Preservationists want to extend the historic district up to 32nd Street
Efforts to prevent a 40-story condo building from replacing a 116-year-old Nomad building may have failed, but preservationists aren't backing down. A host of elected officials are now calling on the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to expand the existing Madison Square North Historic District.
"By refusing to protect the Kaskel & Kaskel building on Fifth Avenue, one of the most iconic streets in the world, the LPC has abdicated its responsibility to preserve New York's architectural history," State Senator Brad Hoylman, one of the co-signers on the letter sent to the LPC, said in a statement. "It is urgent that the LPC take swift action to rectify its mistake by expanding the Madison Square North Historic District to protect the remainder of the buildings in this historic neighborhood."
Hoylman was joined on the letter by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Congress member Carolyn Maloney, and City Council member Dan Garodnick, among others.
In July, Hoylman, along with State Senator Liz Krueger had sent a letter to the LPC requesting that the Kaskel & Kaskel building at 316 Fifth Avenue be saved from demolition, but the LPC thought the building didn't merit individual landmark status.
Now elected officials are hoping to prevent a similar fate for other historic buildings in the immediate area. At present, the Madison Square North Historic District stretches between 25th and 29th Streets and between Madison and Sixth Avenues. The preservationists want to extend the district to 32nd Street and want to push for individual landmark status for buildings located up to 34th Street.
Efforts to save the Kaskel & Kaskel building had received 13,000 signatures in support, from local residents, according to Hoylman's office. Cottonwood Management has filed plans to replace the building with a 40-story condo building that will have just 27 apartments.
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