The Bowery has been included in the State Register of Historic Places,
DNAinfo reported, giving support to neighborhood groups who seek the
street’s inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.
But unlike historic districts in the city, the designation carries no
weight in protecting buildings from alteration.
“The Bowery nomination is unique — it not only recognizes the
architecture and cultural history of the street, but it acknowledges
the earliest planning history of New York,” historian Kerri
Culhane, who wrote the Bowery’s 171-page nomination, said in a statement.
“By extension, the Bowery nomination should be used as a planning tool
to help guide better planning, zoning… on this
vibrant and dynamic thoroughfare, which continues to make history
today.”
Most recently, efforts to landmark buildings such as 135 Bowery have
run into obstacles.
The Two Bridges Neighborhood Council and Bowery Alliance of Neighbors,
which sponsored the designation and have been advocating for more
preservation efforts in the historic entertainment district, stated
that more than 10 percent of the street’s current buildings, which are
“out of scale and character with the historically low-rise Bowery,”
were constructed in the last decade. [DNAinfo]