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East Village History: Some Protected, Some Not

Tomorrow, Community Board 3’s Landmarks Subcommittee will hear proposals for changes to two East Village landmarks: St Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery (an individual landmark and part of the St. Mark’s Historic District) and Congregation Mezritch Synagogue at 415 East 6th Street in the newly designated East Village/Lower East Side Historic District. You can see the proposals for these applications and learn more about tomorrow’s meeting on our Landmarks Applications Webpage.

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While these two historic sites are protected by landmark designation, we thought we would share some historic buildings in the East Village that aren’t so lucky. GVSHP had asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to landmark the following buildings, but received responses that these buildings were not landmark eligible.

before & after

35 Cooper Square
This rare surviving Federal house was torn down in 2011 after GVSHP, Councilmember Rosie Mendez, and neighborhood organizations rallied to save the building. Built in the early 19th century, it was one of the oldest buildings on the Bowery and the East Village as a whole.

You can read the RFE that GVSHP co-wrote here and see photos of the January 2011 rally on our Flickr page.

photo for blog

326 and 328 East 4th Street
In 2010, GVSHP and other neighborhood organizations also fought for these two row houses on East 4th Street between Avenues C and D that were built between 1839 and 1841. The buildings survive from a time when the East River was New York’s busiest working waterfront. No. 328 was discovered to be the home of Congregation Hesed LeAvraham, the first location in America for the Langer Brandwein family of the Strayner Dynasty of Hasidic Jews.

The buildings were deemed eligible for the State and National Register of Historic Places in 2010, but the LPC felt they did not rise to the level of individual city landmarks. Both have been substantially destroyed for new development.  You can read the request for landmark designation that GVSHP wrote here.

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 143 East 13th Street
This handsome building was constructed in 1863 at the height of the Civil War, making it one of the earliest extant tenement buildings in the area. Though the neighborhood has changed in character since the 1860s, the 150-year-old Italianate style building has retained its extraordinarily high level of architectural integrity, which includes rare surviving cast iron storefronts with Corinthian pilasters, two-over-two wood sash windows and a bracketed pressed metal cornice.

GVSHP and neighborhood allies submitted a request for evaluation to the LPC at the end of 2012, which you can read here. Off the Grid also featured a post on longtime East Villager Cornell Edwards and his store, The Flower Stall, after Mr. Edwards passed away two years ago.

We continue to advocate for the protection of our historic neighborhoods, and we hope you will too. Learn more about our advocacy work in the East Village on our page dedicated to this beloved neighborhood.

2 responses to “East Village History: Some Protected, Some Not

  1. Hi, do you have an email where I can reach you? There’s this building on East 7th St that’s currently being renovated and the new look seems to not jive with the DNA of the East Village. I just wanted to show you a picture. Thanks!

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