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Landmarks
455-457 Madison Avenue (50th and 51st Streets), application for replacement of the non-historic stone in the center of the plaza with new stone in a simpler pattern
At the scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, July 11, 2013, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 38 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, 455-457 Madison Avenue, between 50th & 51st Streets, the Villard Houses, was constructed in 1884, designed by the architectural firm, McKim, Meade and White, three years after they started their company, commissioned by Henry Villard, then president of the Northern Pacific Railroad; and
WHEREAS, In 1968, the NYC Landmarks Preservation designated the complex an individual Landmark; and
WHEREAS, The NYC real estate developer, Harry B. Helmsley, constructed the 51-story New York Palace Hotel tower directly behind the original building, designed by architects, Emery Roth & Sons and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, in 1977, which was completed in 1980; and
WHEREAS, What was once The Villard Mansion's carriage entrance on Madison Avenue is now the New York Palace's famed Courtyard; and
WHEREAS, The owners are requesting LPC approval to replace the circular non-historic patterned stone in the Courtyard with a neutral grey granite stone; and
WHEREAS, The original material for this area is not known and may even have been grass; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the application for replacement of the non-historic stone in the center of the plaza with new stone in a simpler pattern at 455-457 Madison Avenue (50th and 51st Streets).