Council cited economic and infrastructure improvements. On October 13, 2004,’ the Council approved the development of a 346,000 sq.ft. Ikea furniture store on the 22-acre waterfront of Red Hook, Brooklyn, by a vote of 50 to 1. The development includes a 6.3-acre esplanade/bikeway and an additional 70,000 sq.ft. of restaurant and retail space. Ikea forecasts that the project will create 500-600 jobs and potential employment for Red Hook residents.

Red Hook Council Member Sara Gonzalez spearheaded the Council’s effort to pass the resolution, arguing that Ikea will revitalize the community and spur economic growth. Council Member Charles Barron, representing a neighboring Brooklyn district, was the only member to vote in opposition to the project, stating that Ikea would not solve the community’s problems because there were no guarantees that it would significantly increase employment or share profits with the community. (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…)

Owner, without a permit, had installed a row of planters and pergola on mansard roof. 34 West 74th Street is located in the Central Park West Historic District and the Central Park West-West 73rd-74th Street Historic District. The structure is one of a row of eighteen Georgian Revival style rowhouses with Beaux-Arts style elements, designed by Percy Griffin and built in 1902. In 2002, after the Landmarks Preservation Commission issued a notice of violation to 34 West 74th Street for installing a row of planters and a pergola on the roof without a permit, the items were removed and Landmarks rescinded the warning. In 2004, the building owners applied to Landmarks for a permit to re-install both. On September 7, 2004, Landmarks granted the permit to re-install the wood pergola, but denied the application to re-install the planters.

Landmarks found that the natural-finish wood pergola, which would be secured to a chimney on the eastern side of the roof, would not detract from the appearance of the building, its mansard roof, or the row of houses on the block. The pergola, an arbor or trellis framework that supports climbing plants, is a feature often seen on rooftops within the two Historic Districts. The row of planters extending the full length of the building, however, significantly changed the appearance of the mansard roof. Landmarks found it stood out against the skyline in a way that drew undue attention. (more…)

Permit will remove inappropriate changes made to Columbus Circle Landmark. On September 1, 2004, the Landmarks Preservation Commission issued a master plan permit for the individual landmark, 240 Central Park South Apartments, located on an entire block along Broadway and Columbus Circle between West 58th and West 59th Streets. Central Park South Associates LLC, the owner, sought the master plan to allow prospective changes to the residential windows, courtyards, and storefronts.

Landmarks approved, finding the permit an important step towards the elimination of inappropriate changes made prior to the buildings’ landmark designation. The permit allows future changes, without additional hearings, so long as the work complies with several montages and renderings submitted and approved by Landmarks. (more…)

Comedy club to move into converted slaughterhouse. The Board of Standards & Appeals approved a use variance application allowing a comedy club to move into 351 West 14th Street at the intersection of Hudson Street in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. Currently, a four-story, 24- unit apartment building with vacant street retail space occupies the site. The comedy club will move into the vacant 7,915-square-foot retail space and increase its mezzanine by 1,345 sq.ft.

The project site, a lot of 206 feet in depth, is split between two different zoning districts, one residential and one commercial. The proposed comedy club (an eating and drinking establishment) could locate legally in the front 103 feet of the building, which is commercially zoned, but would be an illegal use in the rear 47 ft. of the building, zoned R8B, hence the need for the variance. (more…)