LPC Docket Number: 104437
Manhattan, Block: 1410, Lot: 68
110-120 East 76th Street – Upper East Side Historic District
A row of six neo-Grec style rowhouses designed by Augustus Hatfield, built in 1883-85 and altered in the 20th Century. Application is to alter the facades, reconstruct and raise the height of one of the facades, and construct rooftop and rear yard additions.
HDC Testimony
There is very little in this proposal that could be deemed appropriate. From the double wide entry doors on the base to the massive two-story additions on the rooftop, the only history that is reflected here is the sad history of neglect and disregard that these 1880’s rowhouses have had to endure for years.
Neglect should not be used as an argument for inappropriate renovations. The applicant should not be applauded for stabilizing these buildings and giving them new life, when the applicant has been part of their near death. Nor should the applicant be rewarded for this treatment with the approval of unsympathetic alterations. This row represents some of the best housing stock available, and there is no excuse for the condition they are in now. They were simply, willfully allowed to go to rack and ruin over the years, both by this owner and the previous one. The only acceptable solutions to this terrible problem is to stabilize, rebuild, and restore the facades to their present configuration or their historic one.
LPC Determination: Incomplete
LPC Docket Number: 103682
Brooklyn, Block: 1945, Lot: 15
343 Waverly Avenue – Clinton Hill Historic District
An Italianate style rowhouse built c. 1869. Application is to legalize the installation of a security gate without LPC permits.
HDC Testimony
HDC urges the commission to reject the legalization of this security gate installed without LPC permits as it is not something that would have been approved in the first place. When one thinks of the special character of Clinton Hill, or any of the city’s historic districts, security gates do not, and should not, come to mind. Other, less obtrusive security measures such as cameras, lighting, or an interior gate should be considered instead.
LPC Determination: Incomplete
LPC Docket Number: 104363
Brooklyn, Block: 1158, Lot: 76
191 Park Place – Prospect Heights Historic District
An Italianate style row house built prior to 1896. Application is to construct a rear yard addition.
HDC Testimony
HDC finds that this proposed rear yard addition at twenty-five-feet in length extends too deeply into this garden core. As the photos in the presentation show, additions on neighboring houses are not so large. A number of houses in this row do not have any additions, only porches. In addition, the nearly all glass design would create a light box in this garden, something inharmonious with both the house and the row.
An early application such as this one will set the tone for future requests in this new historic district. As the fate of the garden cores is something with which Prospect Heights residents were and still are very concerned, HDC urges that this proposed addition be scaled back.
The DoB mistake is unfortunate to say the least. If you do approve this application, we hope that it is somehow marked or considered grandfathered so that other applications in the future cannot point to this as a CofA worthy addition.
LPC Determination: Incomplete