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Landmarks
230 Park Avenue, Application to Amend Existing Storefront and Signage Masterplan to Allow for Restorative Storefront Installations, Additional Entrances and Accessible Ramps, and New Signage.
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, July 14, 2022, the following resolution passed with a vote of 34 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, 230 Park Avenue is a Beaux-Arts tower known as The Helmsley Building (“Applicant”), formerly the New York Central Building, and was designed by Warren & Wetmore in 1929 and designated an individual landmark in 1987; and
WHEREAS, The 35-story building is bound by Vanderbilt Avenue on the west, East 46th Street on the north, the former Depew Place on the east, East 45th Street on the south, and contains a pass-through for the Park Avenue viaduct as well as two pedestrian corridors; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant is proposing an amendment to a Storefront Masterplan previously submitted in 2003 and amended in 2016, to include alterations to the northern, western, and southern façades, as well as alterations to the shop-lined pedestrian corridors; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes the following alterations to the masterplan to the eastern half of the East 46th Street façade to include the installation of new second floor window assemblies in three bays (N1, N2, N3), new street-level window assemblies in the two easternmost bays (N1, N2) to match the profiles and finishes of existing restored bays (N6 - N9), and a doorway and entry ramp in bay N3 to match the profiles and finishes of existing bay N5 and the existing ramp of bay W4; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes the following alterations to the masterplan for the northern half of the Vanderbilt Avenue façade, to include the installation of a doorway and entry ramp in bay W2 to match the profiles and finishes of existing doorway and ramp of bay W4, and windows above the existing retail entrance of bay W4 that match the profile and finishes of the existing restored façade; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes the following alterations to the masterplan for the southern half of the Vanderbilt Avenue façade, to include alterations to first-floor window bays (W8, W10 and W11) that match the existing profile and finishes of the existing restored bays on this facade, installation of a doorway in bay W9 to match the profiles and finishes of the existing restored façade, and bringing the existing entryway of bay W7 flush with the facade to maintain uniformity; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes the following alterations to the masterplan for the East 45th Street façade, to include installation of doorway and window treatments in bays S1 and S7 matching the profile and finishes of the existing façade, installation of a ramp for the easternmost retail entrance (S9) at the existing doorway elevation matching the profile and finishes of the existing façade, and bringing all existing entryways flush with the facade to maintain uniformity; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes amendments to the masterplan to refurbish existing ventilation louvers on the Vanderbilt Avenue and East 45th Street façades by installing or moving existing louvers in the highest center pane of the ground floor window and doorway treatments; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant shall provision for matching louvers to be installed on the East 46th Street façade by request of future tenants; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes signage installation to storefronts in the eastern and western corridors in the style of 18” x 18” bronze blade signs or a wall-mounted sign in a matching style and finish at storefronts with lower ceiling clearance, all with a unified font and style to contain only text and not logos; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five finds that the Applicant seeks to restore an original and symmetric look to the East 46th Street, East 45th Street, and Vanderbilt Avenue retail façades, using historically contextual materials of steel, bronze, and aluminum painted in bronze finish to match existing window and ground-level bay profiles that are original or have already been restored; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five finds that the ramps proposed on East 45th and East 46th Streets comply with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) codes as a basis for change and are minimally invasive to pedestrian traffic, and the ramps along Vanderbilt Avenue are moderately invasive to pedestrian traffic, but overall does not detract from the landmark; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of this application to amend the previously approved Storefront Masterplan for the North, West, and South façades of 230 Park Avenue.