Last year, Adam Gordon sold his unfinished 8-unit building project at 43 Bond Street in NoHo to DDG Partners after having obtained approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission for the project's design with limestone facades and bronze shutters by Steven Harris.
DDG Partners, however, then decided it wanted bluestone facades as well as angled balconies in the rear and no shutters and larger windows.
The Land"arks Preservation Commission held a hearing yesterday on the revised plans but closed the public hearing without taking a vote.
The block is widely regarded as one of the city's most interesting architecturally as it contains Herzog & de Meuron's 40 Bond Street with its aluminum graffiti gates and green glass columns, BKSK's 25 Bond Street with its perforated facade and Deborah Berke's black glass building at 48 Bond Street as well as the curved facade at 57 Bond Street by Marvin H. Meltzer.
DDG Partners, of which Peter Guthrie is a principal, also owns Landmark 17 at 233 East 17th Street and is building a two-family building at 24 Warren Street that will also use bluestone on its facade.
The balconies are asymmetrically placed on the rear facade and one speaker at the commission hearing expressed concern "about noise from new neighbors hanging out on their lofty perches," and, according to an article by Pete Davies today at curbed.com, "called the developer's problem self-induced, created only by 43 Bond's new wall of glass facing onto the existing courtyard, an area that's been secluded, quiet and private for years. The developer seemingly acquiesced, sheepishly admitting that it was indeed a 'self-inflicted wound' but claiming that the balconies, from the design point of view, made for a better building. By now the LPC team was nodding in agreement, while neighbors were muttering amongst themselves. But it still wasn't clear which side would prevail."
"The DDG rep said the narrow balconies, just four feet wide, were similar to fire escapes," the article continued, "which are as New York as can be. Plus they'd offer some energy-saving shade for the all-glass southern exposure and create additional privacy between the new building and existing neighbors, whose rear walls are a mere 30 feet away. When DDG presented the plan last week before Community Board 2's Landmarks Committee, the developer admitted that it would be cheaper to forget the balcony additions, and seemed somewhat willing to forego their construction. Ultimately the CB2 voted for approval of the front facade at 41 Bond but, noting that 'neighbors from both Bond Street and Bleecker Street vociferously opposed the balconies,' strongly recommended that LPC not give the balconies their approval."
DDG Partners, however, then decided it wanted bluestone facades as well as angled balconies in the rear and no shutters and larger windows.
The Land"arks Preservation Commission held a hearing yesterday on the revised plans but closed the public hearing without taking a vote.
The block is widely regarded as one of the city's most interesting architecturally as it contains Herzog & de Meuron's 40 Bond Street with its aluminum graffiti gates and green glass columns, BKSK's 25 Bond Street with its perforated facade and Deborah Berke's black glass building at 48 Bond Street as well as the curved facade at 57 Bond Street by Marvin H. Meltzer.
DDG Partners, of which Peter Guthrie is a principal, also owns Landmark 17 at 233 East 17th Street and is building a two-family building at 24 Warren Street that will also use bluestone on its facade.
The balconies are asymmetrically placed on the rear facade and one speaker at the commission hearing expressed concern "about noise from new neighbors hanging out on their lofty perches," and, according to an article by Pete Davies today at curbed.com, "called the developer's problem self-induced, created only by 43 Bond's new wall of glass facing onto the existing courtyard, an area that's been secluded, quiet and private for years. The developer seemingly acquiesced, sheepishly admitting that it was indeed a 'self-inflicted wound' but claiming that the balconies, from the design point of view, made for a better building. By now the LPC team was nodding in agreement, while neighbors were muttering amongst themselves. But it still wasn't clear which side would prevail."
"The DDG rep said the narrow balconies, just four feet wide, were similar to fire escapes," the article continued, "which are as New York as can be. Plus they'd offer some energy-saving shade for the all-glass southern exposure and create additional privacy between the new building and existing neighbors, whose rear walls are a mere 30 feet away. When DDG presented the plan last week before Community Board 2's Landmarks Committee, the developer admitted that it would be cheaper to forget the balcony additions, and seemed somewhat willing to forego their construction. Ultimately the CB2 voted for approval of the front facade at 41 Bond but, noting that 'neighbors from both Bond Street and Bleecker Street vociferously opposed the balconies,' strongly recommended that LPC not give the balconies their approval."
Architecture Critic
Carter Horsley
Since 1997, Carter B. Horsley has been the editorial director of CityRealty. He began his journalistic career at The New York Times in 1961 where he spent 26 years as a reporter specializing in real estate & architectural news. In 1987, he became the architecture critic and real estate editor of The New York Post.
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