December 14, 2004
Statement of the Historic Districts Council
before the Landmarks Preservation Commission
Certificate of Appropriateness Hearing
The Historic Districts Council is the advocate
for New York City’s designated historic districts and neighborhoods
meriting preservation. Its Public Review Committee monitors proposed
changes within historic districts and changes to individual landmarks
and has reviewed these applications that were before the Commission.
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 053057
Brooklyn, Block: 436, Lot: 63
315 President Street - Carroll Gardens Historic District
A neo-Grec style rowhouse built in 1876 by William J. Bedell.
Application is to legalize the application of a coating on the
front façade without Landmarks Preservation Commission
Permits.
HDC Testimony
As always, the Historic Districts Council objects to work performed
without the permission of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
In this case, the application of this orange pigmented coating
is inappropriate for this neo-Grec house and for this row of houses.
It stands out far too much. It is a brownstone and should be brown
in color. In addition, we question the breathability of such a
coating.
LPC Determination: Denied
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 051763
Brooklyn, Block: 5118, Lot: 25
190 Marlborough Road - Prospect Park South Historic District
A Shingle style house designed by John Slee and built in 1902.
Application is to leglaize repainting the façade without
Landmarks Preservation Commission permits.
HDC Testimony
HDC does not support this legalization. The very bright colors
used to paint this Shingle style house, clash with the existing
streetscape. We fear that the legalization of this painting would
set a dangerous precedent within this historic district, one which
could lead to a number of inappropriate paint jobs, and compromise
the integrity of this cohesive district.
LPC Determination: Denied
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 052904
Queens, Block: 8095, Lot: 61
140 Prospect Avenue - Douglaston Historic District
An Arts and Crafts style house built circa 1915 by Craftsman Builders.
Application is to construct a one-story addition.
HDC Testimony
HDC appreciates that the applicant is opening the porches and
restoring the stucco on this great Arts and Crafts style house.
However, we are concerned that this addition is not appropriate
for this structure or the Douglaston Historic District.
The basic design of this addition clashes with
the Arts and Crafts style of the house. In addition, the design
calls for the removal of an existing historic window.
This house is a very simple, almost square form
without any bays or wings, and this clumsy addition adds essentially
a wing to the house that does not work hierarchically with the
design. If the addition appeared more as an entry canopy that
was filled in below, it might work better. And we must also note
that this addition will result in the loss of open space, which
is one of the Douglaston Historic District’s defining features.
LPC Determination: Approved with modifications
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 052980
Manhattan, Block: 1392, Lot: 34
77 East 77th Street - Upper East Side Historic District
A Beaux-Arts style carriage house built in 1897-98 designed by
A.M. Welch. Application is to construct a rooftop and rear yard
addition.
HDC Testimony
HDC is very concerned about the enormous size of this addition
to this modest carriage house. It must be scaled back substantially
both in height and depth to be acceptable, which could be done
without significantly affecting the program.
We must keep in mind that this building’s
character is that of a small, two-story, carriage house. This
addition is not really an addition, but rather the gutting of
this building and the construction of a townhouse behind it, which
essentially destroys the existing carriage house’s character.
In addition, the proposed design makes a scrim
out of the front façade and destroys the structural fabric
of the building. This effect will be compounded by the addition
of lights inside the façade that will make it even more
transparent at night. This design leaves us with merely a shell
of this Beaux-Arts carriage house.
LPC Determination: No Action
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 051584
Manhattan, Block: 530, Lot: 13
372 Lafayette Street - NoHo Historic District
A one story garage, designed by Dietrich Wortman and built in
1933. Application is to demolish the existing garage and to consturct
a new six story building.
HDC Testimony
HDC does not support this application. This design jumps off at
the wrong point with the wrong concept of what to do within this
historic district. The NoHo Historic district is comprised of
wonderful late 19th and early 20th century buildings with facades
of brick, masonry, or cast iron. In addition, as the applicant
illustrates with one of the boards, these buildings are elaborately
ornamented with a variety of materials. The color, materials,
and lack of articulation of this proposed new building are all
wrong for this district.
In particular, the façade along Great Jones
Street is completely unarticulated and has nothing to do with
the context of the neighborhood. In addition the setback is awkward.
The entire lot should be filled in.
The very bare bones, repetitive grid design on
the Lafayette facade is not sympathetic to the architectural styles
of this neighborhood. The design is too repetitive and not at
all reflective the historic neighborhood in which it will sit.
In addition, the use of shipping containers gives
the building an inappropriate texture. And the blue color is distracting,
and causes it to compete with the historic architecture of NoHo.
This design simply does not fit within the NoHo
Historic District.
LPC Determination: No Action
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 051977
Manhattan, Block: 584, Lot: 25
44 Commerce Street - Greenwich Village Historic District
A Greek Revival style house built in 1838. Application is to construct
rooftop and rear additions.
HDC Testimony
HDC has a number of concerns about this application. This rear
yard addition destroys historic features on this house by removing
studio and staircase windows, and completely reconfiguring the
rear facade. In the past, the Commission has tried to preserve
window arrangements that relate to the original design of the
building and we hope this practice will continue.
In addition, the rear yard addition will fill
in a significant amount of the garden and will be visible from
Hudson Street due to the fact that the rear of the adjacent building
is only one story in height, and this new addition is four stories.
We are further concerned about its impact on the openness of the
rear yards on this block. And finally, the railing of the rooftop
addition is too visible.
HDC respectfully urges the Commission to work
with the applicant to develop a more appropriate solution for
this magnificent 1838 house. This house was intended to be humble
and quaint, and is very characteristic of the Greenwich Village
Historic District. These massive additions will destroy its character
and scale.
LPC Determination: No Action
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 053086
Manhattan, Block: 644, Lot: 60
53 Gansevoort Street - Gansevoort Market Historic District
A vernacular style store and loft building built in 1887 by Joseph
M. Dunn. Application is to install new storefronts, new sidewalks,
new canopy sheathing, and new windows on the second floor.
HDC Testimony
HDC does not support this application. Firstly, there is no precedent
for the installation of metal casement windows on the second floor,
nor is there any reason for awnings to be added above these windows.
The upper stories, including the second floor, should be tied
together by their consistency in relationship, and we have the
historic photo showing this very typical configuration for the
Gansevoort Market.
Regarding the proposed alterations to the ground
floor, HDC felt that there were far too many doors and some fixed
windows should be added. Additionally, we object to the use of
green glass in the doors. And we would like to make sure that
the substructure and suspension rods of the existing awning will
be preserved or replaced in kind where they have deteriorated.
We also recommend that the existing painted signage
be preserved.
And finally, the replacement of this large expanse
of granite sidewalk with concrete is unacceptable. It is very
important that the worn granite of the Gansevoort Market be preserved.
It is acceptable to replace areas that are badly damaged for safety
reasons, but the existing granite must be saved.
This district was designated at record speed to
preserve the character of the district, which is represented in
this largely intact building. This proposed design must go further
to preserve the character of this building, and not move it away
its historic condition and its relation to the Gansevoort Market.
LPC Determination: No Action
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 052516
Manhattan, Block: 196, Lot: 5
408 Broadway - TriBeCa East Historic District
An Italiante style sotre and loft building built circa 1866-68,
designed by Henary Engelbert. Application is to install new storefront
infill at the Broadway façade and new windows and a door
at the ground floor of the Courtland Alley façade, to remove
fire escapes and metal window shutters and to create new window
openings.
HDC Testimony
In general, HDC supports this application and is pleased to see
the thoughtful work that went into this design. We would however
recommend preserving the shutters on the Cortlandt Alley side
of the building, as they are part of the building’s architectural
character. In addition, HDC did not feel that the floodlighting
was appropriate, and also recommends that the applicant use the
existing sign band for signage.
LPC Determination: Approved with modifications
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 053111
Manhattan, Block: 876, Lot: 21
36 Gramercy Park - Gramercy Park Historic District
A neo-Gothic style apartment building built in 1908-10 designed
by j. Riely Gordon. Application is to replace windows.
HDC Testimony
HDC would first like to point out that this building is one of
the most astonishing and remarkable buildings in New York and
therefore should be looked at very carefully. That being said,
the gray/putty color proposed for the aluminum windows is too
close in color to the masonry of the building. There is plenty
of historic evidence that demonstrates that windows were always
separated from the façade by their color during this period.
This aluminum should be a much darker color in order to provide
the appropriate contrast.
In addition, in re-creating the leaded windows,
the original glass must be preserved and the new lead must be
of the same width and depth of the existing lead. It was unclear
to HDC’s Public Review Committee whether the applicant is
proposing to use new glass or keeping the existing historic glass,
and we would like to ensure that the existing historic glass is
saved. If new glass is used and the lead is not replicated exactly,
these windows will never have the same effect.
LPC Determination: Approved
Hearing Date: 12/14/2004
LPC Docket Number: 053495
Manhattan, Block: 823, Lot: 2
678 Sixth Avenue - Ladies' Mile Historic District
An Italianate style multiple dwelling built in 1878 and designed
by John G. Prague. Application is to install new storefront infill.
HDC Testimony
HDC supports this application, and was pleased to hear that the
applicant listened to the Community Board’s suggestions
and made the appropriate changes. It is a very sympathetic design,
and the proposed colors and use of hard wood are appropriate.
One element of the design that was questioned
by HDC’s Public Review Committee was the use of a white
LED strip on the horizontal mullion between the main window and
transom. It appears to be concealed along the top by a strip of
bent aluminum, but we question what the effect will be from below.
LPC Determination: Approved
Hearing Date: 10/26/2004
LPC Docket Number: 051582
Manhattan, Block: 215, Lot: 27
157 Hudson Street/aka 4-8 Hubert Street… - TriBeCa North
Historic District
A Renaissance Revival style stable building built in 1866-67 and
designed by Rith & Griffiths; altered and enlarged in 1898-99
by Edward Hale Kendall and in 1902 by Charles W. Romeyn. Application
is to alter the ground floor and consturct a three-story rofftop
addition with mechanical equipment.
HDC Testimony
HDC is happy to see this magnificent building being restored and
the level of restorative work appears to be excellent. However,
we do not support the proposed changes and additions to the building
as presented.
Firstly, we are opposed to the removal of the
entire first floor Hudson Street façade and its replacement
with a generic type storefront. While we recognize that the existing
first floor façade is not the original, it does a nice
job of recalling the original, and was the existing façade
at the time of designation. We believe that the applicant could
accommodate the programmatic needs of a commercial occupant with
the existing façade.
HDC is also opposed the three-story rooftop addition,
particularly on the Hudson Street façade. This addition
is a substantial increase to the existing structure and will be
visible to both pedestrians, and motorists entering the city from
the Holland Tunnel. Once the leaves from the trees have fallen,
there will be nothing masking its presence. In addition, there
is a pedestrian overpass connecting Varick and Laight Streets
that one must cross to get over the tunnel and the addition will
be highly visible from this vantage point. This addition greatly
alters a significant low-scale three-story building by almost
doubling its size. We recommend that the entire addition be set
further back and that it be decreased to one or two stories at
the most.
And finally, we are concerned about the use of
corten steel on the rooftop addition. Corten steel has a history
of failure as a cladding material. The U.S. Steel Corporation
Building and the Annenberg Pavilion of Mt. Sinai Hospital are
examples of where this material has failed. It has a tendency
to rust and bleed. We recommend that the Commission look closely
at the proposed materials for this addition.
This wonderful 1866 building certainly deserves
this restoration. However, it also deserves an addition that will
not compromise its integrity or that of the TriBeCa North Historic
District.
LPC Determination: Incomplete
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