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Landmarks

Recommendation by Community Board Five for Landmark status along the 57th Street corridor

WHEREAS, Community Board Five has been ever-vigilant and increasingly concerned with the future of preservation in Community Board Five and recognizes that there are many exquisite buildings on 57th Street that contribute to the rich history of Manhattan that have yet to be calendared by LPC; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five has already lost several buildings, such as the Rizzoli Building and the Chickering Building on West 57th Street, to large developments despite many efforts to save them; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five convened a study-group to scrutinize each building on 57th Street from Park Avenue to Eighth Avenue in order to identify the buildings most worthy of LPC's attention; and

WHEREAS, Community Board Five recognizes that the following buildings in the 57th Street Corridor, among others, are worthy of LPC's attention:

WHEREAS, Columbia University and Historic Districts Council have surveyed this neighborhood, publishing the findings in a report that illustrated merits of many of these buildings and the crucial need for preservation south of Central Park; and

WHEREAS, Several of the buildings suggested have been designed by Warren & Wetmore, Cross & Cross, and Emery Roth, and are remarkable examples of Neo-Classical, Beaux-Arts, and Art Deco design; and

WHEREAS, The intersection of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue is the former sight of America's wealthiest "Marble Row" mansions and also a hallowed commercial cornerstone of Manhattan; and

WHEREAS, The four corners of 57th and Fifth Ave in particular should be considered as a bundle worthy of designation with each being historically and architecturally meritorious but also specifically designed to preserve the spirit of "Marble Row;" and

WHEREAS, Support for this effort has also been given by the Historic Districts Council, Landmarks West, Human Scale NYC, SaveCentralParkNYC, and The Art Deco Society of New York; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five requests LPC to review, research and calendar the buildings listed above, as well as any others in this corridor that LPC deems worthy, in an effort to preserve the 57th Street and Fifth Avenue crossroads.

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