Just Off Fifth: Landmark Preservation Commission Refuses Rizzoli’s Protected Status
We at Landmark Branding are disappointed that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has decided against protecting the Rizzoli Bookstore’s superb building on West 57th Street – despite the more than 15,000 signatures gathered on a petition to save the bookstore. Members of the Save Rizzoli Committee are not giving up yet, citing the upcoming expiration of the present commissioners terms and the staunch support of Peg Breen at the Landmarks Conservancy.
Yet whatever the outcome vis-à-vis the Landmarks Preservation Commission, we remain hopeful that future plans for the site will seek to incorporate a much-loved structure that many New York natives and visitors obviously treasure as a remnant of a more elegant time. If Vornado and the LeFrak family, who own the site, envision a plan similar to the inspiring balance of old and new at Steinway Hall, the streetscape may retain one of Midtown’s most refined commercial spaces.
Rizzoli’s last day of operations in the current location will be April 11, 2014. The bookstore is seeking a new location and has identified a number of possibilities in the Flatiron District. We encourage everyone to stop by to visit before the doors close on a distinguished chapter in New York’s literary history.