An Iconic Sex And The City Landmark Will Soon Be Blocked Off

After decades of trouble from Sex and the City fans, the owner of Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment couldn’t help but wonder: Will a gate keep them at bay? She’s going to find out. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission recently approved her application to block off her famous stoop.

Fan Trouble

The owner, Barbara Lorber, made the case for a gate to the commission during a Jan. 14 hearing, as was first reported in Emily Sundberg’s Substack newsletter FeedMe. In the background statement she submitted, Lorber described how her home at 66 Perry Street in Manhattan’s West Village has turned into “a global tourist destination.” Unfortunately, the fans have become a huge problem for her.

“At any hour of the day or night, there are groups of visitors in front of the house taking flash photos, engaging in loud chatter, posting on social media, making TikToc [sic] videos, or just celebrating the moment,” she wrote.

Lorber detailed more obnoxious behaviors as well, from fans drunkenly ringing the doorbell in the wee hours of the night to carving their initials into the door. Although she put a chain with a “No Trespassing-Private Property” sign at the base of the steps, it hasn’t been “enough” of a deterrent. “Many visitors respect the chain. But many do not,” she noted.

A Growing Problem

The brownstone first became famous after Sex and the City debuted in 1998. Lorber’s home served as the exterior of Carrie’s iconic one-bedroom walkup, and it was the backdrop to many a good night kiss. Then came social media, streaming, and the SATC sequel series, And Just Like That…, all of which only added to the droves of visitors.

The show’s popularity was a surprise for Lorber. When she agreed to let the show film outside her house, she explained, “no one knew the show would turn into anything long lasting.” At the time, she agreed because she “felt sorry for the young location scout.”

“He told me if he didn’t secure THIS house, he would lose his first real job in the business,” she wrote.

All these years later, there’s no sign of the fans going away. In fact, Lorber said she’s been seeing an increase in the “already massive fan base.” She sees adding a gate as necessary “to regain a reasonable quality of life for our tenants and ourselves.”

Because her home is in Greenwich Village’s historic district, Lorber had to seek the commission’s approval. She submitted gate designs by architect Isidoro Cruz that will blend with the railings and fence and block off their stoop. The gate itself earned unanimous approval from the eight commission members who attended the hearing, with tweaks to its design still to come, The New York Times reports.

Carrie already said goodbye to her apartment on And Just Like That..., but fans still don’t have to. They just have to respect the property and stay off the steps.