Electric power plant proposed for site where City seeks to build 28-acre park as part of its Greenpoint- Williamsburg rezoning. On April 12, 2006, the Public Service Commission recommended denial of the second application of TransGas Energy Systems, LLC to construct an eight-acre electric power plant at 1 North 12th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on a site that the City plans to condemn for a new 28-acre waterfront park.
After it spent $1.5 million on … <Read More>
Owner demolished projecting bay and built sun deck. Without permits, George Aigen demolished a projecting bay on his home at 58 Midwood Street and built a deck in its place. Aigen’s house was built in 1898 and is part of a string of Romanesque Revival/neo-Renaissance style rowhouses within the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens Historic District.
After Landmarks issued a warning letter for the demolition, deck construction and additional demolition of a rear shed, Aigen applied to legalize … <Read More>
New York’s oldest known piano factory begins landmarking process. On April 11, 2006, Landmarks held a public hearing on the Estey Piano Factory, located at 112 Lincoln Avenue in the Mott Haven area of the Bronx. The factory was built between 1885 and 1886 by the firm of A. D. Ogden and Sons. An addition was added in 1890, and further additions were built between 1895 and 1919. Though not as renowned as Astoria … <Read More>
Overly visible addition reduced by one story to obtain approval. Paul Pariser, of Taconic Investment Partners LLC, sought Landmarks approval to revamp 401 West 14th Street, the prominent building on the northwest corner of West 14th Street and Ninth Avenue currently occupied by the Western Beef market. Taconic planned to renovate the three-story, 1923 Arts and Crafts-style building for high-end retail use after Western Beef vacates. Taconic submitted a design by Cook + Fox to … <Read More>
Buildings with distinctive decorative terra cotta landmarked. On April 18, 2006, Landmarks approved 2 Park Avenue and the Stewart & Company Building, at 404 Fifth Avenue, as City landmarks. 2 Park Avenue, designed by Ely Jacques Kahn and built between 1926-28, is a significant example of Art Deco architecture. One of the first Americans to adopt the emergent European Art Deco style, Kahn’s work is characterized by interweaving forms and geometric masses. In 2 Park, … <Read More>
Owner claims house not unique and had been altered. On April 18, 2006, Landmarks held a hearing on the proposed designation of the Mark W. Allen house in Staten Island. The house exemplifies craftsman-style architecture, an indigenous American style that originated in California and became popular throughout the United States following World War I. The Allen house, one of very few craftsman bungalows built in Staten Island, is typified by its overhanging eaves, asymmetrical roof … <Read More>