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Landmarks
21 East 26th Street, application for a rooftop addition, new storefront on 27th Street, rooftop and terrace railings, alteration of window to door at 26th Street, new light fixtures and replacing of windows.
Dear Chair Tierney:
At the scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, April 14, 2011, the Board passed the following resolution :
WHEREAS, 21 East 26th Street is a through-block, 5-story, neo-Classical, office and showroom building designed in 1924 by Treanor & Fatio Architects and located in the Madison Square North Historic District; and
WHEREAS, The site was once occupied by a taller building as evidenced by "shadows" located on the party wall; and
WHEREAS, The rooftop addition, clad in brick that matches the existing facade, will not be visible from the public way with two exceptions: 1) a code mandated safety railing and 2) a portion of a stairwell bulkhead that is only slightly visible when standing inside Madison Square Park and only when the trees are in leafless condition; and
WHEREAS, On the 26th Street 3-bay, façade all the windows will be replaced to match the existing historic windows, the existing entry door in the east bay will be replaced with a new, historically appropriate door; and
WHEREAS, As part of an adaptive re-use, a new, historically appropriate entry will be created on the west bay; and
WHEREAS, The East 27th Street side of the building has a non-contributing utilitarian façade with louvered windows and a non-descript delivery door is proposed to be converted to storefront retail, and
WHEREAS, On the 27h Street upper façade will be fully restored with the same historically replicated windows, and
WHEREAS, the applicant agreed to revise the modern plate-glass design storefront and to include mullions in an arrangement that are more appropriate to the historic façade and other storefronts in the District.
WHEREAS, retail tenants will file applications for any proposed signage or lighting, to be reviewed by CB 5, and
WHEREAS, the Application as presented is a vast improvement from the initial application; therefore, be it,
RESOLVED, That Community Board Five recommends approval of the Application to replace the cornice, rooftop additions and other building modifications at 21 East 26th Street.
The above resolution passed by a vote of 36 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining.