January 15, 2021
Sarah Carroll, Chair
NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
1 Centre Street, 9th Floor
New York, NY 10007
Via email: testimony@lpc.nyc.gov
Re: Certificate of Appropriateness Application: 321 East 6th Street
Dear Chair Carroll:
I am writing on behalf of the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative – LESPI – regarding the application to the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission for the construction of a new rooftop addition at 321 East 6th Street.The building is one of a row of five transitional Greek Revival / Italianate rowhouses constructed in 1853, and its front facade appears to remain essentially unaltered from its original construction.
We have no objection to the construction of a new rooftop penthouse, as shown in the presentation materials, finding that the work is set back from the front facade and minimally visible from the street. The facing of the visible portions of the penthouse and side parapet work should be finished to match the surrounding side elevation materials. We find that the side elevation window reconfiguration will not detract from the building’s significant architectural features, and have no objection to the work at the rear facade.
Although we believe the front facade six-over-six window configuration may be appropriate for this stylistically transitional building, we recommend that additional research of archival photographs be carried out to try to determine if in fact one-over-one or two-over-two configuration windows were original to this row.
However, we find the proposed rooftop railing is set too close to the front and side facades, so that it detracts from the building’s architecture, and that the railing should be set back to the fullest extent allowed by the Building Code, so as not to interfere with the row’s line of cornices. The railing’s metal wire mesh and framing should be widely spaced and narrow, in a simple and unobtrusive configuration, and finished in black or similarly dark color so as to be as visually transparent as possible.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Richard D. Moses
President
Cc: Britton Baine, LESPI
Deborah Wye, LESPI
