LPC gives favorable advisory report for accessible path at Verdi Square; water service still under scrutiny

The Landmarks Preservation Commission on May 20, 2025 issued a favorable advisory report for construction of an accessible path at Verdi Square, a triangular scenic landmark on the Upper West Side, but public testimony and commissioners flagged concerns about a separate plan for new water service and backflow equipment.

The path proposal — presented by Veil Young of New York City Parks — would replace a temporary accessibility mat with a permanent, permeable path composed of a plastic diamond grid filled with gravel and lowered granite curbs at two entrances. Young said the work responds to frequent pedestrian use around the 70th Street–70th–72nd Street subway station and to requests from the volunteer group Friends of Verdi Square to provide closer water service for planting maintenance.

Why it matters: The path would provide barrier-free access at a site designated a scenic landmark in 1975, and the commission concluded the paving and curb work would be a modest alteration that does not “detract from the significant historic character of the scenic landmark.” However, speakers and commissioners made a clear distinction between the path (the item before the commission) and the water-service work (being…