Labor Day commemorates the history of the labor movement and the social and economic gains of workers in the United States.   New York City has been a location for many significant milestones of labor history.  We here at CityLand document the changes in New York City land use, but we would be remiss to ignore that behind every land use change is the hard labor of American workers, from demolition to construction and all points in between.  These men and women in the labor community have helped shaped New York’s majestic skyline.  In celebration of the holiday, we have created a list of historic places that have a connection to the labor community.  Some of these site have even been designated by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.  From all of us here at the Center for New York City Law, have a happy Labor Day!

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Rendering of proposed buildings on 51 and 53 West 19th Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. Image Credit: Smith-Miller and Hawkinson Architects.

While praising design of proposed new structure, commissioners generally agreed that demolition of contributing buildings in a historic district was inappropriate.  On April 1, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered a proposal to demolish two adjoining buildings in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District at 51 and 53 West 19th Street, and build a 14-story residential structure at the site. Both buildings, constructed for residential use in 1854, were significantly altered in the 1920s when the buildings were converted for commercial purposes. The applicants, Property 51, LLC, purchased the currently unoccupied buildings in 2013. (more…)

Rendering of proposed additions on 860 Broadway, Manhattan. Image credit: PKSB Architects.

Commissioner generally determined that an addition to an 1884 building was appropriate, but the design required refinement. On March 18, 2014, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered an application for a two-story addition to an 1884 building located at 860 Broadway in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District.  The building faces the northwest corner of Union Square Park. The structure’s Neo-Grec exterior was heavily altered in the 1920s, and much of its original ornament has been removed. The applicants proposed to make alterations to the ground-floor storefront and build a two-story rooftop addition. (more…)

Rendering of proposed building on 7 West 21st Street, New York, NY. Image Credit: MA.com.

Commissioners generally praised the concept and design, but asked for further refinements to be presented at a future meeting. On September 24, 2013, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a hearing on the proposed project for a vacant lot at 7 West 21st Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. The through-block site was cleared in the 1920s, and the applicants intend to build a 185-foot tall development with ground-floor retail and residential use of the upper stories.

At the public hearing, Kramer Levin attorney Valerie Campbell said that a special permit would be sought for the project to waive the 150 ft. setback requirement. Campbell noted that the plan did not possess any more floor area than was permitted as-of-right. Higgins & Quasebarth’s Ward Dennis stated that 20 percent of the housing in the project would be affordable, with the rest offered at market rates.

The plan was presented by Morris Adjmi, Principal of Morris Adjmi Architects. Adjmi said that the building’s two facades would be identifiable as the same building, but “tuned” to the different streets that each façade faces. Both facades would host an identifiable base, shaft and capital, with bay widths similar to those of the district’s historic store-and-loft buildings and windows in same proportions. The base of the building would be clad in stone, while the upper stories would be clad in terra cotta. The 22nd Street facade of the building would be topped with a zinc cornice, visible portions of the sidewalls would be clad in glazed gray brick, and bulkheads would be set away from the street facades. The grids of the facades would have different dimensions on the two facades. The building’s ground floor lobby would run through the entire lot, while above the ground floor, a central courtyard would separate two masses. While the building would be taller than its neighbors on 21st Street, Adjmi said the building would add to the “saw-tooth character” of the district. The facade would have a foot and half depth on the base, and one foot on the upper stories, replicating “the depth and shadow you see on a lot of the historic buildings.”

The applicants decided not to use setbacks because they would have been visible from street vantages, and detract from district’s character as defined by the loft buildings. Currently, the loft buildings’ facades grow straight up from the sidewalk.

The Historic District Council’s Nadezhda Williams testified that the “proposed building is too stripped down for the Ladies’ Mile Historic District,” and “closer to staid Midtown office buildings” than the “exuberant” architecture of the district. Leo Blackman of the Drive to Protect the Ladies’ Mile District also criticized the design, particularly on 21st Street, which he called “too large and inadequately defined,” and “simply too high.” (more…)

Five-story addition proposed for six-story building in Ladies’ Mile. On July 21, 2009, Landmarks considered a certificate of appropriateness for a five-story addition at 33 West 19th Street in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. Designed by architect Morris Adjmi, the addition would be built on top of a 1903 six-story neo- Renaissance store and loft building.

Adjmi’s design features a translucent woven metal mesh in front of the addition’s rain wall. The mesh would be suspended from the addition’s cornice, aligning with the existing building’s edge, while the addition’s main facade would be set back four feet. On the addition’s side wall, the mesh would take a brick pattern, and on its main facades the mesh would be layered, creating a shadow effect reminiscent of the building’s original facade. Behind the mesh, balconies at every floor would provide further depth. Adjmi characterized the proposal as “an extension of an existing building in a new language.” (more…)