Owners will demolish illegal addition, restore original conditions, and build a smaller addition. On March 20, 2012 after several years of back and forth with the building owners, Landmarks approved a proposal to build a new addition on a secondary structure at 12-14 West 68th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The proposal includes the demolition of an illegal, fifth-floor addition built by the former owner of the building … <Read More>
Search Results for: Upper West Side, Manhattan
Metropolitan Museum’s plaza renovation approved
- Metropolitan Museum of Art’s plaza renovations. Image: Courtesy of OLIN
Opponents were concerned about how changes to plaza would impact views of the museum. On February 21, 2012, Landmarks issued a favorable advisory report on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s proposal to redesign its plaza along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. The museum is an individual City landmark, while the plaza is considered part of Central Park, which is a scenic landmark. … <Read More>
Replica of illegally removed balcony approved
Condo board demolished eleventh-floor balcony during facade restoration without Landmarks’ approval. On June 15, 2010, Landmarks approved a proposal to reconstruct an illegally demolished balcony on a twelve-story condominium at 105 West 72nd Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The condominium board removed the eleventh-floor balcony of the building in 1992 without Landmarks’ approval. In 2004, Landmarks denied the board’s application to legalize the demolition. Four years later, the board filed … <Read More>
Landmarks refuses to legalize unauthorized addition
New owners proposed to modify fifth-floor addition previously denied by Landmarks. On March 16, 2010, Landmarks voted to deny a proposal to modify and legalize a one-story rooftop addition built without Landmarks’ approval at 12-14 West 68th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The building’s previous owners, Thomas Haines and Polly Cleveland, built the 506 square-foot, fifth-floor addition on top of a 1925-era studio building added to the rear of a … <Read More>
Rowhouse conversion for preschool approved
Chabad of the West Side will combine two residential rowhouses to create religious preschool. On September 22, Landmarks unanimously approved an amended proposal by Chabad of the West Side to convert two John Duncan-designed rowhouses into a preschool at 43 and 45 West 86th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic. Chabad’s original proposal included demolishing the interiors, redesigning the rear facades using glass and masonry, altering the floor plates, and adding a … <Read More>
Conversions of rowhouses criticized
Commissioners concerned that proposal would destroy too many original structures. On July 21, 2009, Landmarks met for a second time to discuss Chabad of the West Side’s proposal to convert into a religious preschool two rowhouses located at 43 and 45 West 86th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The rowhouses were built in the 1890s and designed by architect John Duncan.
A hearing on May 19 revealed sharp divisions between … <Read More>