B.F. Goodrich Building gets landmarked

The B.F. Goodrich Building, Extell President Gary Barnett

The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted today to protect the famed B.F. Goodrich Building at 1780 Broadway between 58th and 57th streets in Midtown. The 12-story building was landmarked this afternoon with a 6-3 vote among the usually undivided panel, the New York Times reported. The building, along with an adjacent eight-story structure at 225 West 57th Street, which was not landmarked in the vote, were to become part of a larger hotel development by the Extell Development Company, to be situated across from Carnegie Hall. Gary Barnett, Extell’s president, had previously said that mandates to maintain the B.F. Goodrich Building’s façade would “kill the development of this site and cause tremendous hardship to Extell, including potential loss of the site to foreclosure.” The century-old B.F. Goodrich building had previously been up for landmark status in 1994, but had been denied.