CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
123794- Block 253, lot 13-
89 Joralemon Street – Brooklyn Heights Historic District
An Anglo-Italianate style rowhouse built in 1861-1879. Application is to alter the stoop newel posts and areaway walls.
While it is nice to see an application to improve upon this fine rowhouse, it is unfortunate that the proposal does not go as far as it could and restore the historic conditions seen very clearly in the tax photo. The brownstone newel would still make a heavy, abrupt end to the railing, rather than the sweeping curve out of the original design. Similarly, the areaway wall is aesthetically an improvement, but is not based on anything historic. An metal fence, like that featured in the tax photo, would be both an aesthetically pleasing and historically appropriate addition.
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
123038- Block 1073, lot 34-
60 Montgomery Place – Park Slope Historic District
A Romanesque Revival style rowhouse designed by C.P.H. Gilbert and built in 1889-90. Application is to install lot line windows.
While we are not opposed to lot line windows on 60 Montgomery Place, HDC does find the size and placement of the proposed to be inappropriate. Rather than paired windows, single windows of similar size to windows elsewhere on the side façade should be used. The windows should also be set back from the corner so as not to stand out as inserts and distract from this very handsome Romanesque Revival front façade.
LPC determination: approved with modifications
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
120970- Block 1080, lot 14-
522 3rd Street – Park Slope Historic District
A Tudor style rowhouse designed by Slee and Bryson and built in 1929. Application is to construct a rear yard addition.
HDC finds the proposed rear yard addition to simply be too large. Although zoning allows community facilities to build out the full lot, “as of right” zoning fortunately does not exist within historic districts and each proposal must be judged on its own merits within the context of its historic surroundings. Furthermore, we are uncomfortable with the allowance of building this much room for what might very well be an ephemeral usage. We have seen instances in other neighborhoods where allowances were made for doctors’ offices which eventually became extraordinarily generous kitchens and dining rooms. Therefore, we ask that the addition extend only as far as the rather large addition at the neighboring 524 3rd Street. To decrease the bunker feel of the addition, we also recommend that real brick be used instead of painted concrete blocks.
LPC determination: approved with modifications
Item 10
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN
123896- Block 1143, lot 59-
580 Carlton Avenue – Prospect Heights Historic District
An Italianate style wood frame house built c. prior to 1855 with later additions. Application it to construct a rear yard addition, reconstruct the facades; and alter the front door and stoop.
While it is nice to see someone taking on the challenge of bringing this wood frame house built before 1855 back to life, HDC has concerns about the rear yard addition. No measurements were included in the presentation seen at public review on Friday, but the two story, full width addition appears to approach the same foot print as the existing house. The apparent size of the addition is exacerbated by the solid parapet, and HDC recommends that a rail be considered instead. More information is needed though to know how the proposed compares to neighbors and the garden core and determine what the addition’s impact will be.
LPC determination: approved
Item 12
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
113474- Block 178, lot 21-
1 White Street – TriBeCa East Historic District
A Federal style building built in 1807 and altered with the addition of a 4th floor in 1857. Application is to construct a rooftop addition.
HDC finds that the proposed rooftop addition would be too visible on this lovely little corner building at 1 White Street. The addition’s very residential design and fenestration, rather than something more utilitarian looking, says “penthouse” more than rooftop accretion. We ask that a smaller addition more in keeping with the usual pieces of TriBeCa’s roofscapes be designed instead.
LPC determination: denied
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
121307- Block 484, lot 31-
448-452 Broome Street aka 52 Mercer Street – SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District
A Renaissance style warehouse building designed by John T. Williams and built in 1894-95; and a store and loft building with French Renaissance style details designed by Vaux & Withers Co. and built in 1871-72. Application is to replace sidewalk vault lights.This historic district has a unique moniker that includes the material that gives it so much character, the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. The cast iron that makes the neighborhood so special is not limited to building facades, it is also found in its vault lights, a special feature the commission regularly requires to be restored or replaced in kind. HDC asks that the same be required here – repair what can be repaired, consider setting in concrete if necessary, or install new vault lights, readily available from supplier like Circle Redmont. Whatever structural work is needed, it should be handled so as not to destroy historic fabric or character.LPC determination: approved with modifications
Item 20
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
122266- Block 633, lot 37-
703-707 Washington Street aka 145 Perry – Greenwich Village Historic District
A two-story stucco building, used as a freight loading station since 1938. Application is to demolish the building and construct four new buildings.
While HDC appreciates the more traditional design approach to new construction taken in this application, we do have some concern that in this case it lends a false impression of the history of this site.
Industrial or commercial looking new structures built as residences are fitting for areas like SoHo or the TriBeCa’s where the historic buildings are not overwhelmingly residential in character. In an area though like Greenwich Village that does not necessarily call out for one building type over another, a new structure that reflects its use is more appropriate. The very handsome design of the proposed corner building strongly says industrial or instutional while it is constructed for residential use. If a new residence was proposed to look like a church on a site that never had a religious structure, would the commission find it appropriate? The brick veneer of Flemish bond, a pattern that would not have been used in a later 19th-century structure that the proposed seeks to mimic, adds another layer to this faux history.
Similarly, the storefront-like character of the other mid-block buildings contradicts their residential nature. Although the same number of floors as the neighboring 1871 brick apartment buildings, the proposed buildings floor-to- floor heights reflected in the very large window openings creates the sense of a supersized version of the historic structures. We ask that they be brought down and adjusted a little to be more contextual. HDC also finds the proposed cornice to be little more than a nod. A more detailed, if not deeper cornice, with more shadow would make for a stronger finish to the new buildings. Being true to itself while fitting in with the visual context of the neighboring buildings is a tough balance for a new building, but it is one that needs to be found.
This stretch of Washington Street is the beginning of a more mixed area of industrial and residential structures compared to residential and commercial ones to the east, but the Greenwich Village Historic District designation report does point out that the existing structure at 703-707 Washington Street replaced a row of four- and five-story houses. So from both the standpoint of the corner’s history and the planned future use, residentially designed structures would make more sense here.
LPC determination: no action
Item 25
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
117548- Block 1120, lot 23-
1 West 67th Street – Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District
A neo-Gothic style studio building designed by George M. Pollard and built in 1915-18. Application is to alter a rear parapet.
The rear façade of the Hotel des Artistes is readily visible, making itself part of the West 68th Street’s streetscape almost like a primary façade. The proposed glass will have an impact as it will never truly be transparent. When clean it will be reflective, and when dirty, the accumulation will be noticeable. While not original material, a brick parapet is part of the historic design, and HDC asks instead that the perfectly usable existing parapet be retained or that a parapet of the original height with a setback rail be investigated.
LPC determination: approved with modifications
Item 28
CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
122690- Block 1386, lot 44-
40 East 72nd Street – Upper East Side Historic District
A pair of rowhouses built in 1881 and remodeled as a neo-Classical style apartment building by Schwartz & Gross in 1928. Application is to construct a 10-story addition.
HDC is opposed to this proposal to add ten stories to a five-story landmarked building. It clearly illustrates the unfortunate assumption that any smaller building is ripe to be the base of something much taller, even landmarked ones.
Schwartz & Gross’s 1928 combination and remodelling of a pair of 1881 rowhouses would certainly qualify as one of those grand historic alterations that adds to the feeling of the Upper East Side Historic District, deserving of protection. Its height may be on the small size, but it is that variation of height that gives character to many of the district’s blocks. The proposed ten-floor addition ignores the fact that this is a completed, very carefully planned neo-Classical design. A taller building would require a different treatment of the first three of four floors if the idea is to bring the whole plan together and match the adjacent buildings.
While the applicant may argue that the addition is different enough to look like a separate structure behind the Schwartz & Gross apartment building, the similar fenestration and choice of material actually lend a sense of connection. The bay windows and large top floor arched window are too designed to be a rear façade, taking away the impression of the back of a building along 71st Street. New York City’s architecture is full of setbacks, and a passerby is most likely to recognize this as such and to read it as an unfortunate piece of an otherwise handsome, well proportioned building.
So to answer the earlier posed question – how do you sensitively add ten stories to a five-story building in an historic district? You simply don’t.
LPC determination: denied