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Landmarks
1619 Broadway - TD Bank requests approval for an internally illuminated bracket sign that exceeds maximum size and extension requirements
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, November 12, 2020, the following resolution passed with a vote of 45 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, 1619 Broadway ("Brill Building") is an eleven-story brick and terra cotta Art Deco building constructed in 1930-31 by Abraham Lefcourt, one of New York's most prolific developers in the 1920's and thereafter sold to the Brill brothers; and
WHEREAS, The creative culture of the music companies in the Brill Building came to define the influential "Brill Building Sound" and the style of popular music songwriting and recording that was created by its writers and producers; and
WHEREAS, 1619 Broadway was designated a landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) in 2010 due to the highly decorated Art Deco style of the Brill Building, the influential and popular music associated with the Brill Building and Abraham Lefcourt being the developer of the Brill Building; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has applied to install a new illuminated bracket sign on the Brill Building; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has proposed that the signage on the Brill Building replace the designated "Sign H" in the Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, The new bracket sign has a smaller footprint thereby enabling additional parts of the Brill Building to be visible; and
WHEREAS, The historic Brill Building entry façade on Broadway will remain intact; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant's proposal is contextual with the Brill Building's location at the corner of Broadway and 49th Street; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant's proposal is an appropriate improvement for the Brill Building's Master Plan, and is harmonious with the Times Square neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, The Committee requests that the Master Plan be updated to replace Sign H with the new proposed bracket sign so that the number of permitted signs is not increased; and
WHEREAS, The Committee remains concerned that the new sign may puncture the terra cotta façade on the Landmark, leaving puncture wounds; and
WHEREAS, The Committee is concerned that the new branded "door pull" is not contextual; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial unless
- the official Master Plan is altered by LPC to replace Sign H with the new illuminated Bracket Sign, so as to retain the same number of permitted signage; and
- the illuminated Bracket Sign is installed employing the least intrusive method possible to avoid puncture wounds and penetration points in the Building, especially in the terra cotta tiles, favoring joint penetration rather than terra cotta penetration; and
- the existing door handles / door pulls are stored for future use by a future tenant at a future date.