Plan calls for a 176-foot tower, an expanded entry along Madison and a two story rooftop addition to the existing building. On May 24, 2005, Landmarks approved a modified plan for the expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art along Madison Avenue and East 74th Street within the Upper East Side Historic District.

The original expansion plans designed by Renzo Piano included a two-story addition to the Whitney’s existing home, the 1964 Marcel Breuer & Associates building, as well as an expanded entry along Madison Avenue and a new 176- foot tower set back 30 feet from Madison Avenue and 17 feet from East 74th Street. For the expanded entry, the plans called for the complete demolition of two brownstones at 941 and 943 Madison Avenue, located directly south of the existing museum entrance. For the expansion and the 17-story tower, a row of four brownstones, 933 – 939 Madison Avenue, would retain only the front facades, which the Whitney planned to restore, and the remainder would be gutted. (read more…)

Landmarks continued public hearing at owner’s request. On April 21, 2005 Landmarks held a second public hearing on the proposed designation of the Windemere Apartments located at 400-406 West 57th Street and Ninth Avenue in Manhattan. Constructed in 1881 and considered the “Gateway to Hell’s Kitchen” separating Clinton from the Upper West Side, the Windemere is one of only two remaining large, early apartment buildings in the area. Theophilus Smith designed each building of the three-building complex with varying widths, distinctive cornices, and intricate brick texturing and detailing, epitomizing the large apartment house designs of the 1880s. The Windemere also served as the first residential apartment house for young women entering the workforce when Henry Sterling Goodale managed the apartments in the mid-1880s.

At the January 18, 2005 hearing, supporters included representatives of Council Member Gale A. Brewer and State Senator Thomas Duane, who called the Windemere “a beacon to Clinton.” At the second hearing, Shelly Friedman, the attorney for the current owner, Toa Construction, argued that the Windemere was unworthy of designation since it was not one grand building like the landmarked Osborne apartments, but three separate buildings. Architectural historian Andrew Alpern claimed that the three Windemere buildings were more like tenements with many units suffering from poor light and air ventilation, evidenced by the floor plans he submitted in 1989 when the building was first considered for designation. (read more…)

Home to nation’s leading architectural equipment manufacturer designated. On April 26, 2005, Landmarks designated the Keuffel & Esser Company Building at 127 Fulton Street in Lower Manhattan. Constructed in 1893 and designed by De Lemos & Cordes, the eight-story Renaissance Revival style through-block building stretching from Fulton to Ann Streets, consists of brick, ornamented terra-cotta and cast iron.

Landmarks unanimously voted to designate the building, which served for over seven decades as the general offices for the leading architectural drawing and drafting equipment supplier in the United States. Landmarks noted that the richly textured Keuffel & Esser Building is a unique example of the Renaissance Revival style and reflects the commercial explosion that took place in Manhattan during the late 1880s. (read more…)

Experts clash over rehabilitation cost for 1811-built Lower Manhattan townhouse. On April 21, 2005, Landmarks held a public hearing on the proposed designation of the four-story Robert Dickey House, a 41-foot wide Federalstyle townhouse located at 67 Greenwich Street and Trinity Place. The Dickey House, constructed in 1811, is the only surviving Federal-period, bowed-facade townhouse in Manhattan and one of only two intact townhouses of this period remaining south of Chambers Street.

The Schessel family, owners of the Dickey House for the past 45 years, had four experts testify at the hearing to the cost of rehabilitating the vacant 9,000-square-foot building, including structural and soil engineers, a development consultant and their land use counsel. Calling it “not bankable or investment worthy,” the owners’ experts asserted that reuse of the Dickey House would cost $6 million due to the building’s failing foundation, weak supporting soil, proximity to the Hudson River waterline and the need to completely gut the interior, which had been converted to a boardinghouse with, as one expert noted, “bathtubs in the kitchens.” (read more…)

Owner of Crawford Clothes Building justifies tower demolition based on contract to construct new building. On April 21, 2005, Landmarks held a second public hearing on the proposed designation of the Morris Lapidus designed Crawford Clothes Building, also known as the Paterson Silk Building, at East 14th Street and University Place. At the hearing, the owner responded to accusations that the building’s central glass tower was demolished to quash Landmarks interest in its designation. See 2 CityLand 42 (April 15, 2005).

The building owner, Lloyd Goldman, testified that he was in contract with the Claremont Group, as developers, to demolish the building, purchase adjacent air rights, and construct a 14-story residential building with ground floor retail space, which had already been leased to Bank of America. Claremont’s counsel, Robert Davis, explained that negotiations had commenced in March 2004 on the development agreement, and that the final sale agreement was signed in December of 2004. Claiming that over $11 million had already been spent or incurred, Davis stated that the construction loan closed on February 28, 2005 and further claimed Claremont first learned of Landmarks’ interest in the building in The New York Times’ March 9th article. Landmarks Chair Robert Tierney responded that a letter of interest was sent from Landmarks to the property owner on February 7, 2005. Davis asked that Landmarks consider the effect that a designation would have on adding uncertainty to the lending and development markets. (read more…)