ITEM 5
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
12-0228 – Block 2102, lot 54-
314 Carlton Avenue – Fort Greene Historic District
An Italianate style house built c. 1857. Application is to demolish an existing rear extension and construct a rear addition.
While the existing extension is modest in scale, the new extension would project too far into an otherwise, relatively uninterrupted backyard core. Other than the immediate neighbors, not much has been added to here. Further we find the rear façade to feature too much glass, taking away the base of this 1850s house and leaving the upper floors floating in the air.
LPC determination: approved
ITEM 6
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
834 St. Marks Avenue – Crown Heights North Historic District
A semi-attached Georgian style home designed by Slee & Bryson and built in 1919. Application is to remove a metal and glass entrance enclosure and install a metal canopy.
HDC regrets the proposed loss of this historic glass and iron front entryway enclosure. This fixture was surely created especially for this entrance as it mimics the arch around the Georgian style doorway, reinforcing the character of the house far more than the proposed canopy would. We ask the LPC to request that the applicant instead consider restoring this entryway to its earlier splendor.
LPC determination: denied
ITEM 13
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
11-1872 – Block 233, lot 17-
151 Grand Street – SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District Extension
A Second Empire style warehouse building designed by William Field & Son and built in 1869. Application is to replace a granite sidewalk.
HDC often comments on the importance of historic paving like granite sidewalks to the overall character of an historic district. Testifying often feels like preaching to the choir, as Commissioners regularly require at least some salvaging or resetting, if not complete restoration and retention, of the historic fabric. It is such an important issue though, that at the risk of being repetitive, we will say it again. Historic paving is an integral piece of the city’s historic districts. It instantly reminds pedestrians that they are some place with history. The color and texture can not be replicated by cement and rarely is there an attempt to copy the pattern with scoring. A sidewalk of plain, regularly gridded cement, like one found nearly everywhere else, is what would be the result of applications such as this one. With a little refiguring, handicapped access at this corner can be attained while the distinctive historic paving retained.
LPC determination: no action
ITEM 15
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
11-1698 – Block 530, lot 13-
372 Lafayette Street – NoHo Historic District
A one story garage designed by Dietrich Wortman and built in 1933.
Application is to demolish the existing building and construct a six story building.
While HDC finds the overall design, size and scale of this new building in NoHo to be acceptable, there is a lack of detailing and a need to strengthen this new design in relation to the surrounding historic district. The main aluminum exterior material of the new building does not seem to be appropriate in this district of so many exciting masonry buildings or painted cast-iron structures. Several of the details seem unarticulated, especially the ground floor with its rather generic storefronts. More detail is needed to relate this piece to the other more historic ground floor commercial spaces nearby. We also find the secondary façade of dark grey brick does little more than present a large, blank wall to the rest of the historic district. Although this façade may be covered at a future date by construction, some effort should be made to engage with the surrounding neighborhood now.
LPC determination: no action
ITEM 19
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
12-1329 – Block 1147, lot 35-
104 West 76th Street – Upper West Side/ Central Park West Historic District
A Renaissance Revival style rowhouse designed by C. Abbott French & Company and built in 1888-89. Application is to alter the rear facade.
HDC opposes the removal of the existing corbelled window surrounds on the rear façade of the building. These original details match the neighboring structure, giving the pair a surprising amount of character for a rear façade, and should be retained. In addition the installation of large windows and doors on the third and fourth floors adds too much glass to this wall.
LPC determination: approved
ITEM 22
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
11-8783 – Block 1412, lot 71-
875 Park Avenue – Upper East Side Historic District
A neo-Classical style apartment house designed by George and Edward Blum and built in 1911-12. Application is to construct a rooftop enclosure with netting.
Many different types of accretions are typical and appropriate for a 1911 Upper East Side apartment building such as bulkheads, water towers, or pergolas. A netted enclosure, and one set directly on the edge of the roof, though is not. HDC finds this rooftop enclosure far too visible from both the 77th Street and Park Avenue viewpoints.
LPC determination: no action