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Landmarks
123 West 43rd Street, The Town Hall, application for the installation of facade lighting system consisting of small fixtures along the cornice, in the 2nd-floor niches, and in the entries and marquees
WHEREAS, The Town Hall is a theater venue designed by McKim, Mead and White and completed in 1921, located on the northside of West 43rd Street between 6th Avenue and Broadway and designated an individual landmark by LPC on November 28, 1978; and
WHEREAS, It was founded by the League for Political Education in response to the passing of the 19th amendment; and WHEREAS, It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2013; and
WHEREAS, The venue has been home to a wide variety of performances from such cultural icons as Pablo Casals, Paul Robeson, Marian Anderson, Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington, Bob Dylan, and many others; and
WHEREAS, The applicant has requested approval for a façade lighting scheme that consists of a cornice uplight, brick façade uplights, uplights in two arches, pilaster uplights and a frontlight on the name plaque as well as a glow installed in the brick niches and on the decorative grille; and
WHEREAS, The applicant has also requested approval for the addition of LED bulbs at the perimeter of the marquee and the addition of 40 decorative 9” globes under the marquee with the five existing 14” globe pendant fixtures under the marquee remaining in place; and
WHEREAS, The proposed lighting will be able to change color, with the exception of the lighting on the plaque and the lighting under the marquee, which will be permanent white lights; and
WHEREAS, The changing colors will not be fluid, but will be determined and then fixed based on specific productions or events being honored; and
WHEREAS, The default lighting scheme will be white; and
WHEREAS, CB5 has concerns that the colored lighting may be offensive if used poorly; and
WHEREAS, The lighting fixture for the plaque will be mounted on a building opposite the venue by private agreement; and
WHEREAS, The mountings for the proposed façade lighting will use a minimal number of mount points to accomplish the project; and
WHEREAS, Where attachments will cut through original material, they will go through brick, joints or seals and not through stone; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five agrees that the proposed lighting plan is respectful to The Town Hall, an important historic building, and will bring appropriate attention to it; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval for the application by The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, for the installation of a façade lighting system consisting of small fixtures along the cornice, in the 2nd-floor niches, and in the entries and marquees, while urging applicant to be judicious and tasteful with the use of their color lighting scheme.