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Among the city's many popular addresses is 66 Perry Street, the Gilded Age West Village brownstone that gained its own celebrity status when cast as the exterior setting for Carrie Bradshaw's apartment in Sex and the City.
The show's official wrap-up in 2004 has not stopped fans from visiting the instantly recognizable structure and, it turns out, that never-ending popularity has actually hurt the building's owner Barbara Lorber. She just received approval by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to build a gate in front of the stoop in the hopes of stopping trespassers from bothering the building's residents.
“That house shouldn’t be gated but what was beautiful in the late 19th Century is unfortunately in need of more protection in our century, in our time,” Lorber said to a panel of commissioners. “I’d hoped for literally decades that this would pass but, at this point, I think even someone as stubborn as I am has to admit that this isn’t going away in the near future.”
Anyone who has walked by the property can attest to its status as a popular stop, especially with the rise of social media (it makes for a visually arresting scene!) and the 2021 semi-return of the iconic TV show in the form of the spinoff And Just Like That... on HBO. Still, we can’t help but wonder: is a gate truly necessary? Isn’t part of New York’s charm its adjacency to fame? Shouldn’t we be allowed to respectfully celebrate the pockets of the city that resonate across our culture—whether in TV shows, books or art?
However, at least according one of Lorber’s neighbors who testified in support of the gate, things have been getting out of hand. According to The New York Times, the neighbor described the situation at the famous staircase as “one of the most egregious cases of personal property being attacked all day, every day.” Lorber herself mentioned that people have even tried climbing into the windows, likely hoping to peek inside what they assume was Bradshaw’s apartment on the TV show. Ironically, while the Perry Street address served as the exterior for the apartment, the interior was actually a set built at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City.
As for what the gate will actually look like, The New York Times reports that architect Isidoro Cruz attended the meeting as well and presented a design for a steel and cast-iron gate. No official design has been approved yet, so you'll have to wait and see about specifics.
Not to add to Lorber’s stress, but if you plan to visit the iconic site, you might want to do so in the next few weeks, before it starts to look a little different from what fans of the show are used to. Please, though, be respectful: quietly snap a photo and then go about your business.