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5 Madison Avenue bet. 23rd & 24th Streets, MetLife Building, application to remove non-original storefront infill at the ground floor and install new metal-and-glass infill, canopies and signage.
At the scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, September 12, 2013, the Board passed the following resolution by a vote of 39 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, The building located at 5 Madison Avenue, also known as the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Building (the "building"), is a Venetian style office building designed by Pierre L. LeBrun built in l907-09 and altered in 1960-64; and
WHEREAS, In 1989 the building was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as an individual landmark; and
WHEREAS, The applicant, Marriott International, Inc., intends to convert the building into a hotel, under its "Edition" brand, which will have its main entrance on East 24th Street; and
WHEREAS, The renovated building will include a restaurant, not named as yet, to be leased to a separate operator which will have an entrance on Madison Avenue; and
WHEREAS, In November 2006 CB5 approved (37-0-1) a previous renovation to convert the same building (described as 1, not 5,Madison Avenue) into condominiums including these modifications:
- Install new doors at the entrance to the building on 24th Street, the only entrance to the building, and to recess the existing revolving door five feet so that the entrance is compliant with federal law, namely the Americans with Disabilities Act and Local Law 57 of the Municipal Code of the City of New York;
- "Drop" to a door one of three windows located on the building's Madison Avenue facade (the southernmost storefront window) to accommodate a restaurant to be located there; and
WHEREAS, These changes were approved by LPC, never constructed, and are being incorporated into the new Marriott design; and
WHEREAS, In addition to the above modifications, Marriott is now requesting LPC approval of two stainless steel canopies, one above the East 24th Street entrance and one at the Madison Avenue restaurant entrance, neither of which was in the prior application; and
WHEREAS, CB5 views the installation of a 10 ft. X 10 ft. 3 in. canopy (with discreet signage on its side panels identifying the hotel, plus lighting and heating elements) at the East 24 Street hotel entrance to be acceptable, even though it is a new building element, because it is deemed a conventional amenity for a hotel of this caliber; and
WHEREAS, CB5 views the proposed canopy for the restaurant entrance on Madison Avenue to be inappropriate and not in keeping with the historical character of the building; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the application for renovations at 5 Madison Avenue bet. 23rd & 24th Streets, MetLife Building, consisting of removal of non-original storefront infill at the ground floor and install new metal-and-glass infill, canopies and signage, unless the restaurant entrance canopy on Madison Avenue is eliminated in the Application.