Landmarks OKs Wider Tribeca Historic District;
Hopes for More

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously last month to extend the Tribeca South Historic District, and several commissioners said they hoped to see additional areas in the neighborhood protected.

“This designation is a symbol of this commission’s ongoing interest in Tribeca and Lower Manhattan.” said Sherida Paulsen, the commission’s chairwoman.

“It was long overdue,” said Commissioner Meredith Kane, a Tribeca resident. “I want to support expanding these historic districts even further.”

The extension includes 28 buildings on the south side of Chambers Street and on Murray and Warren streets, in the middle of the block between Church Street and West Broadway. Most of the buildings, which Paulsen called “important survivors,” are five-story, Italianate-style structures built in the 19th century.

Property owners inside historic districts need the commission’s approval to demolish buildings or make exterior alterations visible from the street. In recent years, several large rooftop additions constructed in southern Tribeca outside the historic district have drawn widespread criticism.

The extension represents only a small part of the area that preservationists want incorporated into Tribeca’s four historic districts, which the commission established in 1991 and 1992. The community continues to lobby for wide boundaries first proposed in 1988.

“This is a good small step,” said Roger Byrom, a Warren Street resident who heads a community group working to extend Tribeca’s historic districts. “But we need to complete the job. It was encouraging that so many commissioners said they wanted more.”

In a phone interview, Paulsen said that there was no timetable for additional designations, but that “our research department is actively evaluating those proposals.”

Hal Bromm, president of the Historic Districts Council and a Tribeca resident and gallery owner, said he was concerned that the effort might be jeopardized, or at least slowed, because of a long-anticipated overhaul of the commission by Mayor Bloomberg. Most of the commissioners, who were appointed by Mayor Giuliani, are serving on expired terms.

“We’re urging the Mayor to take action, either to reappoint commissioners or select new commissioneres,” he said. “And it’s imperative that we have people who are professionals knowledgeable in historic preservation.”