<< Back
Landmarks
230 Park Avenue, (the former Helmsley Building and the former New York Central Building) application for installation of LCD screens in the East and West Helmsley Walks
At the scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, February 14, 2013, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 19 in favor; 13 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, 230 Park Avenue (between East 45th and East 46th Streets), formerly known as the New York Central Building, then known as the New York General Building, more recently known as the Helmsley Building, has been an individual NYC Landmark since its designation March 31, 1987, designed by Warren and Wetmore as part of the complex of buildings surrounding Grand Central Station, also designed by these same architects; and
WHEREAS, Built in 1929 as the luxurious headquarters for the New York Central Railroad, 230 Park Avenue is a 34-story office building strategically straddling Park Avenue at East 46th Street to East 45th Street, offering a premier location as a direct connection to Grand Central Terminal; and
WHEREAS, The East and West Helmsley Walks are two public walkways through the building between East 45th and 46th Streets, adjacent to the tunnels for the Park Avenue viaduct ramps; and
WHEREAS, The owners of the building are requesting approval of the installation of one frameless wall mounted LCD screen at the southern end of each walkway; and
WHEREAS, The proposed LCD screens are part of an application for restoration of the East and West Helmsley Walks, the other elements of which are addressed by Community Board Five in a separate resolution; and
WHEREAS, The dimensions of the LCD screens set forth in the application are 12 feet by 3.5 feet, which represents the maximum possible size of the screens, although the applicant represented that the actual LCD screens that would be installed would likely be smaller than the proposed dimensions; and
WHEREAS, Although photographs on file with the Landmarks Preservation Commission from the time of designation show large illuminated advertising screens in the same locations, CB5 does not find that these LCD screens are in keeping with the historical character of the space or appropriate to the landmark; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the installation of LCD screens in the East and West Helmsley Walks at 230 Park Avenue.