Hearing Date: 1/8/2008
LPC Docket Number: 080630
Bronx, Block: 2468, Lot: 1
851 Grand Concourse - Individual Landmark Historic District
A classical style courthouse designed by Max Hausel and Joseph H. Freedlander and built in 1931. Application is to install rooftop mechanical equipment.

HDC Testimony
Bronx County Courthouse is a handsome example of New Deal funded architecture, and an important feature of its design is its very cube-like massing, enhanced by its open surroundings on all four sides. The building’s solid, clean lines help to express the solid, civic importance of the courthouse. Its location on the Grand Concourse, the Bronx’s main thoroughfare, flanked by open parkland also means, though, that the proposed rooftop mechanicals are readily visible, breaking the crisp architectural lines. HDC does not support such additions, but encourages the applicant to find less visible, less intrusive alternatives. We are sure the capable engineers will find solutions that will allow for the mechanicals needed while respecting and preserving the architecture of this important individual landmark.

LPC Determination: Approved w/mods

Hearing Date: 1/8/2008
LPC Docket Number: 082950
Manhattan, Block: 621, Lot: 55
60 Perry Street - Greenwich Village Historic District
An Italianate style rowhouse built in 1866. Application is to demolish the entrance vestibule and construct a stoop.

HDC Testimony
A majority of HDC’s public review committee approved of the reintroduction of the stoop at 60 Perry Street as it is proposed to be built in its proper historic configuration with period details. The committee was less impressed by the design for the proposed door surround, feeling that it lacked the detail such as brackets seen presently at 66 Perry and in historic photos on neighboring 62. Some members of the committee though saw the proposal as needless and call for the retention of the existing vestibule. This well-executed alteration is described favorably in the designation report, and the commission has regularly pointed out the importance of such early 20th-century alterations in the Village. There was also some discomfort as to the source for the changes. While it is true that 60-66 are very similar and were built at the same time, 60 and 64 were designed by Robert Mook while Wiliam H. Hume was the architect for 62 and 66. Information for the restoration of sorts of Mook’s 60 Perry Street comes from Hume’s buildings (both in their present condition and historic photos), and not its partner.

LPC Determination: Approved w/mods

Hearing Date: 1/8/2008
LPC Docket Number: 083125
Manhattan, Block: 1361, Lot: 1
3 Mitchell Place - Individual Landmark Historic District
An Art Deco style skyscraper designed by John Mead Howells and built in 1927-1928. Application is to install through-the-wall air conditioning units.

HDC Testimony
HDC does not approve of this plan to install through-the-wall air conditioners and recommends that a master plan be developed for the former Panhellenic Tower. Due to the fact that the placement and number of units is driven by the interior layout and usage, the installations look rather random on the exterior. The careful symmetry and vertical reading between the piers of this individual landmark is thrown off by the inconsistent additions of air conditioning units. In order to maintain the consistency that this building’s design calls for, we urge staff to work with the applicants to design a plan that will work for the landmark for decades to come.

LPC Determination: Approved w/mods

Hearing Date: 1/8/2008
LPC Docket Number: 079226
Manhattan, Block: 1721, Lot: 53
32 Mount Morris Park West - Mount Morris Park Historic District
A neo-Classical style rowhouse built in 1880-1881. Application is to construct a rooftop addition.

HDC Testimony
HDC feels the size of this roof top addition makes it too conspicuous from Lenox Avenue, and the amount of glazing will increase its visibility when illuminated at night. We do not feel that such an addition is appropriate for this impressive row of buildings along Mount Morris Park.

LPC Determination: Approved

Hearing Date: 1/8/2008
LPC Docket Number: 083952
Manhattan, Block: 97, Lot: 57
243 Water Street - South Street Seaport Historic District
A Georgian style building built c.1826 and altered in 1912. Application is to install two flagpoles and a banner.

HDC Testimony
HDC is opposed to this application to install a stretch banner on 243 Water Street. It is far too large, obscuring the lovely façade of this building. This would be a perfect location for a bracket sign on the ground floor instead.

LPC Determination: Approved w/mods

Hearing Date: 1/8/2008
LPC Docket Number: 083722
Manhattan, Block: 572, Lot: 54&55
21-25 West 8th Street - Greenwich Village Historic District
Three Greek Revival style townhouses built in 1845-6 and altered in the 20th century to accommodate storefronts at the ground floor. Application is to install storefront infill.

HDC Testimony
HDC does not approve of this application to install storefront infill as the proposed is too bland. The storefronts should incorporate more detailing such as transoms, thicker mullions and the paneled bulkheads presently existing on number 23. A material such as wood would also be much more preferable and in keeping with the historic district than the proposed aluminum. The proposed design suffers from a lack of character that would help it with the storefronts relate to their building and neighborhood, and we urge the commission to send it back to the drawing board.

LPC Determination: Approved

Hearing Date: 1/8/2008
LPC Docket Number: 082822
Manhattan, Block: 1390, Lot: 23
35 East 75th Street - Upper East Side Historic District
An apartment building designed by Paul Resnick and built in 1958. Application is to install a trellis and privacy fences at a terrace.

HDC Testimony
While HDC is not opposed to a trellis on a large apartment building of this era, we are concerned about the style of the proposed. We feel that when adding anything to a building, the original architecture and design must be used as the guide. A flat trellis, like what previously stood here, would be much more appropriate, following the lines of the structure, rather than the proposed peeked trellis. Similarly, we do not feel the diamond lattice is the appropriate design for a privacy fence. The proposed design for this visible terrace feels more faux country farm than mid-20th century Upper East Side high rise. HDC recommends that a design more sympathetic to the building’s architecture be found.

LPC Determination: Approved w/mods

Hearing Date: 1/8/2008
LPC Docket Number: 082907
Brooklyn, Block: 296, Lot: 5
110 Amity Street - Cobble Hill Historic District
A neo-French Renaissance style dormitory building designed by William C. Hough and built in 1902. Application is to alter an existing penthouse and construct six new townhouses on the empty portion of the lot.

HDC Testimony
While we see the potential for new construction on this site, HDC does not feel the mews-like configuration is typical of or appropriate to the Cobble Hill Historic District. The district is composed primarily of 19th-century town and rowhouses that face the street. The intrusion into the block of five buildings with a sidewall façade and a large gate along Henry Street does not fit this model. In addition to interrupting the streetscape, the proposed disrupts the garden core, another significant feature of the district. Instead, one building facing Amity Street and another two or three facing Henry Street would be more appropriate. Such a proposal should come back for public review and to a public hearing so that the design of the new buildings can then be considered in the context of the rest streetscape.

6/24/2008:
Thank you for allowing us to speak today on the revised plan for 110 Amtiy Street. This is one of those cases where an application is greatly altered to the point of being a new application on the same plot of land, and HDC feels strongly that such proposals should reenter the public process as this one has.

This application has come a long way, both in the siting of the townhouses and their design. We also compliment the applicant on the use of traditional, quality materials including wood windows and brownstone lintels. These new buildings would be fine models for other, faux townhouses proposed to the LPC just last week. Having come this far, HDC does have a few comments on the details to complete an appropriate proposal.

In the rear, there is overall too much glazing leaving little relation between the front and rear elevations. Although the rear facades are no longer visible from the public way, we ask that some of the glazing be reduced with the addition of masonry.

At first glance, the front facades are pleasant. After further study, though, one sense some problems with proportions and details, the issues of which could mostly be solved by changing the design. The doorways are pushed all the way over to the sied, not lining up with the windows above. Each door has only one sidelight, an assymetrical feature often found when trying to make a door ADA compliant. Considering that these doors are at the top of a tall stoop, this feature is not needed. A full door, one with two sidelights, or a double door would be preferable. Also, the stoops have brownstone stucco wall (going up the side of the door) on one side and a rail on the other. We understand the explanation that the arhcitects are trying to "mix things up", but the result are houses with slightly confused appearances.

Lined up along the street with appropriate materials and many suitable details these town hosues are far and above more approvable than the initial proposal. With a few more changes in the design, they will be welcomed additions to Cobble Hill.

LPC Determination: Incomplete

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