D I S T R I C T LINES

news and views of the historic districts council winter 2006 vol. XX no. 3

Towers atop 980 Would Cast Implications Even Longer than Their Shadows

I. The Hearing also spent time talking about how green designated district that it may occupy; his building would be, how it employed and for the basic principles according to Two hundred people jammed into a sec- the latest environmental technologies which the landmarks process has been ond-floor room at the Surrogate’s Court to be virtually self-sufficient in terms of conducted over the years. Expanding, he building in Lower for a spe- energy use. bemoaned the windows gained and the cial public hearing on October 24. The But William J. Higgins, a principal garden lost in the LPC-approved altera- Landmarks Preservation Commission of Higgins & Quasebarth preservation tions. He stressed that the horizontality had been expecting a lot of people, but consultants, really made a strong case of the gallery building balanced the ver- not this many—for those who arrived a for appropriateness. The towers were ticality of the towers and that though mere ten minutes early there was stand- triply appropriate, he said—for the his- the two buildings shared the site, they ing room only. People spilled out the door toric building, Parke-Bernet itself; for the were independent of each other with, into the public corridor. nevertheless, a “harmonious , the developer, interaction of materials” and an was the first to speak. Excited “organic relationship.” about his new project and con- The towers would be fident of its merits, he talked appropriate to a district in about the building he bought which change is a constant, Mr. two years ago at 980 Madison Higgins said, where different Avenue—the Parke-Bernet scales of buildings harmonized Galleries—almost as if it were and where luxury and quality decrepit and described how he abound. And finally, the towers would restore it to its original are appropriate to the landmark- glory. He admitted that to build ing process, he argued, because the two connected high-rise they “harmonize the juxtaposi- residential towers he was pro- tion of evolutionary changes,” posing would require zoning as Harmon Goldstone, an early “modifications,” but he inti- chair of LPC, was known to say. mated that the alterations LPC Public testimony, both pro had approved in the 1980s had and con, was given until after somehow made Parke-Bernet six in the evening. Testimony in shabby. He would remove the favor of the project dealt mainly added windows, restore the roof with how a renovated Parke- garden, add a public sculpture Bernet building would revitalize garden and create 24,000 square the neighborhood, adding gal- feet of art-exhibition space. lery space on Madison Avenue Lord Norman Foster spoke that had been lost to Chelsea. next, the architect of the towers. Some neighbors liked the addi- A distinguished-looking, well- tion, and a representative of the dressed man, he, too, seemed Real Estate Board of confident of the project’s merits. said the plan allowed for devel- It would be compatible with the opment without demolition. neighborhood, he said, because Other neighbors, especially it was a part of New York, Man- RENDERING BY PLATT BYARD DOVELL WHITE ARCHITECTS those who live across the street hattan’s , that or around the corner from the Rendering of the towers proposed as an addition to the Parke-Bernet demonstrated “eclectic growth” project, said it was “unharmo- Galleries in Manhattan. At press time, the Landmarks Commission and “regeneration,” which may nious, alien to the area” and had not made a decision whether to approve the design. have raised a few eyebrows. He “a developer’s folly. …Do not

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enrich this developer at the expense of nue Preservation District, Mr. Bankoff too big—“the tower’s outsize height is a the neighborhood.” went on, stipulates height and setback problem,” he said in an article published Preservationists spoke as well and restrictions, 210 feet being the overall October 10. Largely approving in tone, were unanimously opposed to the proj- limit. “In fact,” he said, “as mandated by Mr. Ouroussof’s article contrasted 980 ect. Although details of their testimony Section 99-08 [of the zoning ordinance], Madison with Renzo Piano’s proposed varied, all agreed that the proposal was a waiver of the maximum building height (and later withdrawn) addition to the inappropriate for the neighborhood: may only be authorized by the City Plan- Whitney Museum, saying that “the Foster Elizabeth Ashby, co-chair of ning Commission if (a) the development tower will serve the interests of a wealthy Defenders of the Historic Upper East will not alter the character of the neigh- elite, not the public at large. …I’m not Side, said she did not see a relationship borhood and (b) the development will sure a luxury high-rise should be allowed between the vertical, elliptical glass tow- have a harmonious relationship with the the same freedom as a major civic build- ers and their solid, rectilinear masonry building to be preserved. It is our conten- ing.” base, let alone an “organic” one, as Mr. tion that this proposal does neither.” Tom Wolfe, preservation’s most Higgins had averred. “There’s an organic Frank Sanchis, senior vice presi- voluble player, wrote in a long, scathing relationship, too,” she said, “between a dent of the Municipal Art Society, said Op-Ed piece in The Times (November lettuce and a gorilla.” the society’s Preservation Committee 26), “It would be hard to dream up any- Simeon Bankoff, executive director “found the design of the addition…to be thing short of a Mobil station more out of the Historic Districts Council, testi- inappropriate to both the building and of place there than a Mondo Condo glass fied on the basis of regulatory grounds: to the Upper East Side Historic District box by Aby Rosen.” provisions of Section 74-711 of the Zon- [because of its] proposed height, massing, And James Gardner, writing in The ing Resolution and those of the Special design and materials.” New York Sun (October 31), was simi- Madison Avenue Preservation District, Roger Lang of the New York Land- larly doubtful: “To have this tasteless new a zoning amendment. Section 74-711, he marks Conservancy testified: “The tower directly across the street from [the said, “was adopted to encourage the reha- addition is simply too tall, too discordant ] would immediately and bilitation and reuse of landmark buildings in massing, and too dissimilar in materials irreversibly rend the delicate urban fabric that were otherwise unusable,” in return to bring to the Upper East Side Historic of the Upper East Side.” for which the applicant would be granted District what the late Harmon Goldstone Ultimately, the period during which a Modification of Use and Bulk. The called ‘a harmonious juxtaposition.’ ” testimony could be submitted was Parke-Bernet Galleries building is in good Teri Slater, co-chair of Defenders extended six weeks to December 5, which condition and currently in use, vitiating of the Historic Upper East Side and a allowed people who live in the neighbor- that argument. The Special Madison Ave- vice president of HDC, where she is co- hood to organize a street-corner campaign chair of the Public Review Committee, to stop the project and get their petitions testified that “LPC normally reviews vis- in on time. ibility issues where a few feet are called The outcome could go one of three into question. Here the rooftop addition ways—approval of the proposal, approval DISTRICT will be visible for miles. …When the com- of a revised proposal, or outright denial. mission routinely and methodically turns Tom Wolfe thought Aby Rosen would get LINES down all partially visible rooftop addi- his approval—“the contest is already com- news and views of the tions for hundreds of other applicants, pletely snookered in his favor,” he said. historic districts council how then could it possibly bless and allow Noting that nine out of 11 commission- this proposed change?” ers are doing service on expired terms, editor ~ Penelope Bareau Leo Blackman, an award-winning Mr. Wolfe suggested that they might art and production ~ Moom Luu architect, vice president of The Drive to all be told not to come in again if their editorial consultant ~ Jack Taylor Protect the Ladies’ Mile District and a decision does not favor Mr. Rosen, a sce- director of HDC, took the commission to nario—unlikely though it may be—that contributors ~ Simeon Bankoff, Penelope Bareau, Franny Eberhart, David Goldfarb, task in a written statement: “It is the role has implications best left dangling. Frampton Tolbert, Nadezhda Williams of the Landmarks Commission to protect Alternatively, the applicant could staff ~ Simeon Bankoff, Executive Director the visual character of the neighborhoods propose and the commission approve Frampton Tolbert, Assistant Director Lauren Belfer, Nadezhda Williams, they have deemed significant. It is not revisions to the design. They could be Preservation Associates the role of the LPC to enable large-scale approved at a public meeting which,

no part of this periodical may be development, no matter how prominent distinct from a public hearing, does not reproduced without the consent the developer. A famous architect should admit public testimony. A couple of the of the historic districts council. not get a free pass from the commission… guesses: the historic districts council is the and a landmark should not be considered James Gardner in The Sun: “[Lord citywide advocate for new york’s designated a suitable base for a tower.” Foster] and Mr. Rosen will get as many historic districts and for neighborhoods meriting preservation. the council is Newspaper columnists, too, were square feet as they now desire, but it will dedicated to preserving the integrity of dubious: come in the form of a box rather than a ’s landmarks law and to Nicolai Ouroussoff, architecture tower. It will be less dramatic and the furthering the preservation ethic. critic of , found it continued on page 8, column 1 Historic Districts Council

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…Implications Even Longer Than Their Shadows If approved, the 980 Madison proposal to build a tower above the Parke-Bernet Galleries 355 feet overall could have lasting effects on preservation throughout the city. The Landmarks Preservation Commission had not made a decision by press time, but whatever the verdict, the application raises major issues, among them the integrity of historic districts and the use of Section 74-711 of the Zoning Resolution.

II. District Integrity style house and, while a new building, will III. Manipulating 74-711 be a better fit in the neighborhood. Each of new york city’s 85 historic dis- Alterations to existing buildings can Battles to preserve historic buildings in tricts has, in the words of the New York also change the character of an historic New York City under the Landmarks Law City Landmarks Law, a “special charac- district. For example, an even subtle alter- have gone on as long as the law itself has ter” and “special historical or aesthetic ation in the fenestration of just one row existed, and zoning and planning have interest representing one or more archi- house can destroy the flow and harmony been part of the action from the first. tectural styles or periods.” Those qualities of the whole block. Similarly, changes on When the law was enacted in 1965, many are specifically what the Landmarks Pres- one element of a building can take away in the real estate industry thought the ervation Commission is mandated to from the character of an entire area, even limitations it imposed could spell finan- preserve and protect. though the architecture of the building in cial ruin. It seems absurd now that in The larger and older of the city’s his- question is not directly related to that of 1978, the idea that an obsolescent build- toric districts, such as Manhattan’s Upper its neighbors. HDC opposed, and LPC ing might be adapted for a new use was so East Side Historic District (designated in turned down, a proposal in October to novel that Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spiel- 1981), are often heterogeneous. Neverthe- remove the scalloped aluminum awning vogel’s 1978 book, “Buildings Reborn: less, what ties a neighborhood together over the entrance to a 1959 Greenwich New Uses, Old Places” was considered and creates a distinct sense of place not Village apartment building. Though the controversial. Even as late as 1986, when found elsewhere in the city comes down building is dissimilar to other ones on the Manhattan’s Ladies’ Mile Historic Dis- to three main elements: the buildings’ street—the district was designated ten trict was heard for designation, most scale, style and materials. The proposed years after that building was built—the industry representatives expressed grave tower for strikes canopy proposed was without charac- doubts about landmarking commercial out on all three counts—it is much taller ter and could have been found just about buildings. than most in the district, looming over anywhere. By preserving the original However, at the time, governmental even some buildings that are symbolic entrance, not only is the historic fabric of action was clearly needed to ensure the of the area, such as the Carlyle Hotel; it the building retained but also part of the economic viability of privately owned his- is extremely contemporary in an area of quirky character of the Village. toric buildings subject to regulation—the classically inspired styles, oval in con- A rooftop addition can also greatly new law would founder otherwise. During trast to prevailing straight lines; and it is change not only a building but its rela- the mayoral terms of Robert F. Wagner predominately glass in a neighborhood tionship to its historic district. Typically, Jr. and then of John V. Lindsay, the first known for its masonry. such additions are required to be as invisi- Landmarks chair, Geoffrey Platt, worked Changes that can affect a district’s ble as possible from the public way, and so closely with Harmon Goldstone, then a special character the most are new con- LPC seldom approves additions of more member of the City Planning Commis- struction and alterations to existing than one story. Even that was too much sion, to come up with ideas for economic buildings. New construction, which the in one recent case when the commission compensation that might forestall a rush tower on 980 Madison Avenue essentially rejected an application for a rooftop addi- to litigation and possible demolition. In is, often has the largest potential impact tion on an 1839 Greek Revival house on 1968 Goldstone became the first paid on a district’s integrity. A well thought- Washington Square North. It would have chairman of the Landmarks Preservation out new building can enhance a district been hardly noticeable, but the commis- Commission. and do more for a neighborhood than an sioners felt the block was so evocative Unused bulk allowed by zoning on empty lot or a noncontributing previous of its era and so well preserved that they a site—formally called “development structure it replaces. This past summer denied the proposal, confirming the pri- rights”—had long been used by build- LPC approved a design by architect Kevin macy of the district’s sense of character. ers to accumulate bulk from sites nearby. Wolfe for a new house in the Douglaston The integrity of an historic neigh- They could acquire zoning rights for, say, Historic District, a Queens neighborhood borhood can extend to the rear of its nine stories from the owners of a nearby known for Early 20th Century Revival- buildings as well. Rear- yard additions six-story building in a 15-story zone. His- style residences. Mr. Wolfe, an Historic are popular expansions, and when they torically, air rights transfers had been Districts Council adviser, designed an are visible from the public way, much allowed only to contiguous properties, Arts & Crafts-inspired house with wood- debate at LPC is focused on ensuring but Goldstone and Platt developed an framed and leaded-glass windows, cedar that the style, materials and scale are in amendment to the 1916 Zoning Resolu- shingles, slate roof, copper flashing and harmony with the neighborhood. When tion, Section 74-79, that authorized such fieldstone base. It replaces a 1960s ranch- continued on page 8, column 3 transfers from landmarked properties Historic Districts Council

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across nearby streets and intersections through a public process and publication. for real public benefit. and through chains of ownership. It Unfortunately, a new Restoration Rule, The 980 Madison Avenue proposal, required only a finding of a “harmoni- which would perch irregularly shaped ous relationship” between the landmark elliptical glass towers on the northern and a new building created through the end of the well maintained Parke-Bernet approved air rights transfer. building, is applying for a 74-711 permit. Such provisions were cited by the The design violates the height and mass- Supreme Court in the 1978 Penn Cen- ing rules of the Madison Avenue Special tral decision as part of the justification Preservation District in a spectacular way, for allowing the landmark designation adopted by the Landmarks Commission while the proposed restoration does little of to stand— in 1997, the same year as the amendment more than reverse some alterations that “under a transferable development rights of 74-711, significantly changed public the Landmarks Commission itself pre- program,” said the majority opinion, “it accountability in the interagency admin- viously found appropriate. Nevertheless was possible for the owner to transfer istration of development benefits. It sets it could be argued that reversing those the development rights it was foreclosed forth what changes to historic buildings alterations is a “restoration” that returns from using…to other neighboring proper- may be made with staff-level permits— the building to its original condition, one ties which it owned.” permits which, under present policy, are of the defined parameters for staff-level In a further search for means to lessen not readily available for public review and approval under the Restoration Rule. A the burden of designation while encour- need not go through a public process at supporting argument in this case might aging restoration and maintenance, all. be that “cutting edge architecture” is in Messrs. Goldstone and Platt developed The restoration-and-maintenance itself a good regardless of context. a novel, more complex approach. They plan can now be negotiated behind closed The fundamental concept that there hammered out another zoning amend- doors, and the public benefit that was should be some proportionality between ment, Section 74-711, that allowed lifting part of the original 74-711 provision is no the impact of the zoning change sought most restrictions on use and massing on a longer available for public scrutiny. Some and the public benefit received from res- designated property on three conditions: applicants voluntarily present details of toration and maintenance has been lost. (a) if the commission determined that their restorations at a public hearing; but And if it can happen at 980 Madison Ave- the proposed changes were appropriate; if the approval has already taken place at nue, why not elsewhere? What a paradox (b) if the owner undertook to restore the staff level, it is only a gesture. Sometimes that the Landmarks Law, once seen as a property to first-class condition; and (c) if a tenacious commissioner may raise ques- harbinger of ruin, could be manipulated the owner would commit to a continuing tions and negotiate an improvement if to magnify wealth beyond the dreams of maintenance program, signing a restric- there is a new design component in the human avarice! tive declaration to bind present and future project. owners to the same conditions. While the Landmarks commis- Originally the Commission- sioners have lost authority through the Update On Our “Creating ers reviewed the restoration plans and Restoration Rule and the public no longer An Historic District” maintenance agreements in 74-711 appli- enjoys transparency in these commission cations, discussed them in open meetings, decisions, at least LPC is no longer the As everyone can see, New York City is and sometimes asked for changes. Real applicant to City Planning. The developer undergoing a huge building boom, the restoration was seen as a fair exchange himself must go for his Special Permit, largest in a generation. While this may for exemption from zoning requirements. bringing only an accepted—hopefully not bode well for the city’s economy, especially Once the restoration and preservation rubber-stamped—scheme with him from the real estate sector, it is worth consider- plan was accepted, the LPC itself became LPC. ing that most of this new construction is the applicant in an action to City Plan- Recently another argument has been getting shoehorned into existing neigh- ning, recommending the issuance of a put forward; namely, that it is unfair to borhoods. As older buildings come down Special Permit. require major restoration as a component and new ones sprout up, communities are During the Giuliani administration, of 74-711 because it “penalizes” an appli- now more than ever looking for ways to a second working partnership between cant whose building is already in decent protect their historic neighborhoods and the then chairs of City Planning and condition. Perhaps the idea has arisen help guide the new development that may Landmarks, Joseph Rose and Jennifer because in most historic districts, where come. Raab, made a number of little-publicized Section 74-711 typically comes into play, In response, the Historic Districts Coun- changes in the Zoning Resolution. They buildings are seldom blighted and prop- cil has recently published a newly revised also changed how 74-711 was to be admin- erties that owners consider suitable for edition of its authoritative “Creating an istered and codified the change through development are typically well main- Historic District.” It details how a neigh- the adoption of LPC rules. tained. Some recent applications have borhood can become a designated New As part of the 1989 Charter Revi- proposed little more than minor resto- York City historic district and what a sion, the City Administrative Procedures rations of a structure in what seems an community can do to help it happen. Act had stipulated that rules followed by ill-disguised attempt to evade zoning reg- Drawing from real-world examples, such city agencies must be formally adopted ulations and circumvent any requirement as the successful preservation campaigns

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in Manhattan’s and Gansevoort ensure the preservation of significant his- ber of hearings, but it never got out of the Market, “Creating” provides simple and toric neighborhoods, buildings and public Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, clear strategies for individuals and com- spaces in New York City, to ensure the Public Siting and Maritime Uses. munity groups pursuing landmark des- integrity of New York City’s Landmarks The political climate for historic ignation. One feature of the book is a Law, and to further the preservation preservation has not changed since the section on dispelling anti-preservation ethic.” Along with the mission statement, new City Council session commenced myths. There are also tips on how to raise the board articulated its vision, guiding in 2006, so we did not renew our legisla- public awareness of a campaign, how to principles, organizational roles, goals and tive efforts but instead looked to educate best use the efforts of volunteers and how strategies. Among them are these: elected officials and to reinvigorate a cli- • Foster a climate that supports historic mate that supports historic preservation. preservation We also looked inward at our own strate- • Build and mobilize networks of advo- gic planning to help us decide on a feasible cates for historic preservation direction for the future. • Develop a broad range of tactics and Meanwhile a number of events have strategies to move the preservation begun to change how preservation and agenda forward the work of the Landmarks Preserva- These objectives create a new focus tion Commission are seen. Demolitions for HDC. In the past, as part of our mis- and the destruction of our historic built sion, we have worked for specific reforms environment continue. In a number of to enhance preservation efforts, and we instances, buildings have been stripped of architectural detail after they were calen- dared for designation hearings but before they were heard. These and similar actions have clarified the need for remedial legis- lation, but no legislation will work unless the Landmarks Commission and the City Council stand behind the principles of historic preservation. We will not abandon the work we do reviewing applications to LPC for Cer- HDC’s revised edition of its authoritative book, tificates of Appropriateness; nor will we Creating an Historic District, is now available. discontinue our educational programs. Yet to be relevant, we must also work to raise money. to change how landmarking and land- In its appendices are the text of the Land- mark protection operate in New York marks Law, an architectural reference City. This will require time, effort and section and sample forms for building resources. In the next few months we will surveys and permits from the Landmarks begin to structure our boards of directors Preservation Commission. and advisers and our staff so that we can Illustrated with historic photos and work with the larger community to put images of designated districts from together a preservation agenda and to p. decker HDC’s Digital Image Library, this guide- identify laws and regulations, policies and book is a must for anyone who wants to David Goldfarb at the podium of Columbia procedures that need to be introduced or learn more about community efforts and University’s Low Library during the Lion changed. the landmarks process in New York City. award ceremony (see page 7). I hope that you will join us to develop “Creating an Historic District” is avail- these goals and to increase the number able for $34.99 including shipping, or for have worked with local groups to further of actively engaged, financially involved $24.99 for the Friends of the Historic our efforts. But we have never looked at supporters, both organizations and indi- Districts Council. To order, go to www. a comprehensive preservation agenda and viduals. —David Goldfarb hdc.org or call 212-614-9107. worked with a broad range of strategies to further that agenda. Many of you will remember that in 2005, in order to pro- tect 19th century houses being razed in PRESIDENT ’ S C O L UM N Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, we put a great deal of effort behind proposed City Council legislation to delay demoli- In October our board of directors tion of potential landmarks more than 50 adopted a revised mission statement: years old. The legislation had a majority of “The Historic Districts Council works to Councilmembers as sponsors and a num-

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ew orkers ourn offices in Washington, D.C., and Beijing, In 1968 the Ortners founded the N Y M China. Mr. Blinder was the design direc- Brownstone Revival Committee (now eaths f eading tor of the Beijing office and was working the Brownstone Revival Coalition) and D O 2 L there on the Shanghai Cultural Plaza, a sponsored Back to the City Conferences reservationists planned theater complex, when he died that spread the gospel of urban life to 13 P unexpectedly. It was his vision that led other cities in which its conferences took the firm to open that office. He had been place. BRC also published a newslet- In one month recently, the preserva- loving the challenge and getting to know ter—still does—called The Brownstoner tion community lost two of its pioneers: the country, often traveling as the Chi- and sponsors lectures, seminars, work- Richard Blinder, 71, a founding partner nese do, on a bicycle. shops and tours. One of the group’s major of Beyer Blinder Belle died September 7, Mr. Blinder was the lead architect for contributions was to combat redlin- 2006, in Shanghai; and Evelyn Ortner, many of the firm’s notable cultural com- ing, exclusionary lines drawn by lending 82, died less than two weeks later, Sep- missions, including the conversion of the institutions around areas considered eco- tember 19, in Brooklyn. former Barney’s store on Manhattan’s nomically risky. Houses in many of those The architecture and planning firm West 17th Street into the Rubin Museum areas, the very neighborhoods where the Beyer Blinder Belle is best known for of Art, where HDC celebrated BBB’s Ortners inspired interest, now command such high-profile restorations as Grand Lion award. He was also the lead archi- multimillion-dollar prices. Central Terminal and Ellis Island, but tect for the Center for Jewish History in To encourage more people to buy also for saving and renewing individual Chelsea, the Henry Luce Center for the and restore Brooklyn brownstones, Mrs. Study of American Culture at the New- Ortner approached Brooklyn Union Gas York Historical Society, the Japan Society Company and persuaded it to renovate on East and the Ford Center a derelict house and publicize the result. for the Performing Arts in . It became the legendary Cinderella Proj- He was one of the founding members of ect, a home improvement program that the Seventh Regiment Armory Conser- changed the face of Brooklyn and made vancy, the landmark at East 67th Street row house living a dream come true for and in Manhattan. thousands of families. Most recently the Ortners created Preservation Volunteers, a program mod- eled on a similar French one to set teams of unskilled people of all ages to work restoring derelict monuments. In 2006, its fifth summer, Preservation Volun- teers from France and the United States Richard Blinder worked two-week stints at historic sites including, in New York City, the Morris- landmark buildings and buildings of land- Jumel Mansion, the Dyckman Farmhouse mark quality. For their work in historic and the Queens County Farm Museum. preservation, they received the Historic In addition to these endeavors, Mrs. Districts Council’s Landmarks Lion Ortner was a founder and long-time chair Award in 2004. of St. Ann’s Center for Preservation and When BBB was established in 1968, the Arts as well as the Brooklyn Stained the nascent historic preservation ethic Glass Conservation Center. She was a was completely overshadowed by that self-taught expert in Egyptian history of urban renewal; the possiblity of adap- and archaeology and served on a variety tive reuse had barely been conceived. Evelyn Ortner of boards and committees at the Brook- Mr. Blinder’s partners remember that lyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn in the early years it was the community- Museum, the Montauk Club, the Victo- based work they did in which he took Evelyn Ortner’s interest in preser- rian Society in America, the Brooklyn most pride, projects such as the Villa vation began in 1963 when she and her Center for the Urban Environment and Borinquen in Jersey City and the High- husband, Everett, bought an 1886 Park the Municipal Art Society. bridge Concourse Houses in The Bronx, Slope row house in Brooklyn. An inte- work that emphasized rehabilitation and rior designer trained at Pratt Institute, affordable housing. “His belief in social she became enchanted with the Victorian objectives,” recall his partners, “as well as details of the house and, together with her design objectives, shaped the firm.” husband, related the charms of ones like Although the practice continues to it to thousands of people who were ready be solidly New York based, it has grown to abandon the city for the suburbs and to include projects around the world and then, because of her influence, did not.

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Robert Silman ReceivesHDC’s Highest Honor

In early November the structural engi- neer and preservation advocate Robert Silman received the Historic Districts Council’s 2006 Landmarks Lion Award. The ceremony and the dinner that accom- panied it took place under the massive dome of Columbia University’s Low Me- morial Library, one of Mr. Silman’s many restoration projects. Preservationists, architects and engineers all gathered to salute this accomplished and unassuming man, who has engineered the structural

underpinning of countless restored land- p. decker marks in New York City and beyond. Mr. Silman is admired throughout the Presenting Robert Silman, second from right, with his Landmarks Lion Award are, from left, John preservation field and is very prolific—if Belle, partner of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects, winners of the 2005 Lion; Simeon Bankoff, execu- you chose any well-known preservation tive director of the Historic Districts Council; David Goldfarb, HDC president; and right, Fred project within the five boroughs, chances Bland, partner of BBB. are his firm has worked on it. Since 1966, when he founded Robert Silman Asso- ciates, he has consulted on more than the event, including several past Land- our professional resolves that we need to 13,000 projects, many for historic build- marks Lions. John Belle and Fred Bland, consider in all our decision-making. But ings. Some of the best known examples partners at Beyer Blinder Belle Architects we cannot develop this framework in a of the firm’s work include Ellis Island & Planners, HDC’s 2004 Lion, presented vacuum.…To all of us here at the Historic National Museum of Immigration, the the award and spoke glowingly about Mr. Districts Council’s annual awards dinner, Guggenheim Museum, Radio City Music Silman, the individual and the engineer. who come from such diverse backgrounds Hall, the Cathedral of St. John the Di- Never one to rest on his laurels, Mr. Sil- in historic preservation, I would urge that vine and the project that brought him to man used his acceptance remarks to speak we each examine the moral imperatives national attention, Frank Lloyd Wright’s about an important and little-discussed that underlie our various advocacies. Then Fallingwater. issue within the preservation world to- we can speak with an authoritative and More than 250 people were present for day: “There is a certain ethical basis to united voice.”

been able to devote time to her lifelong in- hattan home district. Her firm’s current HDC Adds Five terest in architecture and has researched projects include the Corbin Building, part the firm of Boak & Paris, architects of her of Manhattan’s new Fulton Street Trans- New Advisers building in Washington Heights, Manhat- portation Center, and the rehabilitation tan. Recently she helped revive the local of four golf clubhouses for the American The Historic Districts Council recent- chapter of the Society of Architectural Golf Corporation and the New York City ly welcomed to its board of advisers five Historians. Parks Department. new members selected for their ability to Page Ayres Cowley, FAIA, RIBA, is Gregory Dietrich, an architectur- provide expertise and guidance to HDC’s the principal of Page Ayres Cowley Archi- al historian with the Cultural Resource programs and mission. The advisers now tects, an award winning firm specializing Consulting Group, serves as a consul- number 30 individuals who represent in the rehabilitation and preservation of tant to the Borough of Rockleigh [New every borough and a variety of profession- cultural-heritage and landmark-eligible Jersey] Historic Preservation and Plan- al fields. properties. She serves on the boards of ning Boards and oversees the restoration Annice Alt had a long career working the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foun- of several important New York City with early-childhood education organi- dation and the Metropolitan Structures landmarks. He holds M.S. degrees from zations, frequently providing them with Association and is co-chair of the land Columbia University in historic preserva- technical assistance and helping them find use committee of Manhattan Community tion and real estate development. He is a suitable space. Since retirement, she has Board 7 in her Man- Manhattan resident.

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Victoria Hofmo is the founder of the blocking other people’s views or ensure the Ladies Mile Historic District. Pub- Bay Ridge Conservancy and chairperson that clients can be seen from as far away lic testimony and the letters opposing of City Councilmember Vincent J. Gen- as Hoboken.” the addition were so numerous that the tile’s preservation committee. She was Frank Homan, a neighborhood developer withdrew the application hours instrumental in the recent rezoning of Bay resident, perhaps thinking of a box, testi- before it was to be considered in a second Ridge and continues to advocate for pre- fied that “the greater danger is that this public hearing. serving the community’s history. She is also [proposal] is so far out that Plan B will be • Those decisions happened a long a founder of the Scandinavian East Coast welcome,” a design that would never have time ago. Things may be differ- Museum, which is dedicated to telling the been approved the first time around. ent now. A looming glass tower six story of Scandinavians who settled along Or the proposal could be turned times the height of its base in an his- the East Coast of the United States. down cold. It has happened, but not for a toric district should be an obvious Seri Worden has been the executive long time. The commission turned down no. However: We have a mayor and director of Friends of the Upper East Side an application for a tower atop Grand deputy mayor who want to see cut- Historic Districts since 2004 and has Central Terminal in 1977—that one ting-edge architecture competitive previously worked with such noted pres- went to the Supreme Court, which sup- with that in European capitals; ervation organizations as DOCOMOMO, ported LPC. In 1981 the agency said no • We have 85 historic districts now Historic Landmarks Preservation Center, to a 15-story limestone obelisk by Mario and X,XXX individual landmarks, and Design Trust for Public Space. She is Gandelsonas proposed for the rooftop of which still leaves a lot of room for as- a graduate of Columbia University’s grad- 22 East 71st Street; and it 1987 it refused of-right building elsewhere, but less uate preservation program. A resident of to approve a 39-story residential tower than in the 1980s; Brooklyn, she was an important part of above the Metropolitan Club on Fifth • We have a housing problem that will the Coalition to Save the Austin, Nichols Avenue—both of these on the grounds of get worse as the city’s population & Company Warehouse on the Brooklyn inappropriateness to the neighborhood. pushes toward nine million in 2020; waterfront. In 1985 the commission turned down a • And we have a world famous architect tower on top of the New-York Historical who is soft-spoken and charming, to i the hearing Society, an individual landmark; and in say nothing of knighted, working for continued from page 2 1989, LPC sent back for revisions a James a developer who owns two prominent prices it commands will be somewhat Stewart Polshek tower for Tishman- New York City landmarks, the Sea- scaled back, since it will not be able to Speyer to the Siegel-Cooper Building gram Building and , and offer its clients the bracing pleasure of on and West 18th Street in has taken care of them well. Despite common preservation sense, despite the testimony of many pres- ervation organizations and scores of citizens—despite, even, Tom Wolfe’s scathing article—Mr. Rosen could get his glass towers. We will see what kind of courage the current Landmarks Preserva- tion Commission has.

ii. district integrity continued from page 3, column 2 an extension is not visible, its design is less scrutinized. However, the commis- sion has made it a point to maintain the historic fenestration of top floors, which is often one of the first architectural ele- ments to go in rear-yard alterations. Large rear-yard additions that threaten to dam- age the garden core of blocks in districts such as Brooklyn Heights, and the Upper West Side are hotly contested. Unlike individual landmarks that stand on their own, historic districts gain their quality from a grouping of build- Photograph of the model prepared by the office of James Stewart Polshek Partners showing, right, a ings and how they relate to one another. tower proposed above the Siegel-Cooper Building on Sixth Avenue. The application was withdrawn A change to one building, whether a just hours before its second hearing. thoughtful restoration project or an inap- propriate alteration, affects the integrity

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of the whole, positively or negatively. occupied four acres there after its con- That integrity—“the quality or state of struction in 1797 until inmate rioting being complete or undivided,” as the and arson caused its closure in 1829. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it— prison itself was a remarkable building, is vital to New York. The history of the taking up four acres and built of massive city is in the interaction and relationships stone surrounded by high, thick walls of its people, and these stories are told in with a walkway on top. Designed by ar- our neighborhoods. chitect Joseph-François Mangin, who later collaborated on the design of City Hall, Newgate was the first United States prison to emphasize DISTRICT PROFILES rehabilitation of prisoners. It also reju- venated law-abiding citizens, apparently, because great numbers of them came as tourists from to see Weehawken Street it, relax in its pleasant surroundings on the river and perambulate the wall Historic District,

Manhattan p. bareau

Federal house at 398 West Street, built in 1830 To most people, “Weehawken” means and largely intact today but painted gray. the river city Weehawken, New Jersey; but there is a tiny thoroughfare in Man- hattan’s Far of that name opened in 1833, but the wheels had already too, which may be why the Landmarks been set in motion and the Weehawken Preservation Commission calls its May, Market opened in 1834. According to 2006, designation the Weekawken Street LPC’s designation report for this dis- Historic District. “The Street Book, trict, the Greenwich Market succumbed an Encyclopedia of Manhattan’s Street to competition and closed in 1835, but the Names and Their Origins” by Henry Weehawken Market soldiered on, sell- Moscow [1978] says that the little road’s ing meat, fish, fruit and vegetables until name derives from its having once been it was abandoned in 1844. Finally, four the Weehawken Market, selling pro- years later, the city divided the property duce from New Jersey, perhaps from the into seven different lots and sold them. Weehawken that is across the river and a One of the lots was bought by few miles north. That seems like a good LANDMARKS PRESERVATION COMMISSION George M. Munson, a boatbuilder, who enough explanation. lived nearby on . The The street itself runs parallel to Weehawken Street Historic District shows a designation report says that his building West Street, forming a block that is only narrow block between West and Weekhawken “today is almost certainly the sole sur- 30 feet deep. One of the most intrigu- Streets. It is only 30 feet deep and has inhibited viving part of the Weehawken Market ing buildings in New York City straddles development for that reason. house, making it extraordinary as a very that block midway between Christopher rare surviving market shed structure of and West 10th Streets, a small, two- containing it. that era.” It and the other open-sided story frame building—little more than Having bought the site from the state sheds were enclosed by the new owners; a shanty—whose West Street address is in preparation for the prison’s closure, Munson “probably raised [his]…to a full 392-393 and Weehawken address is 8. It the city plotted and sold the land in 1829, second story, with an exterior staircase has caused comment for more than 100 keeping that between Christopher and on the Weehawken Street facade.” And years, meriting an observation in an 1893 what is now West 10th Street for a public so it survives today. issue of Harper’s New Monthly magazine market. Formally called the Greenwich Five other buildings survive from the that it was built in 1796 or maybe even as Market, it was just around the corner early days, among them 185 Christopher early as 1767, which shows that it looked from another, well-established one of the Street and 398 West Street. The Chris- old even then. In fact, according to the same name outside what is now the Ar- topher Street building is a three-story Landmarks Commission designation re- chives Building, so it became known as brick house built for Stephen Allen, who port, it was built in 1834 as part of the the Weehawken Market. was apprenticed to a sailmaker at age Weehawken Market. As luck would have it, both mar- 12. Through numerous entrepreneurial That market was built on the site kets were threatened when the Jefferson ventures, Allen became wealthy and in- of the Old Newgate State Prison, which Market at Sixth and Greenwich Avenues fluential, serving as mayor of New York

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City (1821-1824), later as state assembly- and chairman of the Croton Water Works age of 85 in the steamboat Henry Clay man and senator and then commissioner (1833-40). He died at the then ripe old disaster in 1852. His building is now a restaurant and bar with apartments up- stairs. The 1830 building at 398 West Street is an altered but largely intact 22-foot- wide, three-and-a-half-story Federal with dormers and north-end chimney, built for flour merchant Isaac Amerman. It has had a colorful career as a restaurant and bar, and was once owned by a Rus- sian liquor dealer who was convicted of murder in 1910. Since 1965 it has been the home of Cuban-American playwright and director Rene Buch, winner of many theatrical awards, including the Drama Desk Award for “sustained excellence.” Like these two buildings, the dis- trict as a whole has had a checkered past, much of it related to maritime uses and workers. It has contained factories, bars, sex shops, boat manufactories, dwelling houses, haberdasheries, stables, heating and plumbing businesses and hotels. As p. bareau new residential towers continue to be One of the most interesting buildings in all New York City, this two-and-a-half story frame house built on West Street, this low-rise, mixed- was built as an addition to the Weehawken Market shed, which once occupied the land. It straddles use, eclectic enclave could become an the block and has a store with a separate entrance on West Street. island in a sea of glassy condos.

Recent Gifts and Grants

All contributions by House Museum, American Designation, Pratt Institute, Elskop/Scholz, Essex Works, government, foundations, orga- Institute of Architects New York Preservation League of New Ferguson & Shamamian Archi- nizations, companies and Friends Chapter, Brooklyn Heights Asso- York State, Sea View Historic tects, F. J. Sciame Construction of the Historic Districts Council ciation, Carnegie Hill Neighbors, Foundation, Seventh Regiment Company, Develop- are much appreciated. Many Conservancy, Civic Armory Conservancy, West 54th- ment Corporation, Fradkin & thanks to those who gave in the Association of Mid-Manhattan, Block Association. Associates, Fredette Architects, period from July 2006 through Crown Heights North Associa- Glass & Glass Architects, Gogick November 2006: tion, Douglaston/Little Neck Companies: AKRF, A. Ottavino Byrne & O’Neill, Goody Clancy Historical Society, DUMBO Corporation, Allen & Killcoyne & Associates, Gratz Indus- Government: New York City Neighborhood Association, East Architects, AM&G Waterproof- tries, Gruzen Samton, Herrick Department of Cultural Affairs, Side Rezoning Alliance, Fort ing, Beth Cooper Lawrence Feinstein, HOK, Ingram Yuzek New York State Council on the Greene Association, Friends Architect, Beyer Blinder Gainen Carroll & Bertolotti, Arts: Architecture, Planning & of Cast Iron Architecture, The Belle Architects & Planners, Interiors by J. C. Landa, Israeloff Design Program. Green-Wood Cemetery, Historic Buchbinder & Warren, Build- Trattner & Company, Jan Hird House Trust of New York City, ing Conservation Associates, Pokorny Architects, Jonathan Foundations: DJ McManus Italian Teachers Association, Cetra/Ruddy, Conservation Kirschenfeld Associates, Kramer Foundation, Tenement Lighting International, Cook & Levin Naftalis & Frankel, Landair Foundation, Falconwood Foun- Museum, Municipal Art Society, Fox Architects, CPC Resources, Project Resources, Landmark dation, J. M. Kaplan Fund, New Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Cutsogeorge Tooman & Allen Facilities Group, LERA, Levien York Community Trust/Windie Project, National Architec- Architects, Deborah Berke & Company, Marcus Rosenberg Knowe Fund, Samuel H. Kress tural Trust, New York Building & Partners Architects, Digby & Diamond, Mary B. Dierickx Foundation. Congress, New York Landmarks Management Company, Durst Preservation Consultants, Conservancy, Park West Village Organization, Ehrenkrantz, Michael Fieldman Architect, Organizations: Alice Austen Residents Committee for HD Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, Montalbano Initiatives, Murphy

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Burnham & Buttrick, Nicholson Bromm & Doneley Meris, Kyle Jr., Inge Heckel, Isabel Thigpen Pieper, James Pearson, Mark & & Galloway, Ohlhausen Dubois Brooks, Samuel Brooks, Phyllis Hill, Virginia Holloway, Tatiana Carol Pollard, Denise S. Pompl, Architects, Page Ayres Cowley R. Brown, James Henry Burke, Hoover, Alexandra Cushing Eleanor O. Preiss, Barbara Architects, Pasanella + Klein Roger Byrom, George Calder- Howard, Michael Hoyt, Karen Pryor, Shepherd Raimi, Faisal Stolzman + Berg Architects, aro, Martin & Ellen Cammer, Huebner, Rosalee O. Isaly, Shirley Rajper, Harold Reed, Joseph H. Peter Gisolfi Associates, Platt Bruce Campbell, Christopher Johns, Jamie Johnson, Linda C. & Carol F. Reich, Herbert & Liz Byard Dovell White Architects, Campese, Anna Cederholm, Alli- Jones, Marilyn Juda, Mary Kay Reynolds, Edward Rice, Ron Polshek Partnership Architects, son Chambers, Lynn Chambers, Judy, Emily Mason Kahn & Wolf & Iva Rifkin, Elizabeth Barlow Robert A. M. Stern Architects, Doris B. Chandler, Wanda Chin, Kahn, Linda Kahwaty, Rebecca Rogers, Robert E. G. & Ann C. Robert Silman Associates, How- Ada Chiu, Christopher J. Cirillo, Kaplan, Daniel Karatzas, Regina Ronus Ttee, Helen D. Roosevelt, ard B. Spivak Architect, Studio Carol Clark & Kyle Johnson, Kellerman, Mary Lou Kelley, David Rosenberg & Bernice K. for Civil Architecture, Swanke Edith Clarke, Heide-Rose Cleary, Stephen P. Kelly, M.D., Edward Leber, Joseph S. Rosenberg, Gina Hayden Connell Architects, Liora Cobin, Billie Cohen, Steve S. Kirkland, Joel Klein, William Ross, Eric Rouda & Ron Gross, Thornton-Tomasetti Group, Ver- & Maureen Cohen, Daniel Cole- Knisley, Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Gina Rusch, Robin Saba, Gina tical Access, Vollmer Associates, grove, Cathi Colombo, Caycee Kornfeld Sr., Jeffrey A. Kroessler Sacco, Patricia Salmon, Vincent Vornado Realty Trust, Walter B. Crown, Michael Devonshire, & Laura Heim, Robert & Char- Santangelo, Martica R. Sawin, Melvin Architects, Weidlinger Kent Diebolt, Robert Dobi, lene Kyle, Sarah Landau, Richard Sean Sawyer, Sophia Duckworth Associates, Wolf Block Schorr & Jerome Donlon, George & Landman, Esq., Ami Langfeld, Schachter, Erwin Schaub, Bev- Solis-Cohen, Zubatkin Owner Barbara Dowling, Perry Drake, Brenda Levin, Richard Levin, erly & Murray Schlesinger, Judith Representation. Elizabeth Dworkin, Franny Mimi Levitt, Milton Lilie, John Schneider, Leonard Schnitzer, Eberhart, Karen Eckhoff, Anne Lipsett, Walter & Phyllis Loeb, Herbert J. Schwarz Jr., Binnie Friends: Alan M. Ades, Evan F. Edgar, Bruce L. Ehrmann, Christopher W. London, David Sen, Naomi & Burt Siegel, Jo Akselrad, David Alquist, Annice Aron Eisenpress, Aline & Henry & Valerie Loo, Eleanor Lupino, Anne Simon, Patricia Simpson, M. Alt, Jan C. K. Anderson, Ron Euler, Stephen A. Facey, Thomas Ken Lustbader, Julianne Malia, Andrew Skola, Winifred Skver- Anthony, Bernadette Artus, Fenniman, Linda S. Ferber, Anthony A. Manheim, Vanessa sky, Frances Spangler & Alan Sarah Auchincloss, Leonora M. Nathan & Victoria Fisher, Susan Martinez, Geraldine Martins, Federman, Beverly Moss Spatt, Ballinger, Nancy Banks, Penelope Fowler & Victor Stanwick, Erica Jane Marx, Sharon McCrea, Ruth Sprute, Susan W. Stachel- Bareau, J. Joel Berger & Judith Freeman, Bruce Freifeld, John & Richard McDermott, Miriam berg, Martha Roby Stephens, I. Berger, Thérèse Bernbach, BJ French, David Freudenthal, Meadow, Ronald L Melichar, John H. Stubbs, Neil Sullivan, William Bernhard & Catherine Michael Frome, Ann Walker Joyce A. Mendelsohn, Brandon Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Adina Cahill, Thomas J. Bess, Marva Gaffney, Mary Nahon Galgan, Merkel, Marion Wood Meyer, Taylor, Jack Taylor, Stephen Tilly Kalish Bhalla, William Biondo- Barry & Gloria Garfinkel, Michael Miglino, Dorothy Marie & Elizabeth Martin, Michael lino, Charles Birnstiel, Minor Meghan Getting, Nora Gibson, Miner, Erica Morasset, Gregory A. Tomlan, Susan Tunick, L. Bishop, Leo J. Blackman & Cathe Giffuni, David & Liz Morris, Francis & Francine Mur- Anne Van Ingen, Jael Wagener, Kenneth T. Monteiro, Ellen Goldfarb, Del Rene Goldsmith, phy, Christopher Neville & Sarah Margaret Walchak, Jay Walter, Blair, Mr. & Mrs. Frederick dorris gaines golomb, Joan & Gamble, Allison Newman, Nich- D. Maria Watson, Joan Weber, Bland, Heidi Blau, Ralph Bless- Donald J. Gordon, Christabel olas Nicoletti, Gerard O’Connell, Lucy White, Richard Winn, Gil ing, Françoise Bollack & Tom Gough, Eugene Graber, Paul Norman Odlum, Mary O’Hara, Winter, Wendy Wisbrun, Kevin Killian, Ann Bragg, Jerry Breeze, Graziano, Tracy Gregorowicz, Nancy Owens, Virginia L. Park- Wolfe, Pamela Wolff, Anthony Adrienne G. Bresnan & Joseph P. Ann B. Hallowell, Jo Hamilton, house, Robert & Marlene Payton, C. Wood, Alan Woodruff, Sybil Bresnan, Norman I. Brock, Hal Harold Handler, John Hatheway Otis & Nancy Pearsall, Richard Young, F. Anthony Zunino.

Become a Friend of the Historic Districts Council Today! Douglaston, Queens; Charlton-King-Vandam, Manhattan; Fort Greene, name Brooklyn; Longwood, The Bronx, are all designated historic districts, protected address from inappropriate alterations and development. Unfortunately, many more neighborhoods throughout the city are not, though they are seeking designation. city/state zip That’s where the Historic Districts Council can help. telephone It’s a big city, and our advocacy is never finished. Our agenda would not be fax possible without you and preservation partners like you. You are the backbone of HDC. e-mail Yes! Consider me a friend of HDC! Enclosed is my gift of (for news and electronic alerts)

$50 ___ $100___ $250___ $500___ Other $______Credit card payments: If your billing address does not correspond with the address above, please provide it Please make check payable to Historic Districts Council and mail to: Historic below your signature. Districts Council, 232 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003. For information, call 212–614–9107. American Express ____ MasterCard ____ Visa ____ The Historic Districts Council is a 501(c)(3) organization, and contributions to card number it are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. A financial report may be obtained expiration date upon request from the New York State Department of State, 41 , Albany, NY 12231. signature

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D I S T R I C T LINES

In this issue: p. 1 ~ Towers atop 980 Madison Avenue…I. The Hearing

p. 3 ~ ...Implications…II. District Integrity III. Manipulating 74-711

p. 4 ~ Update on “Creating an Historic District”

p. 5 ~ President’s Column

p. 6 ~ New Yorkers Mourn Deaths of 2 Leading Preservationists

p. 7 ~ Robert Silman Receives HDC’s Highest Honor HDC Welcomes Five to Board of Advisers Proposal for 980 Madison Avenue – page 1 p. 9 ~ District Profiles – Weehawken Street

p. 10 ~ Recent Gifts and Grants

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID DISTRICT NEW YORK, NY LINES Permit No. 3732 news and views of the

HIST ORIC DISTRICTS COUNCIL

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