Interior landmarks are defined as spaces “customarily open or accessible to the public, or to which the public is customarily invited.” But the law does not discuss what happens when tenants move or owners try to cope with post-9/11 fears.
This reporter set out on Jan. 9 to see what luck he would have visiting the interior landmarks downtown. He showed up unannounced at each place, in the garb of a history-minded visitor – spectacles, old Harris tweed jacket, button-down shirt, bow tie, thick-soled shoes (actually, he dresses like that every day) – with a copy of the official Guide to New York City Landmarks tucked under one arm.
He was allowed to walk through just one space without undergoing a search. Two buildings admitted him after scanning him. He was allowed to glimpse a couple of lobbies and sneaked a peek at another. At two buildings, he was told firmly to leave.
The article then lists various interior landmarks, ranked roughly by accessibility. Don’t bother trying to get into the Woolworth Building, apparently.
It very much reminds me of the “Public Spaces” that high rises are sanctioned to maintain as part of having been granted height waivers. I live near Trump Palace on the UES, and they have a lovely, fairly large courtyard with a city placard stating that they are required by law to have X-number of trees, X-number of benches, X-number of water fountains,etc. The placard stipulates that the area but be open and accessible to the public for X-hours every day (12 maybe). Anyway, everytime I’ve gone by, the gigantic metal fence and gate is closed around it. I imagine you can gain access, but they sure do discourage making it easy.
You can step into the lobby of the Woolworth building and gaze at the gold-leaf interior. About ten feet in, there is a security desk and access to the place is all cordoned off by “velvet ropes.” At least this is what I remember from a couple of months ago when I took my dad inside. Nobody harrassed us, but it was pretty obvious that we would not be allowed to go any further than we did.
Interesting to see how many “Former”‘s were in the names of the buildings.