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Transportation & Environment
Application from Gramercy Park House LLC for a Revocable Consent to restore entry portals at sidewalk entrance (16 East 16th Street).
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, March 10, 2022, the following resolution passed with a vote of 38 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, Gramercy Park House LLC (“the Applicant”) has applied for a new revocable consent from the New York City Department of Transportation (“DOT”) to restore the two entry portals at sidewalk entrances and the ground floor facade; and
WHEREAS, 16 East 16th Street has a landmarked facade and the building is located on the south side of 16th Street between Fifth Avenue and Union Square West, and completed in 1891; and
WHEREAS, The ground floor was demolished in 1951 and rebuilt with an ADA-accessible ramp; and
WHEREAS, This building, excluding the landmarked facade, is currently being demolished and rebuilt with an estimated completion date of Q4 2023; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant seeks to remove the current ramp, restore the ground floor facade to a similar original design from 1891, and lower the entry portals to the sidewalk level to maintain ADA-accessibility; and
WHEREAS, The proposed entry portals for which a new revocable consent is required would protrude from the building less than the current ADA-accessible ramp; and
WHEREAS, While the proposed new entry portal protrusions are less than the current ADA-accessible ramp, Community Board Five is concerned about the limited sidewalk clearance in this area, if, for example, a tree pit were placed directly in front of each portal or a future sidewalk cafe, resulting in even less clearance than with the current ADA-accessible ramp; and therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the revocable consent from the DOT for Gramercy Park House, LLC, to restore the two entry portals at sidewalk entrances and the ground floor facade of 16 E 16th St; and be it further
RESOLVED, Community Board Five requests that the Applicant and DOT make every effort to make sure that there is a minimum eight feet of sidewalk clearance in front of the building; and be it further
RESOLVED, Community Board Five asks that the Applicant and DOT install only a single tree pit and minimize other obstructions on the sidewalk to help guarantee the minimum sidewalk clearance.