The organization has been characterized as influential in New York real estate and urban planning because of its role in blocking housing developments in Greenwich Village.

[7] The organization has also called for "downzoning" neighbourhoods, which means the imposition of more restrictive zoning regulations in neighborhoods.

[12] The Landmarks Preservation Commissioners of New York City unanimously opposed the hospital expansion plans and the project was not pursued, which prompted a celebration by GVSHP.

[19] In 2011, GVSHP was among the neighborhood critics of the owners of a Mexican restaurant in Greenwich Village that painted over the faded signage above the entrance of the venue that once housed the "Fat Black Pussycat Theatre", a club that hosted Bob Dylan, Mama Cass Elliot, Richie Havens and other famous entertainers in the 1950s and 1960s.

[20][21] In 2020s, the organization advocated against rezoning of SoHo and NoHo to allow construction of thousands of new apartments with a small share at below-market rents.

[23][24]" GVSHP said that the construction of new housing would raise prices and make the wealthy neighborhood of SoHo less diverse.

During the decade between 2003 and 2013, GVSHP helped secure landmark designation of over 1,250 buildings, as well as community-scaled "contextual rezonings" of nearly 100 blocks.