarding 122 Greenwich Avenue, at Eighth Avenue and 13th Street in the Village. According to City Realty and other attendees, there was much back and forth, with some residents--and the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the NYC Chapter of the American Institute of Architects--favoring Hines' plan to develop the current parking lot into an 11-story, 36-unit glass-sheathed undulating residential tower, and several dozen opposed to it. The ground floor, at 8,000 square feet, is planned for retail.

Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, told The Real Estate that his organization opposes the project because it doesn't fit in with the historic character of the neighborhood, and the location--where Greenwich Avenue, Eighth Avenue, 13th and Horatio streets converge--provides wide-open sightlines, and the building would be at "a very visible location," detracting from the Village's traditional architecture. "This isn't a side street," Mr. Berman said, where idiosyncratic buildings are merely quirky. Instead, the proposed development would set the tone for the entire neighborhood.

Because the lot sits within the Greenwich Village Historic District, the L.P.C. must sign off on any development before the project breaks ground.

The L.P.C. will hold a public meeting on the development in the near future.

-Matthew Grace

But Assembly member Dick Gottfried, the Historic Districts Council and Community Board 6 are trying to get a hearing in front of the Landmarks Preservation Commission before then to see if they can get the building, built in 1922, landmarked. They sent a letter asking for just that to the L.P.C. earlier this week.

SJP bought the bought the building late last year for $40 million.

-Matthew Grace

Last night, Community Board 2 approved changes to the bluestone behind the church's fence and some minor changes to its rear facade, in addition to the construction of an extra floor. The five floors will be divvied up into eight apartments, if the Landmarks Preservation Commission follows the community board's recommendation and gives it the nod. It has not yet been calendared at the L.P.C.

We'll post details about the apartments as soon as we can get our hands on them.

- Matthew Grace

According to the L.P.C. press release, buildings like this--with exposed concrete elevations sloping inward and crowned by flared cornices, it's an example of the Egyptian Revival style!--influenced Le Corbusier and his remarkable Radiant City designs (see Matthew Schuerman's article in The Observer this week for a discussion of Corbusier's influence in New York City; also, check out Michael Calderone's rundown on the Williamsburg real-estate scene).

It remains to be seen how this will influence developer Louis Kestenbaum's plan to convert the building into 240 luxe condos. The L.P.C.'s designation will wreck havoc on his plans (by architect Karl Fischer, who's all over Billyburg) to enlarge the building's windows, add four additional floors, and insert a 80-by-20-foot open-air courtyard in the center of the 500,000-square-foot building, all by 2008 (we'll see about that).

- Matthew Grace

The B.S.A. had to sign off on variances for floor-area ratio, lot coverage and building height requirements.

Views from this building, when completed, will include the lovely, but now defunct, Brooklyn House of Detention right across the street.

This stretch of Atlantic Avenue is booming: the Courthouse, Two Trees' giant newly opened luxe development, is a block away; the Board of Education condo conversion is nearby; and Two Trees' other currently stalled condo project will be atop and adjacent the Independence Bank one block west.

And another Two Trees venture was kicked at and scratched by Brooklyn Community Board 6 last week, but wasn't bitten. The board's land-use and landmarks committee recommended denying Two Trees' application for a rooftop extension on a factory and loft building at 164-168 Atlantic Avenue between Clinton and Court streets. The Italianate-style building was constructed in 1859-1864 and is noted for its stone quoins and bracketed roof cornices.

The property is currently already in the middle of a renovation into an 18-unit, 22,340-square-foot residence. Although Two Trees' has the necessary permits to convert the property, a larger bulkhead, according to board members at the meeting, is necessary because of the switch from commercial use to residential (showers, toilets, etc. take up more hot water, so more mechanicals are necessary on the rooftop).

Despite assurances from Two Trees representative Laura Cheng and attorney J.H. Beyer--who said that the "primary goal is restoration," the bulkhead would be "unobtrusive as possible" and "the spirit of the project is still intact"--the committee was not happy with the changes. Board members called the new bulkhead "distinctly jarring with the antique building," and some suggested "something screwy is going on"--perhaps not pleased that the original plans, already approved by the board, are being changed so drastically. The full board still has to vote on this before it goes back to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a final decision.

Interestingly, the Historic Districts Council testified before the L.P.C. in 2003 that it had concerns regarding the proposed bulkhead design; it explicitly stated that a historically accurate design be used. Two years later and it's the same old problem.

- Matthew Grace