East 4th Street between Lafayette Street and Bowery
NoHo Historic District Extension

LPC designation report: Available in PDF

Application is to demolish the existing building and construct a new building.

**Visit our Merchant’s House Museum advocacy page for more information on how you can take action**

PDF Presentation Links:


UPCOMING HEARING/MEETING(S):

LPC Public Meeting – December 12, 2023 – 9:30am

  • For public meetings, only written testimony is accepted from the public–no spoken testimony will be taken at the meeting.
  • To submit written testimony of any length, email it to testimony@lpc.nyc.gov by 12:00 noon on the Monday before the hearing. Click HERE for suggested testimony guidelines from Village Preservation.
  • Members of the public have the option to attend the hybrid meeting virtually or in person. LPC meetings are held at 1 Centre Street, 9th floor. To watch the hearing livestream on YouTube, click HERE. LPC recommends that you start watching approx. one hour prior to the posted time, in case of schedule changes. Further information is available on this site: https://www.nyc.gov/site/lpc/hearings/hearings.page

NOTE: Public attendance and testimony are welcome, and a public hearing/meeting is often the last opportunity for public comment. Following the meeting, the Commission will officially vote to approve or deny the application, or ask that the applicant return at a later date with revisions.

**All information and timings are subject to change. Items can sometimes be postponed (laid over) for a future date. Check back here or sign up to receive notifications for this project.

PAST HEARING/MEETING DATES and DECISIONS

LPC Public Meeting – December 12th, 2023
APPROVED WITH MODIFICATIONS: LPC approved the proposal for a new building at 27 East 4th Street, with the caveat that the applicant must undertake, as part of this approval, an extensive and thorough monitoring program for the interior historic plaster of the Merchant’s House, including:
1. The retention of a plaster expert and determination, with that plaster expert, of an appropriate standard for vibrations before construction work may begin;
2. A survey of the Merchant’s House interior plaster work to determine a stabilization and remediation plan, verified by LPC staff, prior to commencement of work;
3. That LPC staff should be among the parties notified in real time of any breaches of such standards;
4. That the applicant agrees to maintain a remedial fund for the repair of any plaster damaged, and all such efforts be coordinated with the Parks Department;
5. And that as a condition of sign-off, LPC is to review the interior plaster of the interior landmark, along with the other factors that they usually review, as a condition for final approval.

LPC Public Meeting – February 2, 2021
NO ACTION: All commissioners expressed concern over making a decision without further information on steps to protect the Merchant’s House Museum. The commissioners who commented on the design of the new building were generally in favor of it within the context of the NoHo Historic District Extension, with the exception of Commissioner Devonshire, who felt that it needed to be reduced in height. He also had objections to the type of brick at the side wall. Chair Carroll instructed the applicant to meet with the NYC Parks Department (according to the applicant, a date has already been set) and to also meet with the Merchant’s House Museum in order to come up with an acceptable solution.

LPC Public Hearing – January 12, 2021
NO ACTION: Due to the length of the hearing (due to extensive public testimony), the commissioners’ discussion and decision were postponed to a future public meeting. A significant number of individuals, including elected officials, representatives of the Merchant’s House Museum, preservation groups, and members of the public spoke vehemently against the proposal.

Community Board 2 Meeting – December 10, 2020
CB resolution recommended: Unanimous denial of the application that, with its excavation, construction, appearance, and bulk would cause irreparable aesthetic and structural harm to the Merchant’s House Museum, an individual exterior and interior landmark.


Please note: At this time, all LPC public hearings and meetings are hybrid. Members of the public may participate in-person at the Municipal Building (1 Centre Street, 9th Floor Public Hearing Room), or virtually via Zoom and YouTube. For a video tutorial on how to participate virtually, click HERE.

View the video after a LPC hearing concludes: Videos of past LPC Hearings and Meetings can be found on their YouTube page. The LPC posts these videos about a week after the presentation. Videos include the applicant’s presentation, public testimony (for hearings only), and deliberation by the LPC commissioners.

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