Tribeca Trust lobbies to expand nabe’s historic district

Neighborhood preservation group Tribeca Trust has made a bid to broaden Tribeca’s historic district, currently a disjointed quintet of puzzle pieces with unprotected space in the nooks and crannies, into a coherent whole that includes many more blocks and buildings.

“Over time we have seen the consequences of this kind of gerrymandering and ‘under-designation’ of Tribeca: the steady erosion of the historic character of both the undesignated parts of Tribeca and those designated parts that are near the jagged edges,” Lynn Ellsworth, founder of Tribeca Trust, told the Tribeca Citizen. “We have asked the Landmarks Preservation Commission to consider new boundaries that make Tribeca whole again.”

Buildings the group wants to see included in the wider landmarking process include the New York Telephone Company building at 140 West Street, the former New York Mercantile Exchange at 6 Harrison Street and a row of neo-Renaissance white buildings at 73 Worth Street.

“If the present commission fails to act, we will ask again under the next city administration,” Ellsworth told the Tribeca Citizen. [Tribeca Citizen] — Julie Strickland