Citywide rule change would streamline review process for changes to building storefronts under Landmarks’ jurisdiction. On February 23, 2012, Landmarks published in the City Record a proposed amendment to the City rules that would streamline the review process for proposed alterations to the storefronts of land-marked buildings. Currently the majority of applications for changes to storefronts need to be reviewed by Landmarks’ commissioners. The Citywide rule change would permit Landmarks’ staff to approve applications for alterations to a building’s storefront if the changes are based on historic prototypes within the specific historic district for buildings of similar age, type, and style. The new rules would also permit staff-level approval for security gates, and HVAC equipment.

The proposal follows the City Council’s review of Landmarks’ designation of the Borough Hall Historic District. Landmarks agreed during the hearing to expedite the creation of the proposed rule change. 9 City- Land 1 (Feb. 15, 2012). Landmarks calendared the rule change on February 7, 2012, and will hold a hearing on the change on March 27, 2012.

City Record, Feb. 23, 2012 at 395.

Landmarks last raised fees for new building and alteration applications in 2009. On March 8, 2011, Landmarks approved an increase in permit fees for new buildings and alterations. Landmarks published the rule in the City Record on December 16, 2010, and January 27, 2011. Landmarks last approved a fee increase in September 2009. 6 CityLand 125 (Sept. 15, 2009).

The change increases fees for permits related to new one- to three-family dwellings from ten to fifteen cents per square foot. For all other new buildings, fees increase to from twenty to 25 cents per square foot. For all building types the fees will not be less than $100 per structure. A flat fee for building alterations costing up to $25,000 would rise from $50 to $95. Landmarks increased an incremental fee for each additional $1,000 spent on alterations above $25,000 from four to five dollars. As examples, the fee for a proposed $15,000 storefront alteration would be $95, while the fee for a proposed $300,000 rooftop addition will rise from $1,150 to $1,470. (more…)

Rule amendment would expand staff-level approval authority for some types of window and sign alterations. On March 1, 2011, Landmarks held a public hearing on proposed amendments to the rules pertaining to construction work on properties under Landmarks’ jurisdiction. Landmarks proposed the changes to streamline the application review process, codify current practices and policies, and address inconsistencies. Chair Robert B. Tierney stated that the proposal was partially intended to remove from the calendar issues that have consistently been decided based on similar circumstances and to make the City’s preservation law as “simple [and] transparent as possible.

The rules include permitting staff-level approval of modifications to certain visible windows, more staff-level approval of storefront signage, and expedited review of cellar and basement work provided it would not involve excavation. The new rules would no longer allow staff-level approval of modifications to non-visible windows on the top floors of rowhouses, keeping with comments from Commissioners regarding the significance of historic rowhouses. The changes would require staff to consider applications for rear or roof additions in the context of aggregate enlargements to the buildings, including approved and grandfathered additions. The definition of mechanical equipment would be broadened to include solar panels, wind turbines, and micro turbines, in order to ease the approval of green technologies. (more…)

Coney Island Theater

Interwar buildings recall Coney Island’s era as a family-friendly destination. Landmarks unanimously designated the Coney Island Theater at 1301 Surf Avenue and the Childs Restaurant Building at 1208 Surf Avenue as individual City landmarks. Landmarks held public hearings on both buildings in March 2010, and designated the Coney Island Theater on December 14, 2010 and the Childs Restaurant Building on January 11, 2011. Both buildings are within the area recently rezoned as part of the City’s Coney Island redevelopment plan. 6 CityLand 104 (Aug. 15, 2009).

The firm of Reilly & Hall built the Coney Island Theater in 1925. The seven-story neo-Renaissance Revival building was leased to Loew’s theater chain, which retained control of the theater until 1964. Later occupants included a live theatre, a burlesque revue, a gay bar, and a bingo hall. The building is currently vacant. According to Landmarks, the theater’s elegant design was meant to convey legitimacy to a place that was transforming from a “seedy” area into a wholesome, family-oriented destination. (more…)

Supporters claimed that buildings needed protection after City approved Jamaica rezoning in 2007. On October 26, 2010, Landmarks designated the Jamaica Savings Bank and the Queens General Courthouse as individual landmarks. Both buildings were subjects of public hearings on February 9, 2010, and received broad support from the community and preservationists, who argued that the area’s historic buildings needed protection after the City rezoned the area in 2007.

Constructed in 1939, the onestory Moderne-style Jamaica Savings Bank at 146-21 Jamaica Avenue features limestone cladding and a polished granite base. The Morrell Smith-designed building retains much of its original ornamentation, including decorative entablature bands and an eagle above the castbronze entrance doors. At the hearing, representatives of the building’s owner, Capital One, opposed designation. Capitol One’s attorney, Thomas Wassel, conceded that the bank was “a beautiful building,” but stated that landmarking would be “an infringement, and an inconvenience at best” on the future operations of the bank. The Historic District Council’s Ed Kirkland commended Landmarks for surveying the neighborhood’s historic resources following the 2007 “upzoning.” (more…)