LPC-26-08073
480 Willoughby Avenue – Willoughby-Hart Historic District
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
A neo-Grec style rowhouse designed by Arthur Taylor and built c. 1883. Application is to construct a rear yard addition, alter and excavate the areaway, and replace windows.
HDC finds the proposed rear yard addition inappropriate in both height and depth. The addition is overly large and disrupts the consistent cornice line and rear-yard rhythm of this largely intact row of historic buildings. HDC urges the applicant to significantly reduce the scope of the addition by limiting it to the parlor floor, leaving the top two floors intact, and further reducing its depth.
Action: Approved with modifications; reduce height of rear yard addition by 1 floor and work with staff on window fenestration on rear facade.
LPC-26-07933
675 Hudson Street – Gansevoort Market Historic District
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
A vernacular/neo-Grec style factory building, built c. 1849, with an addition built c. 1854-60, and altered c. 1884. Application is to construct a rooftop addition, replace windows, install awnings, construct a vestibule, create areaways, excavate the cellar, and remove interior floors.
While HDC is not necessarily opposed to the idea of a glass rooftop addition for this building, and we appreciate the removal of the existing billboard, the proposed design remains insufficiently subordinate to the historic structure — particularly given the building’s prominence within the district. The highly visible glass addition and oversized bulkhead compete with, rather than defer to, the historic building.
HDC therefore recommends that the applicant explore design refinements to reduce the addition’s visibility, such as lowering its height, increasing setbacks, and simplifying the overall design.
Action: No action. Refinements must be made to rooftop addition, including reducing visibility and refining it’s geometric form.
LPC-26-08279
140 West 88th Street – Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
A Renaissance Revival style rowhouse designed by Neville & Bagge and built in 1894. Application is to construct rooftop and rear yard additions and reconstruct the rear façade.
HDC is concerned by the proposed rear façade reconstruction and addition. The filling in of the existing rear-yard “tooth” disrupts the established rhythm and articulation of the block’s rear façades, where these voids create a consistent pattern across the row. HDC’s review committee felt the complete infill of this space reads as overly blunt. HDC thus asks the applicant to explore design strategies that could retain or reinterpret the articulation of the existing “tooth” — such as using recessed or glazing elements similar to what is seen on a neighboring building on drawing number LPC.115 — so that the addition better acknowledges the established rhythm of the block.
Action: Approval with modifications; work with staff to totally eliminate visibility of rooftop addition.
LPC-26-09397
159 East 78th Street – 159 East 78th Street House – Individual Landmark
TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
A Vernacular Italianate style rowhouse built in 1861. Application is to request that the Landmarks Preservation Commission issue a favorable report to the City Planning Commission regarding the continuing maintenance program for the landmark in connection with a transfer of development rights pursuant to Section 75-42 of the Zoning Resolution.
LPC-26-09379
161 East 78th Street – 161 East 78th Street House – Individual Landmark
TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS
A Vernacular Italianate style rowhouse built in 1861. Application is to request that the Landmarks Preservation Commission issue a favorable report to the City Planning Commission regarding the continuing maintenance program for the landmark in connection with a transfer of development rights pursuant to Section 75-42 of the Zoning Resolution.
As applications of this type become more common, HDC believes it is critical that the Commission establish a clear and enforceable framework to ensure that transfer of development rights agreements produce enforceable Continuing Maintenance Plans (CMPs) for landmarked buildings.
We are taking this opportunity to urge the Commission to require stronger oversight and accountability measures for the proposed maintenance program, including clear identification of the entity responsible for monitoring compliance, the reporting and enforcement mechanisms that will be used, and the authority empowered to impose corrective actions should obligations not be met.
Because owners of landmarked properties are already legally required to maintain their buildings in good repair, any additional preservation commitments tied to financially valuable development rights transfers should be especially rigorous, transparent, and enforceable. For this application, we encourage a higher standard of restoration quality for prominent features such as the windows, which should more closely match the historic material and finish of the originals.
Finally, given the precedent these arrangements may establish for future landmark-related transfers, HDC believes applications of this type should continue to receive commissioner and public review rather than being delegated solely to staff-level approval. These applications raise broader policy questions about long-term stewardship, enforcement, and the evolving relationship between development rights transfers and preservation obligations that warrant continued public oversight.
Action: Approved with modifications; plan be modified to include brownstone resurfacing and brickwork.
