Just because Merrill Lynch reneged on leasing office space in a tower planned for where the down-at-heel Hotel Pennsylvania still stands, don't think the property owner won't demolish the 89-year-old hotel anyway. Vornado Realty Trust still hasn't publicly settled on plans for the property, but the Observer reports the company recently applied for a Certification of No Harassment from the city, a prerequisite for demolition. Vornado is debating whether to construct a giant office tower......

Preservationists and Greenwich Village community members are reporting that their efforts to stop NYU from demolishing the historic Provincetown Playhouse have paid off – to a certain extent. Andrew Berman, Executive Director of The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, tells us that NYU plans to preserve the facade and structural walls of the theater, but he says many issues remain unaddressed. Founded in 1918 by Eugene O’Neill and other trailblazers, the Provincetown Playhouse was......

The historic – but not landmarked – Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village could be the next building to make way for NYU’s ongoing expansion, which will devour six million square feet of space in New York in the next 25 years, if all goes according to plan. The theater is widely regarded as the birthplace of 'Off Broadway.' The local community board is open to NYU’s proposal (see renderings here), but some preservationists are trying......