Item 5
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
148228- Block 149, lot 11-
91-95 Chambers Street – TriBeCa South Historic District
A store and loft building in 1852-53, and altered in the Commercial style by William F. Hemstreet in 1924. Application is to install a rooftop fence.
HDC finds that the semi-circular portion of the fence would break up a nice row of cornices along Chambers Street. We question the necessity of this piece and ask that other options be investigated instead.
LPC determination: approved
Item 18
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
148858- Block 1383, lot 23-
817-819 Madison Avenue – Upper East Side Historic District
A Beaux-Arts style mansion designed by Carrere and Hastings and built in 1892. Application is to construct a rear yard addition.
When the rear wall of 817-819 Madison Avenue was last altered, a significant amount of historic fabric was removed, but there were some positive results – the lovely garden and a view to the Dunham House. The coordinated architectural attempt to relate the Herter and Dunham Houses, two Carrere and Hastings mansions, was retained. HDC finds though that this proposal to fill in the lot does not recognize any of these remaining features. The proposed rear yard addition does not enhance this landmarked building or its block. Instead, it is a prime example of how something that is allowable by zoning, is not necessarily appropriate for an historic district.
LPC determination: no action
Item 14
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
149500- Block 856, lot 58-
60 Madison Avenue – Madison Square North Historic District
A Beaux-Arts style office building designed by Maynicke and Franke and built in 1909-10. Application is to replace ground floor infill and install a canopy.
The Designation Report for the Madison Square North Historic District describes the Neptune Building as “remarkably intact”, and indeed the storefront infill of the adjacent bays retain their historic, paneled cast-iron bulkheads. Rather than moving the design of the entrance further away from the rest of the building, HDC asks that a design more compatible with and using elements of the storefronts be found.
LPC determination: approved
Item 12
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
150227- Block 625, lot 42-
15 8th Avenue – Greenwich Village Historic District
A Greek Revival style rowhouse built in 1845. Application is to alter the front and rear facades, and construct rooftop additions.
15 8th Avenue is part of a row of six lovely, little Greek Revival style rowhouses built in 1845. HDC finds the proposed rooftop additions and planters would be too visible, obliterating the cornice and interrupting the row.
We are also opposed the removal of the stained glass. Releading and replacing missing glass are common repairs and doing so would highlight a piece of the building’s history. In commercial strips elsewhere, such as Warren Street in Hudson, old signage can be found on shops. The preservation of these features does not cause confusion (it is easy enough to see what is on sale in the display windows) and instead adds character to the street. At the very least, the stained glass should be entombed, not destroyed, so that future owners or tenants may bring this charming feature back to the streetscape.
LPC determination: no action
Item 15
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
150852- Block 835, lot 41-
350 Fifth Avenue – Empire State Building, Individual Landmark and Interior Landmark
An Art Deco style office building with an Art Deco style lobby, all designed by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon and built in 1930-31. Application is to alter the Fifth Avenue entrance.
HDC understands the desire for a new vestibule and in general finds the proposal appropriate. We do though ask that the mechanicals be restudied so that the height of the headers of all three openings remain aligned.
LPC determination: approved
Item 3
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
151034- Block 95, lot 7501-
117 Beekman Street – South Street Seaport Historic District
A neo-Renaissance style hospital building designed by Adolph Mertin and built in 1917-18, with an addition designed by Rafael Vinoly and built c. 1980 Application is to replace the bluestone sidewalk.
While 117 Beekman Street is not one of the oldest building in the South Street Seaport Historic District, it does sit on a very prominent spot. It is one of the gateways to the district where one crosses Water Street, leaves behind the modern city and enters one of its oldest, most historic neighborhoods. The existing bluestone looks to be in good shape, and HDC asks that repairs be made where necessary and the rest of the bluestone remain intact so that it may continue to enhance the district.
LPC determination: approved with modifications
Item 1
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
151590- Block 1130, lot 9-
567 Vanderbilt Avenue – Prospect Heights Historic District
A neo-Grec style store and flats building built in 1889. Application is to legalize the construction of a rooftop bulkhead in noncompliance with LPC permit(s).
This illegal bulkhead is quite visible from a number of locations. Bulkheads and other rooftop accretions are not approved by this commission without careful investigation of the necessary height, configuration, and location. Information on none of these subjects was included in the boards available at Public Review on Friday. HDC asks that this bulkhead not be legalized and that proper studies be done in the reduction and redesign of a new one.
LPC determination: approved with modifications
Item 6
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
151684- Block 177, lot 24-
111 Franklin Street – TriBeCa East Historic District
An Italianate/neo-Grec style store and loft building designed by Benjamin W. Warner and built in 1868. Application is to modify a loading dock, remove a fire escape, install storefront infill, and signage, and construct a rooftop stair bulkhead.
HDC finds most of this proposal appropriate with the exception of the removal of the historic fire escapes and the storefront infill.
The decorative fire escape, which is noted in the TriBeCa East Historic District, do not appear in the 1900 photograph as there was not yet a fire code requiring one on a manufacturing building. It was added a later though, after the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, and is a layer of history that is disappearing from other buildings. HDC asks that its retention be considered. It could easily be altered to be purely decorative, an alteration frequently approved by this commission.
LPC determination: approved with modifications
Item 11
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
152143- Block 611, lot 38-
130 7th Avenue South – Greenwich Village Historic District
A commercial building designed by Scacchetti & Siegel and built in 1937. Application is to demolish the existing building and to construct a new building.
When a proposal for a new building on this site came to the commission last summer, HDC was concerned about the height. Although we are happy to see the large elevator bulkhead eliminated, the application today is virtually the same envelope. So we again ask that the top two floors of glass be removed in order to bring the building more in context.
As for the design and materials, we find the proposed glassy facade with thin piers of brick to be rather insubstantial. The verticality of the design also makes the building appear taller than it should. HDC suggests including stronger horizontal elements to ground the building more.