Condo board demolished eleventh-floor balcony during facade restoration without Landmarks’ approval. On June 15, 2010, Landmarks approved a proposal to reconstruct an illegally demolished balcony on a twelve-story condominium at 105 West 72nd Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The condominium board removed the eleventh-floor balcony of the building in 1992 without Landmarks’ approval. In 2004, Landmarks denied the board’s application to legalize the demolition. Four years later, the board filed … <Read More>
Search Results for: Central Park
Height limits for Astoria considered
Local Council Member and residents supported the proposed 248-block contextual rezoning, but two property owners requested modifications. On March 24, 2010, the City Planning Commission heard testimony on the Department of City Planning’s contextual rezoning plan for Astoria, Queens. The 248-block study area is generally bounded by 20th Avenue to the north, Broadway to the south, … <Read More>
Landmarks refuses to legalize unauthorized addition
New owners proposed to modify fifth-floor addition previously denied by Landmarks. On March 16, 2010, Landmarks voted to deny a proposal to modify and legalize a one-story rooftop addition built without Landmarks’ approval at 12-14 West 68th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The building’s previous owners, Thomas Haines and Polly Cleveland, built the 506 square-foot, fifth-floor addition on top of a 1925-era studio building added to the rear of a … <Read More>
Rooftop addition on brownstone approved
Applicant required special permit because proposed addition would violate sliver law’s height limit. On January 6, 2010, the City Planning Commission approved a proposal by 161 West 78th Street LLC to build a one-story addition atop an existing five-story brownstone at 161 West 78th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District of Manhattan. The twelve-foot addition would not be visible from the street and would increase the building’s height to 70 feet. … <Read More>
Rowhouse conversion for preschool approved
Chabad of the West Side will combine two residential rowhouses to create religious preschool. On September 22, Landmarks unanimously approved an amended proposal by Chabad of the West Side to convert two John Duncan-designed rowhouses into a preschool at 43 and 45 West 86th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic. Chabad’s original proposal included demolishing the interiors, redesigning the rear facades using glass and masonry, altering the floor plates, and adding a … <Read More>
Conversions of rowhouses criticized
Commissioners concerned that proposal would destroy too many original structures. On July 21, 2009, Landmarks met for a second time to discuss Chabad of the West Side’s proposal to convert into a religious preschool two rowhouses located at 43 and 45 West 86th Street in the Upper West Side/Central Park West Historic District. The rowhouses were built in the 1890s and designed by architect John Duncan.
A hearing on May 19 revealed sharp divisions between … <Read More>