Dec. 2, 2014 By Michael Florio
The Pepsi-Cola sign may be removed from consideration for city landmark status but it has plenty of support from the private sector.
The site is used heavily for marketing purposes by TF Cornerstone, real estate brokers say, as a means to entice people to rent its waterfront space. Furthermore, TF Cornerstone has always viewed it as a neighborhood showpiece (see video).
“It isn’t landmarked but we treat as such,” TF Cornerstone’s Sofia Esteveza said in an interview with New York YIMBY earlier this year.
The firm also touts how it has incorporated Long Island City’s manufacturing past– through the sign– with its modern development.
Nevertheless, the Pepsi sign is one of about 100 sites that could be removed from consideration for city landmark status.
The site could be scratched off the list and be left unprotected. The sign has been considered for landmarking — a process called calendaring — for years.
When a site/sign is considered for landmarking, the Landmark Commission is notified of any impending demolition and has 40 days to make a decision on a site’s landmark status.
TF Cornerstone, however, has no plans to get rid of it. In fact, it is bound to display the sign. When the developer bought the Long Island City property from Pepsi in the late 1990s it was required to display the sign on the waterfront as part of the deal.
The Pepsi sign used to be on top of the Pepsi factory. However, when the factory was destroyed it was relocated to 47-20 Center Blvd before finding a home at 46-10.
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