Landmarks approves Sullivan-Thompson historic district

A decade-long campaign to block unfettered development in Manhattan’s South Village came to a close yesterday, with the Landmarks Preservation Commission voting to designate the Sullivan-Thompson Historic District.

The commission voted unanimously to designate the Lower Manhattan district, Curbed reported. The area — which is bound by West Houston Street on the north, Watts Street on the south, Sixth Avenue on the west and Thompson Street on the east — includes around 157 buildings, according to New York YIMBY. Any new construction or modifying of existing structures in the district will now have to be approved by the LPC.

Map of the Proposed Sullivan-Thompson Historic District (Click to enlarge)

The area has a collection of tenement buildings and historic storefronts that preservationists say captures the Italian immigrant experience in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Andrew Berman of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which has led the effort to create a South Village Historic District since 2006, welcomed the decision.

“We want to preserve and honor that rich history, the charming architecture, and the human-scaled streets, and not watch it give way to anonymous oversized development as we have seen in so many other places,” he said, according to the publication.

Preservationists said they were concerned about the potential of new development in the neighborhood, particularly from Jared Kushner, who’s an active buyer in the area.

The city now has 140 historical districts, according to Curbed. [Curbed] — Miriam Hall