Village Preservation continues to press City agencies on their flawed oversight of landmarked properties to help ensure their safety and integrity are maintained. 

At 14 Fifth Avenue, City-approved work (opposed by Village Preservation) in February resulted in damage to neighboring 12 Fifth Avenue and severe damage to 10 Fifth Avenue, causing its evacuation (it remains evacuated today). We have been pressing the City for information and to hold responsible parties accountable. Bracing has been installed for 12 Fifth Avenue to stabilize the building on what was to be the construction site for a 213-ft.-tall tower at 14 Fifth Avenue, and according to City officials a plan has been submitted for work to stabilize and restore 10 Fifth Avenue (though full details have not yet been made public). We have been told that the investigation into the cause of the damage is ongoing, but that the required monitoring of the site and adjacent buildings for movement during construction to detect and prevent problems had indicated that allowable thresholds had been breached. But that information was not reported to the City. The City has so far refused to say who was responsible for this failure and who will be held accountable. We continue to press for information and full accountability.

At 50-52 Second Avenue/40-42 East 3rd Street in the East Village, Village Preservation has been working with the owner of this landmarked 1899 Renaissance Revival-style tenement, designed by the prominent firm of Schneider & Herter, to ensure the safety of this residential property in the face of potentially dangerous work and reckless neglect at an adjacent development site. The building’s owner has had to fight tirelessly to prevent the City from allowing work next door that experts say would dangerously undermine his building, and to prevent the adjacent construction site from being left open to vandals and criminals who then have access to his building and its residents. We have been working with the owner to try to get City agencies to enforce the law and keep this site safe, and to shine a light on the failure of proper oversight by the City.

In the wake of 50-52 Second Avenue owner’s Herculean efforts to protect his building, the developer of the adjacent property has ceased construction and is seeking to sell the property, granting the owner a reprieve for now. We’ll continue to work to try to help ensure the safety of this building. Read more here for further details.