The Block Association’s August 2013 account describes its role in selecting Zeckendorf Development for the adaptive reuse of 18 Gramercy Park South and helping the project through the landmarks process.
The reported restoration plans included masonry cleaning and repointing, repairs to cast-iron columns and decorative metalwork, and restoration of surviving original street-level windows. Bluestone was to replace the concrete sidewalk.
2015
Caring for the bluestone
In August 2015, the Gramercy Park Block Association circulated a report on staining in the bluestone sidewalk at 18 Gramercy Park South. Contractor Richard Wilson of J. D. Wilson Construction explained the proposed treatment and the need for field trials. The accompanying photograph recorded the stained stone.
The report described proposed testing and maintenance; it did not report that the stains had been removed.
2016
The Irving Place frontage
In March 2016, the Block Association reported supporting a proposal for planters along the building’s Irving Place side. The following month, the newsletter recorded the installation of planters and trees, with additional evergreen and perennial planting still planned. The later updates carried the preservation story out to the public-facing edge of the building.
An old building, another chapter
Changing a building’s use has long been part of life around the Park. The history of Gramercy’s houses and apartments places this project in a longer story of adaptation, while the Block Association’s preservation work follows the questions neighbors face today.
