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, … <Read More>
Testimony taken on three West Village buildings
Wide support voiced for landmarking of three 19th century Far West Village buildings. On November 14, 2006, Landmarks held hearings on the possible designations of 159 Charles Street, the Keller Hotel, and the Edwin B. Brooks House, all located in the Far West Village.
The merchant Henry Wyckoff built the Greek Revival row house at 159 Charles Street in 1838 on the site of the former Newgate Prison. Wyckoff built eight houses in the area, … <Read More>
Board of Estimate vote revisited 16 years later
Landmarks re-designates two City and Suburban Homes buildings carved out from 1990 designation. On November 21, 2006, Landmarks ended the controversial debate over the landmark status of the City and Suburban Homes Company’s First Avenue Estate in Lenox Hill by voting unanimously to amend its landmark status. In 1990, Landmarks unanimously designated all 15 buildings in the First Avenue Estate, a development constructed between 1898 and 1915 over the entire block bounded by East 64th … <Read More>
Landmarks designates one of two West Side stables
Failure to designate stable allows Related Companies’ apartment project to be constructed on site. On November 14, 2006, Landmarks designated only the New York Cab Company Stable at 318 Amsterdam Avenue, but declined to landmark the Dakota Stables at 348 Amsterdam Avenue, now slated for demolition and replacement by the Related Companies with a … <Read More>
Special permit extended for Chelsea Piers gym
Sports Center received 10-year extension; filed house ruled as-of-right. In 1995, Chelsea Piers, L.P., owner and developer of Chelsea Piers at Piers 59-62 between West 17th and West 23rd Streets in Manhattan, received a special permit from BSA to operate a gym and sports facility on an 181,781-square-foot portion of Pier 60 that eventually became the Chelsea Piers Sports Center and Fieldhouse. The Sports Center contains an 115,960-square-foot health club with a pool and facilities … <Read More>
Odd lot shape and street frontage justified variance
Development site is former Queens cemetery. Queens developer, AMF Machine Corporation, applied to BSA to construct a 201,633-squarefoot, 96-foot tall mixed-use building with 174 residential units in Corona, Queens. The proposed structure exceeded height limits by 46 feet and floor area limits by over 77,550 sq.ft. The development site, an oddly shaped, 14-sided, 62,041- square-foot lot, had street frontage along Corona Avenue and 90th Street, but a majority of the lot’s area stretched behind existing … <Read More>