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Landmarks

July 2014, Landmarks Committee

610 6th Avenue, Application to move signage over main entry on 6th Avenue and to add two advertising flags on the 18th Street façade

At the regularly scheduled monthly meeting of Community Board Five on Thursday, July 10, 2014, the following resolution passed with a vote of: 39 in favor, 0 opposed, 1 abstained.

WHEREAS, 610 6^th Avenue, originally named the "Price Building," is a Beaux-Arts inspired commercial building on the Southeast corner of 6^th Avenue and 18^th Street, within the Ladies Mile Historic District; and

WHEREAS, The Applicant, Old Navy, seeks to move the store's sign from its current position over the center of the awning on the 6^th Avenue façade to an off-center position to avoid being partially blocked by an existing tree and to add two flag poles and banners to the 18^th Street façade of the building for advertising purposes; and

WHEREAS, Taking cues from the building's Beaux-Arts style, the store's sign currently sits centered directly below the building's original "Price Building" sign and centered directly above the awning on the 6^th Avenue façade; and

WHEREAS, During some months of the year, the sign is partially blocked by the leaves of a tree that the Applicant planted in front of the building in the 1990s; and

WHEREAS, Moving the store's sign from the center of the awning would be counter to the principal of symmetry, which is fundamental to the Beaux-Arts design of the building and moreover characteristic of the Ladies Mile Historic District as a whole; and   

WHEREAS, The Applicant's proposed move would alter the 6^th Avenue façade and negatively impact the harmony of the District; and

WHEREAS, The Landmarks Preservation Commission does not allow the installation of flags or banners to buildings within the Ladies Mile Historic District as of right, and

WHEREAS, The Applicant seeks to install two flags that are 14 feet tall and over 3 feet wide, which would significantly block the 18^th Street façade from view and add clutter to the street; and

WHEREAS, Pending Staff level review at the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Applicant will replace two existing American Flags on the 6^th Avenue façade with flags advertising the Old Navy Brand; and

WHEREAS, Pending Staff level review by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, Applicant will further increase store signage by adding the brand name to the 18^th Street façade's awning; and

WHEREAS, The Price Building's Beaux-Arts style is characteristic of the district and contributes to the Ladies Mile Historic District; and

WHEREAS, Although the Committee recognizes the Applicant's desire to advertise its brand, the proposed flags on the 18^th Street façade are excessively large, block the building's impressive façade, further clutter the district with commercial signage, and prove unnecessary for marketing purposes, given the existing signage on the 6^th Avenue façade and the proposed additions of two advertising flags on the 6^th Avenue façade and the signage on the awning of the 18th Street façade; therefore be it

RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the request by Old Navy to move the store's sign from its current position over the center of the awning on the 6^th Avenue façade and to add two flagpoles to the 18^th Street façade of the building for advertising purposes.