Item 2
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
121799- Block 195, lot 7-
396 Broadway – TriBeCa East Historic District
A Renaissance Revival-style office building designed by William H. Birkmire and built in 1899. Application is to construct rooftop additions, install storefront infill, and alter the facade.
Although rooftop mechanicals and other accretions are not uncommon in the TriBeCa historic districts, HDC finds the proposed to be too visible, as seen in views one and two from West Broadway at Canal Street and at Lispenard Street. Often accretions in this district can blend in with taller surrounding buildings making additions almost unnoticeable, but in this case, the aluminum boxes would stand out with only the sky as a backdrop. The length of the additions also distract from the very regulated fenestration of the Walker Street façade from these views. 396 Broadway is a very slim building, and reconfiguration of the mechanicals could be difficult. Redesigning the units to be lower and more spread out as well as retaining the existing water tower could help them fit in better.
At the base of this Renaissance Revival-style office building, we feel the proposed storefront infill is too glassy and lacking in detail, particularly at the entrance doors. HDC asks that a little more detail and attention go into this most closely viewed and used piece of the building.
HDC determination: no action
Item 5
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
120136- Block 591, lot 51-
61 Grove Street aka 76 Christopher St – Greenwich Village Historic District
An apartment building designed by Franklin Baylies and built on 1890. Application is to legalize installation of storefront infill in non-compliance with CofA 03-1720.
The existing is very obviously not what was approved and it is not anything the commission would have ever approved here on the corner of Grove and Christopher Streets. HDC urges the commission to reject this application for a legalization and require that it be replaced with the storefront and signage approved previously.
HDC determination: denied and prior CofA renewed
Item 8
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
121669- Block 591, lot 45-
327 Bleecker Street – Greenwich Village Historic District
A building originally constructed as two-story house in 1832-33, and altered in 19th and 20th centuries. Application is to alter the façade, install storefront infill, replace windows, install rooftop mechanical equipment, and relocate sidewalk pavers.
HDC finds that most of the alterations to the façade such as sheet metal cornices and new window openings with brownstone lintels and sills will be improvements to 327 Bleecker Street. We are concerned though with the level of detail of the proposed. The store cornice should wrap around only over the first commercial bay of the north façade. As seen in the historic tax photo (for which our thanks goes to the applicant for including it), the second window should be treated more along the lines of the residential door and upper floor windows. Also, the very plain aluminum windows will be out of place with their new brownstone details. We ask that double-hung wood windows with more of a profile or metal casement windows similar to the existing be considered instead.
Although we respect and encourage the desire to retain historic sidewalk pavers, HDC is uncomfortable with the formalized, cleaned-up effect the relocation would have and the loss of the reminder of the original paving pattern. We question the need to go through the trouble of relocating the stones and request that, if it must be done, the new cement be poured and scored to recall the longer stones as well as be tinted to help it blend in.
HDC determination: approved with modifications
Item 9
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
123229- Block 510, lot 45-
295 Lafayette Street – Puck Building, Individual Landmark
A Romanesque Revival style commercial building designed by Albert Wagner and built in 1885-86. Application is to construct rooftop additions.
HDC is strongly opposed to this application for blatantly visible rooftop additions on one of New York City’s most distinctive landmarks, the Puck Building. Very visible from a number of view points, the multi-level additions would change the building’s basic form and disrupt a key design feature, the vertical piers that start at the sidewalk and extend all the way up to the rooftop crenellations.
Yes, the building was constructed in three stages. This expansion (and in part detraction) was all under the supervision of architect Albert Wagner, over the span of a little more than a decade in the late 19th century as the Puck magazine grew to be one of the most successful publications of its time. The claim that a 21st-century glass penthouse is in the same spirit and appropriate is, for many, one that is hard to swallow. This line of reasoning would open the door for even more additions, to what end one can only imagine. This is not a base looking for a tower like the Hearst Building or some down-on-its-luck refrigeration building in the Gansevoort Market Historic District that someone seems to think is too small and too plain. The Puck Building is complete and has been for over a century. An addition of the extent that is proposed is neither necessary, nor appropriate here.
If these rooftop additions are constructed, they would highlight one feature on this individual landmark, the inscription on the book which hangs on Puck, “What fools these mortals be!”
HDC determination: no action
Item 11
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
123076- Block 530, lot 7506-
344 Bowery – NoHo Extension Historic District
A Renaissance Revival style store and loft building designed by Frank Wennemer and built in 1892-93. Application is to install storefront infill.
HDC finds that while the proposed is nice, it is too generic and traditional for the Bowery. The cleaned up, regularized storefront does not really speak to the building or its neighborhood, and the dark paint will negate any details it might have. While historic photos of this storefront are not clear, similar building in the area should be looked to for guidance. We also find the planter over the doorway to be an unusual addition not found anywhere else in NoHo or along the Bowery.
HDC determination: approved
Item 13
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
122826- Block 482, lot 16-
72 Spring Street aka 65-73 Crosby Street – SoHo-Cast Iron Extension Historic District
A loft building designed by Charles I. Berg and building in 1907-08. Application is to install storefront infill.
HDC finds that while the rest of the proposed storefront is appropriate, the entry door is too glitzy, more Madison Avenue than SoHo. The gold framing and bright green door are out of character with the rest of the façade, and its slightly oversized placement outside of the grid of transom bars and mullions enforces the feeling that the entrance has been dropped in from further uptown. If the green door is the signage, it is a very large sign.With signifcant display windows, the storefront at 72 Spring Street provides more than enough notice, and HDC asks that the architectural branding be toned down.
HDC determination: approved with modifications
Item 18
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
121213- Block 1492, lot 6-
3 East 80th Street – Metropolitan Museum Historic District
A French Beaux-Arts style residence desinged by Welch, Smith, and Provot and built in 1898-99. Application is to legalize the installation of areaway fence, windows, and security grilles in non-compliance with Cof A 98-6801.
While an areaway fence would be appropriate here at 3 East 80th Street, the existing is not that fence. The installed work lacks the elegance and uniqueness of the iron work featured in the historic photo and what was originally approved. HDC asks that you deny this application for a legalization of the fence, windows and security grilles and require that the prior approval with its historic details be carried out instead.
HDC determination: approved with modifications
Landmarks Preservation Commission: http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/html/forms/reports.shtml