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Upper East Side Historic District Expanded Along Lexington Avenue

By DNAinfo Staff on March 24, 2010 7:50am  | Updated on March 24, 2010 7:12am

By Nicole Breskin and Gabriela Resto-Montero

DNAinfo Reporter/Producers

CITY HALL — Upper East Siders rejoiced at the landmark designation of a stretch of real estate along Lexington Avenue that residents say will prevent developers from tearing down historic townhouses in favor of highrises.

The city Landmarks Preservation Commission voted Tuesday to expand the Upper East Side Historic District’s eastern border to include about 75 more building located along portions of Lexington Avenue and its sidestreets in the East 60s and East 70s.

“This is the culmination of seven years of hard work,” said Anne Millard, president of the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District. “It means we can protect the low-scale buildings in our neighborhood, and that’s the most important thing.”

A row of historic houses on the Upper East Side.
A row of historic houses on the Upper East Side.
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DNAinfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero

The historic district will now cover the buildings on Lexington Avenue roughly located between East 63rd and East 65th streets, and between East 72nd and East 75th streets.

The original historic district — which stretches from 59th to 78th streets between Fifth and Third avenues — was designated in 1981 but excluded several key spots that could become hotbeds for development, according to Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District.

A landmark designation means that any new construction or alterations to existing buildings within the district must first be approved by the LPC.

Fiske Warren, who has lived on East 74th Street since 1976, said the original designation changed the neighborhood for the better by preventing skyscrapers from going up. He is pleased that the expansion will now further protect the area from excessive development.

“They [developers] could put up one of those glass condos,” Warren said. “What could be uglier or more destructive than that?”

But Lucy Kramer, who has lived for the past 24 years in a rent-stabilized apartment in the neighborhood, is concerned that the new designation could drive up real estate prices by maintaining the area’s much-coveted, quaint feel — which she points out comes at a lofty price.

“It’s making the neighborhood pretty, but driving people out,” she said.