346 Broadway. Image Credit: Brett.

Landmarks permit that would have seen designated interior converted to inaccessible private residence, and historic clock mechanism disconnected, is ruled to have been issued irrationally and influenced by erroneous legal counsel. The Landmark Preservation Commission designed spaces in the former New York Life Insurance Building, located at 346 Broadway, constructed in 1894 to 1898, as an interior City landmark in 1987. The designation included the 13th floor clock tower, which held the four glass clock faces and the clock mechanism, driven by a 1000-pound weight, with a 5,000-pound bell above the mechanism. At the time of designation, the property was owned by the City, and the clock tower was occupied by a gallery, artist studios, and a public service radio station. (read more…)

Artist Rendering of 34 West 21st Street. Image Credit: LPC.

Majority of commissioners believe that vertically arranged limestone-faced building integrated well into the streetscape. At its meeting on November 1, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission considered and approved a proposal to construct a new six-story plus penthouse building at 34 West 21st Street  in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District. The building will be used as a one-family dwelling. Landmarks approved a proposal for a similarly sized building at the site in 2007, but the project was never realized. Before previously approved construction stalled, a 1950s garage at the lot was demolished. The site is now a vacant lot. (read more…)

Image Credit: BKSK

Modifications to proposal for eight-story-plus-penthouse structure included revisions to cornice and base, and lowering some floor heights. On September 6, 2016, the Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the demolition of an existing building and a new development at 466 Columbus Avenue in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The approved plan will replace an existing structure built in 1894 but heavily altered in intervening years. The site is owned and will be developed by the Roe Corporation.

At an initial hearing, held on July 19, 2016, the applicants attested that the existing building had been heavily compromised to accommodate different uses including the addition of a third story approved by Landmarks in 2006. The applicants proposed a building with an eight-story streetwall primarily composed of brick and terra cotta, consistent with the district’s traditional masonry, with a painted metal storefront. The seventh floor would be topped with brick corbelling, with the eighth floor set back from the street facade. A metal cornice would project from above the eighth floor. A setback duplex penthouse would be only partially visible from certain oblique public perspectives. (read more…)