Burg Demolition Won't Affect Landmark Bank

A couple days ago Curbed ran an item about how one of the additions on the landmark Williamsburgh Savings Bank at 175 Broadway is covered in tarp, and permits have been filed for the demolition of its top two floors. While Curbed notes that the wrecking ball is set to hit an “un-landmarked wing of the building,” an LPC spokesperson fleshed out the details for us in an email: “The part of the W’Burg bank building (175 Broadway) that’s shrouded in that tarp is not landmarked. The main 1870-1875 bank building, the 1905 addition and the 1925 addition were all designated in 1966, and the bank interior was designated in 1996. The part that’s covered, constructed 1941, was not included in the Commission’s 1966 designation, most likely because it was not 30 years old and was not designed by a prominent architectural firm as the earlier additions were. Because this addition is on a separate tax lot and was not designated or calendared, DOB issued permits for work to remove the second and third floors. Those DOB permits for the 1941 addition are now grandfathered.” OK! Meanwhile, Curbed notes that the entity that purchased the building last year is “175 Broadway Hospitality.” The DOB permit is also to “obtain new certificate of occupancy.”
Part of Landmark Williamsburg Bank Building Getting Torn Down [Curbed] GMAP
Photo from Curbed.