HDC@LPC – November 25, 2014

Item 1

LP – 2567

BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN

CHESTER COURT HISTORIC DISTRICT, 15-31 Chester Court and 16-32 Chester Court

The Historic Districts Council is pleased to support the designation of the 18 rowhouses comprising Chester Court, located in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. Roughly two years ago, residents on the block reached out to HDC for help in advocating for the preservation of this charming nook, not only because of its architectural merit, but also to protect it from development pressures in its immediate vicinity. We are delighted that Chester Court is today being considered as New York City’s newest historic district, and urge the Landmarks Preservation Commission to vote in favor of its designation.

Chester Court’s strong architectural cohesion is a characteristic it shares with its nearby neighbors, the Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historic District and the Ocean on the Park Historic District. In fact, we understand that the Court was once considered for inclusion in the Prospect Lefferts Gardens Historic District, but for reasons lost to time, was not designated. Its two-and-a-half story, single-family rowhouses were designed by Peter J. Collins, a prolific local architect and the Brooklyn Commissioner of Buildings. Constructed in 1914-15, these charming neo-Tudor houses are unified through their massing, materials and design. They feature brick bases and Mediterranean-style tile roofs, which encase their half-timbered second story oriels and gables at the crown. Details alternate from house to house, with flat oriels and round-arch entrances on some and three-sided oriels and square entrances on others, as well as varied patterns and colors of half-timbering. Chester Court’s development history is closely connected with that of the broader Prospect Lefferts Gardens, including the neighboring historic districts, which renders it even more significant as an integral part of the area’s story.

Item 6

CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS

BOROUGH OF Manhattan

161314- Block 825, lot 12-

30-32 West 24th Street – Ladies’ Mile Historic District

A neo-Gothic style store and loft building designed by Browne & Almiroty and built in 1910-11. Application is to install storefront infill and light fixtures.

Overall, HDC feels that the new storefront should respond in color and rhythm to the historic architecture above it. We applaud the choice of steel for the storefront, but feel that the material’s potential is not being reached; its application appearing more like extruded aluminum. Finally, we suggest that the applicant study other loft buildings’ light fixtures in the district and supply something less “off of the shelf” to embellish this building appropriately.

LPC determination: No Action

Item 8

CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS

BOROUGH OF Manhattan

163899- Block 872, lot 78-

44-48 Union Square East – Individual Landmark

A neo-Georgian style building, designed by Thompson, Holmes & Converse and Charles B. Meyers, built in 1928-1929. Application is to construct a rooftop addition, install new storefront infill, signage, and windows openings.

After a decades-long effort by preservation advocates, Tammany Hall was finally designated an Individual Landmark in 2013. HDC finds the proposal before the Commission today to be gratuitous both for the lack of an apparent functional justification for the addition, and for the extremity of this stylistic gesture, which is a major departure from the building’s architectural language.

First and foremost, HDC finds the destruction of the building’s hipped slate roof to be problematic. This feature was an intentional design component that references Georgian architecture and harkens back to New York City’s early civic buildings, such as Federal Hall on Wall Street. The hipped roof complements the façades on both Union Square East and East 17^th Street, and is quite tall and prominent from many angles and vantage points, especially given the building’s visibility at the corner of Union Square. The roof is also prominent in historic photos, including the one in the building’s Designation Report.