After two hearings, 1930-built Horn and Hardart Automat finally designated. On January 30, 2007, Landmarks unanimously approved the designation of 2710 Broadway, one of the last remaining structures in the city to once house a Horn and Hardart Automat. Constructed in 1930 by the architectural firm E.P. Platt and Brothers, the Art-Deco style building features glazed terra cotta ornamentation of contrasting colors in stylized floral motifs that remain remarkably intact.

The building’s owner, Norma Teitler, adamantly opposed landmarking, believing it would devalue the property she held for over 20 years. In two hearings, preservationist groups called attention to the well-preserved structure and ornamentation, while community residents and others evoked the memories and cultural significance of the automats. 3 CityLand 94 (July 15, 2006). (more…)

Landmark status of SI lot officially revoked. On December 21, 2006, Landmarks rescinded the designation of the now vacant lot at 66 Lafayette Avenue in New Brighton, Staten Island, where the New Brighton Village Hall once stood, and after years of neglect, faced demolition.

Landmarks Chair Robert Tierney commenced the hearing with a brief recital of the hall’s history. Landmarks designated the 1871- built hall in 1965. After several failed incarnations, including a doctor’s office, Retrovest Associates purchased the hall in 1985, received Landmarks permits to renovate, but never started the work. The building deteriorated. (more…)

Clinton Hill villa-style mansion designated. With a demolition permit application pending, Landmarks designated the Italianate-style home at 70 Lefferts Place in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill, one of the last free-standing individual homes remaining from the area’s past as a suburban enclave. Built in 1854 for the merchant James W. Elwell, the International Peace Mission Movement and its leader Father Divine, who claimed to be God incarnate, purchased the home in 1931 and lived communally in it for several years where they offered free meals to the public.

At the public hearing on designation, Angel Lee, who lived in the house with Father Divine’s group, reminisced about the 1940s when lines for banquets snaked around the block, and “even if they had no money, no one went hungry.” Andrew Dolkart, Columbia University architectural historian, called the Elwell House “an important part of Brooklyn’s history,” and Simeon Bankoff of the Historic Districts Council referred to the vote by Landmarks as a “life or death decision for this building.” A representative of Council Member Letitia James chastised Landmarks, saying it “seems to only put out fires, not prevent them.” (more…)

Community group claimed landmarking would hinder responsible development plans. On January 16, 2007, Landmarks held a hearing on the Renaissance Ballroom and Casino, comprised of two buildings at Adam Clayton Jr. Boulevard and West 137th Street in Harlem. “The Rennie,” as it was known, was designed by architect Harry Creighton Ingalls and built in stages between 1920 and 1923. One of the first entertainment complexes in Harlem, and one of the largest African-American owned enterprises in the city, the Renaissance hosted theater, sports, and private events. Prominent artists like W.E.B. DuBois and Langston Hughes graced its stage, as did the Harlem Rens, a team in the basketball equivalent to baseball’s Negro league. Inspired by Islamic architecture, the Renaissance features decorative brickwork modeled on North African tile murals and terra cotta ornamentation. The building currently lies in a state of extreme disrepair, with trees growing out of the partially caved-in roof.

The Abyssinian Development Corporation, a non-profit community development organization, owns the Renaissance. Chaired by Calvin Butts, pastor of the nearby Abyssinian Baptist Church, the development corporation hopes to transform the building into a cultural and commercial center designed by architect Max Bond. Included in the project would be a 17-story residential tower containing affordable and market-rate housing. Abyssinian would demolish the adjacent, non-historic YMCA building to open views of the Church’s spire and would build a glass arcade to shelter parishioners before and after services. (more…)

Developer invited to submit another design. Following a lengthy presentation by real estate developer Aby Rosen’s team, Landmarks indicated its clear unwillingness to approve the 26-story tower addition proposed to top the Parke-Bernet building at 980 Madison Avenue within the Upper East Side Historic District.

The project architect Lord Norman Foster started the January 16th presentation with a photograph of the original 1949 Parke-Bernet building and its appearance now, after a 1950s alteration added another full-block story. Foster argued that the heavy, horizontal addition detracted from the original building, leading to the “paradox,” that, as Foster referred to it, a vertical contrast, or tower, would best preserve the design intactness of the original building. (more…)