One-story addition was visible from adjacent street. In 2002, the owners of 363-65 Greenwich Street, an 1866 Italianate loft in Manhattan’s Tribeca West Historic District, sought approval to add a one-story rooftop addition. Landmarks’ staff approved without a hearing after concluding that the addition would not be visible from any public street. When construction was completed, the owners realized that the addition was visible along Harrison Street and consequently the staff-level approval was flawed. The owners then sought a second approval.

At the hearing, Commissioner Joan Gerner praised the owners’ “refreshing honesty” in coming forward with the second application. Landmarks approved, finding that the constructed addition was barely visible and did not detract from the historic district.

Changes to St. Regis Hotel approved. DeBeers, after its original plan was denied in November 2004, sought approval of a second, less elaborate proposal to alter a portion of the facade of the landmarked St. Regis Hotel for its retail space along Fifth Avenue. The second application sought to remove the modern storefront, replacing it with large display windows with maroon framing and installing etched glass panels directly behind the display windows. Six maroon awnings, metal signage and pin-mounted lettering were also proposed. The more elaborate original proposal would have covered the masonry and replaced the window’s transparent glass with dark aubergine glass. See 1 CityLand 47 (December 2004).

Landmarks approved the second proposal, finding that the translucent and etched glass maintained the needed transparency in the windows, the lettering was appropriate and the awnings were reminiscent of retractable awnings found on buildings of the same style and age as the St. Regis Hotel.

Beaver Building gets new 16th-story addition and significant renovations. Richard Fownes of Cocoa Partners, LP gained approval to renovate the Beaver Building, an individual landmark that housed the N.Y. Cocoa Exchange from 1931-1972. Located on a narrow lot at the junction of Beaver and Pearl Streets, the Beaver Building is flatiron- shaped, steel-framed and has a tripartite design, prevalent in early New York skyscrapers, with three sections: a vertically-aligned stone base, a horizontal-patterned brick center and an ornate terracotta top. Constructed in 1903, the building was designated a landmark in 1996.

As part of the planned conversion to housing, the owner applied to remove the existing metal infill; create an entrance on Pearl Street; add entrance canopies, new lighting and sconces with a building motif; and construct a stucco rooftop addition to contain a gym. The addition would be partially visible from Pearl, Beaver, Hanover and Water Streets.

Owner gets 2 approvals: 4-story cast-stone/brick building to replace existing garage; 1910 mansion to be expanded. The 1 Montgomery Place Association, the owner of two lots within the Park Slope Historic District, applied for permission to alter the existing 1910 neo-Federal-style mansion at 1 Montgomery Place and, immediately adjacent at 125 8th Avenue, to demolish a one-story garage and build a new four-story building.

BKSK Architects designed a cast-stone and brick four-story structure to replace the existing garage. The design included a caststone bay extending from the first to the second floor; brick cladding on the second and third floors; and the repetition of cast-stone cladding and a prominent grey cornice on the top story. Metal balconies would ornament the second and third stories. For 1 Montgomery Place, BKSK presented a proposal for a copper-topped, one-story addition on the roof and a new area-way, ADA-ramp access and landscaping along 8th Avenue.

At the initial hearing, Landmarks expressed concerns over the height and location of the rooftop addition at 1 Montgomery Place, commenting that it was too visible from adjacent streets. BKSK submitted a revised proposal that reduced the height by 80 ft. and increased the setback from the existing wall from 5’6″ to 13’4″.

Landmarked bank to be converted to market. On February 15, 2005, Landmarks unanimously approved the adaptive reuse of the New York Savings Bank, located at West 14th Street and Eighth Avenue, by Balducci’s, a high-end food market that traces its roots to a Greenwich Village fruit and vegetable stand. Constructed in 1896, the marble-facade Classical Revival-styled bank was designated an individual and an interior landmark in 1988. In 1994, it was converted to a large carpet store that remained at the site until December 2004.

Balducci’s proposed to alter the bank’s exterior doors, create grade-level entry doors along the Eighth Avenue side and add handicap access. An interior staircase and vestibule wall, added in 1952, would be removed to restore the interior more closely to its original appearance. No new architectural elements would be introduced into the interior and none of the food display cases or racks would be secured to the interior marble.

Queens school sought to build additional floors and play area to accommodate increased enrollment. The Jewish Center of Torath Emeth sought a variance for a proposed expansion of Yeshiva Ketana of Queens, a boys school located at 78- 15 Parsons Boulevard in a R3-2 zoning district of Kew Garden Hills. The lot contains a two-story 21,142 sq.ft. school and a one-story synagogue. The expansion included an 8,500 sq.ft. two-story addition to house additional classrooms, offices, resource rooms and a 2,800 sq.ft. rooftop play area, and would be in excess of both FAR and front wall restrictions. Additionally, the plans called for an elevator to be sited outside the building structure in violation of front yard restrictions.

Torath Emeth argued that the current building was not capable of accommodating a potential increase of 50 students, and the additional play area was required to meet the Department of Education playarea- per-child standards. The local Civic Association objected to the project, citing parking concerns. Torath Emeth responded that most of the students live within a onemile walk of the school. It also submitted a letter from DOT indicating that “No Parking School Days” signs will be installed on 78th Avenue.