Owner opposed, claiming that building was a “knock off” of famous cast-iron pioneer. Landmarks held a public hearing on the proposed designation of 63 Nassau Street, a cast-iron building in lower Manhattan that Landmarks’ research staff attributed to the pioneer of castiron construction, James Bogardis. The building, thought to be constructed in 1860, contains carved medallions of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin that are similar to those on the Bogardis building at 85 Leonard Street, a designated landmark. The staff emphasized that Margot Gayle, credited with saving SoHo’s cast-iron architecture due to her tireless advocacy for the buildings’ preservation, attributed the building to Bogardis in her book on his work and castiron construction.

The owner’s attorney, Robert A. Shankill, in opposition, speculated that the building was a “knock off” of a Bogardis building and not his original work. Comparing it to buying a fake Gucci bag on the streets of lower Manhattan, Shankill pointed out that the building had sat on Landmarks’ consideration list for over 40 years, “so obviously, you thought that it was not number one.” Shankill described its top floors as vacant and unsafe.

Margot Gayle appeared at the hearing to underscore the importance of the designation. Gayle’s comments focused on her research on Bogardis buildings in New York and Philadelphia. Several other preservationists appeared in support of the designation; all echoed that Gayle’s stamp of authenticity should “not be taken lightly.” Fran Eberhart emphasized that the building was very rare since few cast-iron buildings remained in Manhattan’s financial district.

Landmarks Chair Robert B. Tierney closed the public comments, noting that Landmarks was honored by Gayle’s attendance.

LPC: 63 Nassau Street Building, 63 Nassau Street (LP-2213) (Nov. 14, 2006).

Luxury apartments approved once developer reduced the height and size. Red Brick Canal LLC sought approval to construct an 11-story, 25,025-square-foot residential and commercial building at 482 Greenwich Street, a lot with frontage along Greenwich and Canal Streets at the border of Tribeca and SoHo in Manhattan. The project site, a 3,136-square-foot, trapezoidshaped lot located in a commercial zone (C6-2A), currently contains an unused gas station which will be demolished. The City had rezoned the lot from manufacturing (M1-6) in 2003 as part of the Hudson Square rezoning.

Red Brick’s project failed to comply with floor area, height, yard, lot coverage, curb cut and garage size requirements, necessitating variances. Red Brick, represented by Deirdre Carson, argued that the lot’s small size, its unconventional shape, its location within a flood plain, and the need to remediate the soil made an as-of-right project infeasible. Red Brick added that, due to the odd shape of the lot, the units would have greater wall space than floor space, which would diminish the units’ value. (more…)

Amended text needed for 85-unit apartment building, 150-space garage to be built on SoHo parking lot. United American Land, LLC applied for a text amendment and three special permits to allow a 137,000-square-foot, mixed-use development on a lot at 311 West Broadway within Manhattan’s SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. The 28,200-square-foot site currently contains a 206-space parking lot and a two-story building.

Before applying to City Planning, United sought Landmarks approval. Landmarks suggested that United eliminate one penthouse completely from the design and setback a second proposed penthouse to avoid a “wedding cake” appearance, 2 CityLand 43 (April 15, 2005), so United redesigned the building to obtain the same amount of floor area. United’s second proposal sought to build 85 residential units in two wings separated by a courtyard and a 150-space public parking garage below ground. The nine-story wing on West Broadway would include local retail and service shops on the ground floor with residential units above. The eight-story wing on Wooster Street would be purely residential. The new design, approved by Landmarks, required a text amendment. (more…)

Owner of 599 Broadway applied to Landmarks for permission to remove three-dimensional structure on wall. In 1973, a three-dimensional structure created by artist Forrest Myers was bolted to outside support braces on the northern wall of 599 Broadway at the intersection of Houston and Broadway, within the newly designated SoHo-Cast Iron Historical District, at the intersection of Houston and Broadway. In 1997, after an engineer recommended that the northern wall’s braces, upon which the artwork was bolted, be internalized, the owner applied to the Landmarks Preservation Commission for a certificate of appropriateness to remove the artwork permanently.

In October 2000, following public testimony from the owner, the owner’s engineer, Forrest Myers, the Director of the Museum of Modern Art PS1, and the art critic Eleanor Hartley, Landmarks unanimously denied the application. Landmarks found that the structure was a highly acclaimed work of art regarded as the gateway to SoHo, and that its removal would adversely change the District’s historic character. The decision noted that Forrest Myers was one of the pioneer artists that had transformed SoHo into a recognized center of contemporary art. (more…)