Developer invited to submit another design. Following a lengthy presentation by real estate developer Aby Rosen’s team, Landmarks indicated its clear unwillingness to approve the 26-story tower addition proposed to top the Parke-Bernet building at 980 Madison Avenue within the Upper East Side Historic District.

The project architect Lord Norman Foster started the January 16th presentation with a photograph of the original 1949 Parke-Bernet building and its appearance now, after a 1950s alteration added another full-block story. Foster argued that the heavy, horizontal addition detracted from the original building, leading to the “paradox,” that, as Foster referred to it, a vertical contrast, or tower, would best preserve the design intactness of the original building. (read more…)

Whitney Museum’s programmatic needs warrant variances for height, floor area, and retail space. On July 25, 2006, BSA granted variances to the Whitney Museum of American Art in the Upper East Side Historic District, Manhattan. The additions, including a nine-story, 178-foot Renzo Piano-designed tower required variances for height, setback, floor area, and frontage.

On May 24, 2005, Landmarks approved the museum enlargement and issued a permit on January 5, 2006. 2 CityLand 73 (June 15, 2005). As part of its decision, Landmarks determined that three adjacent brownstones contributed to the historic district and should be preserved. Preservation of the brownstones, however, required variances from BSA for street wall and setback requirements. (read more…)

Plan calls for a 176-foot tower, an expanded entry along Madison and a two story rooftop addition to the existing building. On May 24, 2005, Landmarks approved a modified plan for the expansion of the Whitney Museum of American Art along Madison Avenue and East 74th Street within the Upper East Side Historic District.

The original expansion plans designed by Renzo Piano included a two-story addition to the Whitney’s existing home, the 1964 Marcel Breuer & Associates building, as well as an expanded entry along Madison Avenue and a new 176- foot tower set back 30 feet from Madison Avenue and 17 feet from East 74th Street. For the expanded entry, the plans called for the complete demolition of two brownstones at 941 and 943 Madison Avenue, located directly south of the existing museum entrance. For the expansion and the 17-story tower, a row of four brownstones, 933 – 939 Madison Avenue, would retain only the front facades, which the Whitney planned to restore, and the remainder would be gutted. (read more…)