The Landmarks Commission had big day yesterday in which they (in addition to landmarking six buildings, a carousel, and more than doubling the West End-Collegiate Historic District) heard public testimony on the long-awaited South Village Historic District. The public hearing was the last step before the commission schedules a vote, and many of the preservationists who spoke used their time to urge the LPC to act quickly and designate the district before any more historic buildings are lost. A few even seemed to verge on scolding the commission for taking as long as it has so far—the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation began campaigning for the historic district in 2003, while the Historic District Council's Simeon Bankoff claimed to have been lobbying for it since 2001. As far as public hearings go, however, this one was very civil, probably because there isn't very much suspense about which way they commission will vote. No one offered testimony opposing the designation.
The South Village Historic District would be the third extension to the Greenwich Village Historic District since it was established in 1969, and would include a lot of what got left out the last time the it was expanded in 2010. The boundaries of the new district would include around 250 buildings between West 4th Street and, West Houston Streets, and Sixth Avenue and La Guardia Place. A recent addition to the extension (not shown on the map) included two more buildings on West 4th.
· South Village Historic District coverage [Curbed]
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