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E-BULLETIN
OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL
August 2008, Volume 5 Number 8
Support the NoHo Historic District Extension!
The extension to the NoHo
Historic District in Manhattan, designated by the Landmarks
Preservation Commission on May 13, is scheduled to come before the
City Council later this month. Despite widespread community support
for the district, members of the City Council have expressed reticence
over the merits of the proposed district, specifically expressing
doubt over two properties: the Edison
Parking lot on Great Jones and Lafayette Streets and the
White House Hotel
at 338-340 Bowery. A successful designation will require
significant and vocal endorsement by the public.
Now we need you to voice your support of this
critical preservation issue. Click
here for sample letters of support for the NoHo Extension;
these should be emailed to Council Member Jessica Lappin,
chair of the Landmarks, Public Siting, & Maritime Uses Subcommittee,
and submitted to Council
Speaker Christine Quinn. Please take just a brief moment
to send these off as soon as possible and CC your comments to hdc@hdc.org
as well. The Extension may be brought before the Council subcommittee
as soon as Tuesday, August 12th, so your immediate response is essential!
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Save the Dates! Annual Fall Lecture Series Coming Soon
During the month of September HDC will present “Out
for the Day in New York: Historic Resorts and Amusements,”
a fascinating series of programs that will take a look back at the
history and social significance of vacation venues and leisure destinations
throughout New York City. Lectures will be held on Tuesday, September
9, and Tuesday, September 16. Both will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will
be held at Anthology Film Archives, located in the East Village
at 32 Second Avenue at East 2nd Street in Manhattan. Keep your eyes
peeled for further information and the official announcement of
this year’s featured tour! Email hdc@hdc.org
for more information.
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July at the Landmarks Preservation Commission
HDC’s Public Review Committee reviewed 42 Certificate of
Appropriateness applications this month and testified on 27 of them.
Here are some highlights:
July 8th
The former Reformed Dutch Church of Greenpoint, an 1870 Romanesque
Revival style church designed by William B. Ditmars at 143-149 Kent
Street, is going residential and it came to LPC with an application
to alter an areaway and install a barrier-free lift, alter windows
and construct a side yard rooftop addition.
HDC had some concerns about the visibility of the solar panels,
an aspect of the application that the architects neglected to present.
After commissioners heard HDC testimony and asked about them, it
was explained that the panels would be visible from the public way
on one of the four roof surfaces proposed. Commissioners approved
of only those on the three roofs that would not be visible. The
commission also required that no breaks be introduced into the building’s
impressive tower windows.
New storefront infill and signage was proposed for the former
Young Men’s Institute Building of the YMCA, an individual
landmark at 222 Bowery (former home to writer William
S. Burroughs and poet John
Giorno). Overall HDC felt the proposal would improve the
current state of this historic building, and we specifically applauded
the long overdue removal of excess signage and rolldown gates. Our
main suggestions were to maintain
the current placement of the windows’ transoms, which
are already ideally placed evenly with the rusticated stone banding,
and to adjust the proposed signage. The Commissioners agreed with
our views on the windows and recommended that the applicant put
their signage in the transoms.
July 15th
The hearing
on St. Vincent’s hardship application to demolish
the O’Toole
building continued. Testimony from neighbors and preservation
groups ran along much the same lines as before, but it can’t
hurt to restate our points. Still no comments from the commissioners.
Read what we had to say by clicking
here.
At the end of the very long day, the commission also calendared
the proposed
Prospect Heights Historic District and designated the West
Chelsea Historic District, Morningside Park, and the George
Cunningham Store in Staten Island.
July 22nd
Owners of 799
Carroll Street in the Park Slope Historic District, a quirky
little 1889 rowhouse redesigned by George Chappell in the neo-Federal
style in 1918, proposed to replace the cornice and alter windows.
HDC
felt no need to fuss with an intact, historic façade designed
by such a renowned architect. Commissioners felt similarly
that this was a coherent, historic design that needed to be preserved
(chiming in “why would you want to change this?”) and
took no action on the item.
July 29th
A storefront based on the historic one was proposed for the former
Scribner Building at 155 Fifth Avenue, an individual landmark
and part of the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. While pleased
to see steps taken to restore this individual landmark to its original
grandeur, the Public Review Committee felt the proposal lacked
the structure’s original elegance and many ornate qualities.
The Committee believed further detail could be incorporated into
the design and hesitated to consider such a significant proposal
without being first presented with materials samples by the applicant.
The commission sent the applicants back for further work on those
details.
You win some, you lose some. One of the losses this day was 837
Washington Street in the Gansevoort Market Historic District, a
two-story Moderne style market building designed by David M. Oltarch
and built in 1938. Singled out in the District’s designation
report for its notable low-scale nature, the
applicant’s proposal sought to add an additional four stories,
which HDC strongly opposed. Unfortunately, the commissioners
were largely comfortable with the concept of adding four stories
here (“stunning design”, “extremely interesting”),
although they asked the extremely tall floor heights be reduced
some and the mechanicals be broken up a bit so that they are not
so massive. Commissioner Elizabeth Ryan asked that the addition
be set back some to distinguish it from the original structure.
There also seemed to be some concern about too much glass at the
base. We will wait and see what the outcome is.
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New! HDC Preservation Events Listings
Interested in keeping up-to-date on the myriad preservation events
going on around town? Then sign up for HDC’s new Preservation
Events Listings e-blast! To help groups get the word out on their
events, every couple of weeks we’ll compile a comprehensive
inventory of upcoming lectures, tours and parties being hosted by
preservation organizations and neighborhood associations throughout
the five boroughs. Our standard monthly e-bulletins will continue
to focus on HDC-related issues and events, so you’ll miss
these special updates unless you let us know you’d like to
receive them. It’s easy: just send an email today to lbelfer@hdc.org
saying “sign me up!”
Have your own event you’d like help promoting? Email details
to lbelfer@hdc.org and
get it on the list!
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HDC Newsstand Blog
You’re probably already familiar with the HDC Web site and
its preservation resources, events updates, and highlighted Neighborhoods
at Risk. But have you checked out our Blog
lately? Our blog is
a great way to keep up to date on the most recent preservation campaigns
and important citywide issues, so be sure to visit every now and
again.
Got a story or event you’d like HDC to help promote? Send
an email to hdc@hdc.org
and give us something to blog about!
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Become a Friend of HDC
Friends of HDC provide critical support for HDC’s advocacy,
education and outreach initiatives. To join us as a Friend or to
learn more please visit our website here. Thank you for your
support.
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