Site currently a parking lot and one-story structure. Roseland Property Company, developers of a through lot between West 21st and West 22nd Streets within the Ladies’ Mile Historic District, received a permit to construct a residential building with a 15-story front at 35-41 West 21st Street and a smaller eight-story front at 38 West 22nd Street. The West 21st Street side will feature a stone, brick, and metal facade with storefront windows and doors at the ground level, while the West 22nd Street facade will feature metal windows framed by masonry piers and a glass and metal central bay. The building will be built on a lot currently occupied by two parking lots and a one-story commercial building, which will be demolished.

Jack Taylor from the Drive to Protect the Ladies’ Mile District opposed the project, arguing that aspects of the building design did not fit with the character of the neighborhood. Taylor further expressed the concerns of some area residents that the project may eliminate fire escape routes for adjacent buildings and block existing adjacent lot-line windows.

In a unanimous vote, Landmarks approved the project, noting that the one-story building to be demolished did not possess significant architectural or historical features. Landmarks noted that the buildings in these two blocks of the Ladies’ Mile Historic District are composed primarily of historic store and loft buildings, and that the new building will integrate successfully into both streetscapes. The height of the proposed building relates to the height of the adjacent buildings, and the set-back for the one-story penthouse will maintain the continuity of the street wall.

LPC: 35 West 21st Street (COFA# 07- 0914) (Aug. 17, 2006) (Jed Candreva, Kramer Levin LLP, for Roseland Property). CITYADMIN