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Landmarks
122 Fifth Avenue: application to add three new stories and bulkheads on the roof
WHEREAS, 122 Fifth Avenue is a T-shaped 10-story store and loft building with 71’6” of frontage in the middle of the block on the West Side of Fifth Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets with wings also fronting on the north side of West 17th Street and the south side of West 18th Street, in the Ladies Mile Historic District; and
WHEREAS, The building was built in 1899-1900 for real estate developer Henry Corn, and designed by architect Robert Maynicke; and
WHEREAS, The applicant is proposing to add three stories for a total of 40,000 sq. ft. (transferring air rights of 16,350 sq. ft. from 4 West 18th Street and of 23,650 sq. ft. from 7 West 17th Street) of a modern style office space on top of the existing roof; and
WHEREAS, The applicant is proposing to include brick facade on the sides of the three story addition that are visible at street-level; and
WHEREAS, The applicant is proposing that the brick facade of the addition will match the existing 10-story building; and
WHEREAS, The applicant is also proposing to add bulkheads on the roof that will extend above the proposed additional three stories; and
WHEREAS, The applicant created scaffolding mockups on the existing roof in order to demonstrate how the addition would look from various street-level vantage points; and
WHEREAS The applicant provided photographs, visual representations and linear measurements of street-level views based on those scaffolding mockups; and WHEREAS, The linear measurements of street-level views indicated that the bulkhead would be visible for 35 feet along the south side of East 17th Street and 60 feet along the north side of East 18th Street, and
WHEREAS, The applicant said in the meeting that the brick façade would extend 45 feet above the current roof line,
WHEREAS, The linear measurements of street-level views indicated that the brick façade would be visible for 280 feet along the south side of West 17th Street and 130 feet along the north side of West 18th Street, and
WHEREAS, The applicant’s photographs, visual representations and linear measurements showed that the addition would result in significant street-level visibility approaching the building from four different directions; and
WHEREAS, The proposed addition's height and size are not appropriate for the building and the District; and,
WHEREAS, The proposed addition's modern style (floor to ceiling glazing) is not appropriate - to the extent that it may be visible from street-level but also because it could be a source of artificial lighting at night (glowing Chinese lantern effect) - for the building and the District; and
WHEREAS, 122 Fifth Avenue with the proposed addition would not be harmonious with the District; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of the application for 122 Fifth Avenue to add three stories and new bulkheads on the roof.