Now the city’s largest geographical historic district has been extended by the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the second time since the boundaries were first established in 1969. The 235-building expansion is one-third of what the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation is calling the South Village Historic District, so the group is only relatively happy today. “We are thrilled that the first piece of this neighborhood which we have been fighting for nearly a decade to protect has finally been granted landmark status,” said the group’s vocal executive director, Andrew Berman. “However, we are equally distressed that so much of the neighborhood has been lost while we have been waiting for action from the city, and we fear that much more will be lost while we wait for the remaining two-thirds of the neighborhood to be considered.”
From the group’s release:
The group lists the Circle in the Square Theater, Sullivan Street Playhouse, Provincetown Playhouse, Tunnel Garage, and W.H. Auden’s home as treasures already lost or altered beyond recognition in the neighborhood.
