LPC-26-10969
432 Clermont Avenue – Fort Greene Historic District
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
An Italianate style rowhouse built in 1857. Application is to modify window openings and install new infill.
The Historic Districts Council finds that the proposed openings do not adequately reflect the proportions of the historic façade.
The head height of the new garden-level entrance appears too low in relation to the historic window openings above. We recommend raising the opening to better align with the proportions and hierarchy of the façade. We also encourage the applicant to lower the sills of the altered upper-floor windows to restore more historically appropriate proportions.
LPC-26-11471
68 South Portland Avenue – Fort Greene Historic District
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
An early Italianate style rowhouse built c. 1852. Application is to construct a rear yard addition.
The Historic Districts Council finds the proposed rear addition generally appropriate but recommends eliminating the second-floor extension, consistent with our general policy of keeping the upper two floors of historic buildings intact.
LPC-27-02094
23 Wall Street – J.P. Morgan & Co. Building – Individual Landmark
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
A bank building designed by Trowbridge & Livingston and built in 1913. Application is to create an entrance opening and re-open blind windows, and install new infill, windows and signage.
The Historic Districts Council finds the proposal generally sensitive to this individual landmark. We do, however, ask the applicant to clarify whether the existing corner entrance is being modified as part of this application.
In the rendering, the entrance appears somewhat lighter and more glazed than it does in the existing-condition photograph, but it is not clear from the application whether any alteration is actually proposed. If the entrance is being modified, we encourage the applicant to ensure that it retains the solidity and substantial metalwork characteristic of this imposing building.
LPC-26-10863
33 Perry Street – Greenwich Village Historic District
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
A transitional Romanesque Revival style stable building designed by Hendry Andruss, Jr. and built in 1897, and converted into an apartment building by Harris V. Hartman in 1926. Application is to construct an enclosed front areaway and remove special windows at the rear facades.
The Historic Districts Council finds the proposed front areaway appropriate but objects to the removal of the special windows at the rear façades. These distinctive diamond-pattern windows are significant historic features of the building and contribute to the character that landmark designation is intended to protect.
LPC-26-10973
75 Charles Street – Greenwich Village Historic District
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
A rowhouse built in 1866 and altered in the mid-20th century. Application is to alter the front façade and areaway and reconstruct the rear façade, construct rooftop and rear yard additions, and excavate the rear yard.
The Historic Districts Council finds the rear and rooftop work generally appropriate but has concerns about the proposed restoration of the front façade.
The proposed upper-floor windows appear too wide, particularly when compared with the more intact neighboring rowhouses, while the garden-level entrance enframement appears undersized and lacks the visual weight appropriate to the façade. We encourage the applicant to carefully study the historic proportions of the openings and ensure that this work constitutes an accurate restoration.
More broadly, this proposal points to HDC’s growing concern about building combinations, which can sacrifice historic fabric through facadism while reducing the number of existing housing units. HDC has observed this trend both within and outside historic districts and is developing policy proposals that we hope will lead to legislation discouraging combinations and demolitions that result in the unnecessary loss of historic fabric and housing.