August 10, 2010
LPC Docket Number: 110451
Brooklyn, Block: 249, Lot: 36
150 Montague Street – Brooklyn Heights Historic District
An Anglo-Italianate style rowhouse with commercial ground floor, built c. 1861-1879. Application is to install storefront infill and signage.
HDC Testimony
While the proposed may be an improvement over the existing, HDC feels the tax photo should be used more as inspiration for the new design. If the applicant is going to go through the trouble of changing the storefront, it should be in a way that reflects more what was historically there and what continues to define this handsome rowhouse on its upper floors. More articulation and details including transoms are needed, and wood rather than anodized aluminum would be more appropriate to the city’s first historic district.
LPC Determination: Approved with modifications
LPC Docket Number: 109869
Brooklyn, Block: 386, Lot: 41
164 Bond Street – Boerum Hill Historic District
An apartment building with neo-Grec and Queen Anne style elements, built c.1880. Application is to construct balconies at the rear.
HDC Testimony
The proposed will be visible from more than one location, particularly during those times of the year when there is less foliage than featured in the photos, and so anything added to the rear of this freestanding building must be carefully considered. The proposed are not balconies as described in the application – they are not platforms projecting from the façade of the building. These are more akin to decks, propped up on four legs and built into the ground. With their rather industrial design and gangly proportions, the decks bear no relation to the Queen Anne style apartment building. HDC asks that this project not be approved until a far more sensitive design is proposed.
LPC Determination: Incomplete
LPC Docket Number: 106425
Manhattan, Block: 107, Lot: 50
277 Water Street – South Street Seaport Historic District
A building built in 1881 by Giblin and Lyons. Application is to install storefront infill, signage, and a flue.
HDC Testimony
277 Water Street has come a long way since its designation days. HDC approves of the alteration to the storefront and the flue in the back which will not be visible when new construction is soon finished. We however do not approve of the new rail for the ramp as the picket fence design with its residential feel is atypical to this district. Also repeating the name of the business five times and in a different color to make it stand out more creates too much signage. HDC would rather see the existing rail left in place. If a more closed design is needed, something that harkens to the building’s fire escape should be considered or the district should be studied for sympathetic examples.
LPC Determination: Incomplete
LPC Docket Number: 106942
Manhattan, Block: 486, Lot: 2
64 Wooster Street – SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District
A warehouse building designed by E. H. Kendall and built in 1898-99 Application is to install new storefront infill and alter the building’s base.
HDC Testimony
In general HDC finds this proposal appropriate, but we do have two comments. Repurposing a former raised loading dock is a tricky task. As handled in this application, the opening would become a pair of humongous doors, nearly 13 feet tall and 11 feet wide. Besides the issues of practicality of operating such doors, they would be terribly out of proportion with the rest of the storefront, roughly twice the size of other entrances. Another creative solution for this problem area is needed. Additionally, HDC asks that as much grille work as possible be saved as it is such a defining and attractive feature of the building.
LPC Determination: Approved with modifications
LPC Docket Number: 109808
Manhattan, Block: 592, Lot: 18
361 6th Avenue – Greenwich Village Historic District
A building originally built in 1827 and altered in the early 20th Century. Application is to install new storefront infill and signage.
HDC Testimony
HDC finds the existing storefront to be far more appropriate than the proposed which is simply a generic, aluminum, sidewalk cafe design. The transom, bulkhead and retractable awning of the existing are all features that should remain. Rather than relying on storefronts from the extension designated less than two months ago as precedents, the historic photo presented of this building should be used for inspiration if any changes are to be made here. For example, instead of the boxy signage proposed, the quirky 1939 curved sign on the corner could be referenced.
LPC Determination: Incomplete
LPC Docket Number: 103463
Manhattan, Block: 837, Lot: 48
390 Fifth Avenue – Gorham Building, Individual Landmark
A Florentine Renaissance style building designed by Stanford White of McKim, Mead and White and built in 1904-06. Application is to replace windows.
HDC Testimony
While the proposed replacement windows are not particularly objectionable, HDC is troubled by the piecemeal approach being taken on the individually landmarked Gorham Building. Who will even notice the windows of the upper floors when the base of the Fifth Avenue façade and the corner continue in the sad condition that they are now in? A masterplan is sorely needed for this Stanford White masterpiece to return it to its former elegance and prominence.
LPC Determination: Approved