Regarding the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Section 106 Review of the Center for Jewish History, Sustainable Stacks: Reconstructing the Building Envelope at the Center for Jewish History

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has conditionally awarded the Center for Jewish History, in New York, New York, a Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections grant (PF-29314-24) to insulate and seal their building envelope in the Building B stacks in order to eliminate water leaks, condensation, and mold largely because of a leaky building envelope which allows conditioned indoor air out and outside air and moisture in.

NEH is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities.  This public notice is issued as part of NEH’s responsibilities under 36 C.F.R. Part 800, the regulations which implement Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966, as amended, 54 U.S.C. 306108.  NEH, a funding agency, is required by regulation to identify and assess the effects of any proposed actions on historic properties.  If any proposed action will have an adverse effect on historic resources, NEH works with the appropriate parties to seek ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effects.  Additionally, the Section 106 regulations require NEH to consider the views of the public on preservation issues when making final decisions that affect historic properties.

The proposed undertaking will occur at the Center for Jewish History, Building B, located at 18 West 17th Street, New York, NY 10011. The building located in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District in Manhattan, designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission of the City of New York on May 2, 1989. The building is individually eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The north facing front façade of 18 W. 17th will remain untouched in this project, as the scope of work proposed is solely on the south (back) side of the building. The scope of the project involves: 

Installing mechanically fastened exterior insulation and finish systems (EIFS) on the exterior of the south wall of floors 3-6, adding insulation where there is now none. 
Installing 6 new access hatches with thermally broken frames (i.e. frames with a composite strip placed between the inside and outside aluminum sections of the frame that acts as a thermal insulation barrier, significantly reducing the heat and cold transfer) on the south diagonal wall and hatch doors of floors 7-12. This includes providing a compressed foam sealant designed for vertical exteriors at the joint with the adjacent building. 

On July 3, 2024, Sara McIvor, Historic Site Restoration Coordinator, with the New York Office of Parks, Recreation, Historic Preservation (NY SHPO) provided the opinion that the proposed work will have No Adverse Effect upon historic resources. After reviewing Section 106 documentation NEH issues a final determination of No Adverse Effect. 

As required by Section 106, NEH is providing the public with information about this project, as well as an opportunity to comment on any knowledge of, or concerns with, historic properties in the proposed project area, and issues relating to the project’s potential effects on historic properties. Comments may be submitted to the NEH by e-mail to FPO@neh.gov.  The deadline for submitting comments is July 11, 2024.